By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Molly Heady had sat through three Senior Nights, watching as her departing teammates were bid farewell by Tennessee Tech fans in Eblen Center.
For Kayla Brewer, in her first season on the roster, it was her first TTU Senior Night.
Saturday evening it was time for Heady and Brewer to be caught in the spotlight of Senior Night, and they both made the most of the opportunity.
Heady, a Nursing major from Monterey keyed Tech's first half comeback from an early deficit. Brewer, a graduate student from Jacksonville, Fla., took over in the paint to forge a double-double.
The twosome led the way to a 71-58 Ohio Valley Conference victory over Morehead State for coach Jim Davis' Golden Eagles.
Heady finished with 14 points, hitting 4-for-4 from long range, and grabbed six rebounds. Brewer added 10 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, six blocked shots, four assists and two steals.
Tech (10-15/7-5 OVC) had five players in double digits. Candace Parson netted 12 and grabbed eight rebounds, Diamond Henderson scored a game-high 16 with six assists and three steals, and Hannah Goolsby scored 13.
Morehead State (10-15/4-8 OVC) was led by Shanice Parker with 15 points, three assists and three steals. Aaliyah Wells added 12 points and Almesha Jones scored 11.
The visiting Eagles had the range in the early going, hitting four 3-pointers on the way to jumping out to an 21-8 lead. Tech also had five early turnovers, and MSU took advantage with an 8-0 spread off the mistakes. MSU led by 11 when Jones hit a layup with 7:24 to play in the half, 26-15.
The Golden Eagles used a 3-pointer by Heady to ignite a 9-0 run and pull themselves within two points, 26-24.
Morehead appeared to weather that run, scoring on a layup by Turner and a 3-pointer by Turner to go up 31-24.
But Heady went to work once again. She hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a one-point game, and Brewer's layup with 30 seconds left sent the Golden Eagles into halftime with a 32-31 lead.
After MSU held an early 8-0 lead in points off turnovers, the Golden Eagles settled down and protected the ball better, and Tech outscored Morehead 13-0 off turnovers the rest of the half.
Morehead State tied the contest in the second half, 38-38, and kept the contest close for about 11 minutes, until Tech went on another 9-0 run. The opened a 55-52 contest into a 64-52 Golden Eagle lead.
The largest lead of the second half was the final margin of 13 points
Tech's weekend adventure stretches over to Monday night, when the Golden Eagles will welcome Eastern Kentucky to Eblen Center for a 7 p.m. contest.
It's Think Pink Night at the arena, and all fans are encouraged to wear pink in recognition of breast cancer survivors and awareness. Any fan wearing pink can purchase their ticket for one dollar.
In addition, specially designed "Think Pink" t-shirts will be given to the first 1,000 fans into the arena. Gates open at 6 p.m.
