COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech got another double-double from senior Candace Parson and double figures from junior Samaria Howard, but those efforts couldn't lift the Golden Eagle women's basketball team to victory Thursday night. Tennessee State (11-12/8-4 OVC) claimed a 66-57 Ohio Valley Conference over the Golden Eagles (5-20/2-10 OVC)  in Eblen Center.

Parson finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Howard netted 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Tennessee State, which has now won three in a row, was led by Chelsea Hudson's 15 points and eight rebounds, while Brianna Lawrence added 13 and six.

Tech led early on, building a quick 15-8 lead behind Howard's aggressive play. The Golden Eagles were still up by five points, 20-15, with 7:49 to play when Tennessee State opened a 12-3 run to stake out a 27-23 lead with 2:34 left in the half. Tech made up one point on that deficit before halftime, heading to the break down 29-26. Tech missed two shots and five straight free throws over the final two minutes, costing the Golden Eagles to make up more ground.

In fact, Tech was just 9-for-19 at the free throw line in the opening half. TSU, meanwhile, was 0-for-9 from long range in the first 20 minutes.

TSU's shooting accuracy in the second half jumped to nearly 50 percent, allowing the Tigers to maintain a double digit lead for most of the period. After missing all nine long range tries in the opening half, TSU hit half of them (2-for-4) in the second, another factor in the Tigers keeping Tech at a distance.

Tech held a 47-43edge in rebounds, but the Golden Eagles had 19 turnovers and finished the game hitting 33.3 percent (20-for-60) from the floor and 57.7 percent (15-for-26) at the free throw line. TSU was just a shade better, hitting 37.9 percent (25-for-66) from the field and 66.7 percent (14-for-21) at the line.

Tech now faces three of its final four regular season games on the road, beginning Saturday with a rematch at Jacksonville State. Tipoff against the Gamecocks is at 5 p.m. CT.