By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Four of Tennessee Tech's five starters were on the floor when the final horn sounded Thursday night, giving the Golden Eagles a 74-69 victory over Murray State in Eblen Center.
But the starters will be the first to admit that it was major support from the Golden Eagle bench that provided the difference in securing the team's first Ohio Valley Conference victory of the season. Tech (4-12/1-2 OVC) got 25 points from its bench players (25-11 edge) and scored 26 points (26-10 edge) off 17 turnovers by Murray State (5-10/0-2 OVC).
Samaria Howard led Tech with 18 points while Hannah Goolsby added 13 points, five rebounds and a game-high six assists. Yaktavia Hickson chipped in with nine points in reserve, while Catherine Taylor and Mariah Dean also came off the bench to notch six apiece. Tionne Herron was another key player, seeing 28 minutes of action at point guard, and providing seven points and six assists. She tied with T'Keyah Williams for top rebounder in the contest.
Freshman Olivia Cunningham topped MSU with 24 points, while Ke'Shunan James added 14 points and six rebounds and Keiona Kirby finished with 11 points. Kyra Gulledge had nine points and five rebounds.
Goolsby's layup with 2:48 to play put Tech ahead, 68-67, capping a 11-2 Golden Eagle run after Murray State had gone up 65-57 with 7:27 remaining on a 3-pointer by James. Howard scored six in the run and Herron dropped in a critical 3-pointer.
Howard's jumper with 1:54 left made it 70-67, and Cunningham followed with a layup at the 46 second mark to make it a one-point game.
Dean grabbed an offensive rebound with 33 seconds to play and was fouled, and drained both free throws for a 72-69 advantage. Tech forced a turnover with 24 seconds to play and Howard hit two more free throws with 20 seconds left.
Like they did to close out the first half, the Tech defense slammed the door down the stretch, forcing an errant 3-pointer before the final horn sounded.
Murray State led much of the first half, and used an 8-0 run to build a 34-27 lead following a three-point play by Kirby.
Tech countered with a 10-0 run, including 3-pointers by Goolsby and Hickson, to regain the lead at 37-34 with 3:11 remaining. A layup by Herron with 34 seconds left was the final score of the first half, knotting the game at 39-all as the Golden Eagle defense stonewalled the Racers down the stretch and didn't allow a shot.
Tech's bench provided the spark in the first half, with four different reserves checking in and lighting the scoreboard. The Tech bench outscored the Racer reserves in the opening half, 19-5, paced by Hickson's nine points and six from Taylor.
With the win, Tech improved to 59-16 all-time against Murray State including an impressive 36 wins in 40 games against the Racers in Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagles remain on their home floor for the next two games, including a Saturday evening battle with in-state rival Austin Peay. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.
