By Jocelyn VerVelde, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
MURRAY, Ky. – The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team put together one of their best team performances of the season on Monday as they took down Murray State, 81-65, to improve to 8-13 on the season, and 5-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Golden Eagles controlled the first half by hitting six of 10 shots from behind the arc on Monday night as they took a 41-34 lead into the intermission. The Racers took the lead at the 3:57 mark, 32-30, but the Golden Eagles outscored Murray 11-2 to head into the locker room. Five different Tech players hit the mark from deep, including back-to-back 3s from Diamond Henderson and Hannah Goolsby to ignite the run.
A Goolsby 3-pointer opened up the second half, giving her eight straight points between the end of the first and start of the second, and jumpstarted a 17-4 Golden Eagle run.
Protecting the lead proved to be a tough task as Murray State heated up from outside, but Tech's defensive presence and an impressive spark from Kayla Brewer and the Golden Eagles were able to maintain. Brewer finished the game with remarkable statline of eight points, a game-high 11 boards, and a career-best six blocks.
The Golden Eagles continued their hot-shooting as they finished the game shooting 43.9 percent, and 56.3 percent from three.
Murray was led by Taylor Porter who finished with 18, Janssen Starks added 15, Jessica Winfrey finished with 11, and Julia Fox wrapped up the Racer double-figure scorers with 10 points.
Henderson led the way for the Golden Eagles as the finished with 17, while Goolsby finished with 15, and Molly Heady added 11. Candace Parson continued her strong play as she finished with eight points and 10 points. Freshman Shunice Herron finished with a career-best nine points, while Ellie Iaciofano pulled down a career-best seven boards, six of which were offensive.
Tech outrebounded the Racers 53-31, and forced them into 10 turnovers.
The Golden Eagles return home for the first time in a month on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. CT showdown with Belmont, as a part of a doubleheader with the Golden Eagles men's squad.
