COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Playtime is over. It's time to get serious.
The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team finished off its second exhibition game Tuesday night with a 73-54 win over Martin Methodist, and now turns its attention to the regular season which opens Saturday night in Eblen Center as part of a Tech Tripleheader.
The Golden Eagles used a fast start and strong rebounding to down the Redhawks and put a lid on their practice games. The win came three nights after coach Jim Davis' team defeated Tennessee Wesleyan in its first taste of action.
Not that the NAIA Redhawks didn't put up a fight. The visitors battled to the finish and held Tech to 37 percent shooting from the field.
Second-chance points coupled with a huge advantage in point off turnovers were the difference. Tech had 21 offensive rebounds and owned a 23-7 edge in second-chance scoring. The Golden Eagles forced 19 Redhawk turnovers, and outscored Martin Methodist, 24-4 off those miscues.
Sophomore Asia Harper had the headlines on the stats sheet, producing 18 points and 12 points, along with three assists and two blocked shots. She was 8-for-12 from the field.
"I think we did really well today," Harper said. "If we keep playing together as a team we should have a great season."
Samaria Howard added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Yaktavia Hickson had 11 points, a game-high six assists along with four rebounds and two steals. Other numbers of note include Treyvonna Brooks with six points and seven rebounds, Kandace Newry with seven points, and Alliyah Smith with eight points and seven rebounds as the Golden Eagles owned a 55-40 margin on the boards.
Brionna Taylor was the lone Redhawk in double figures, scoring 13. Teairra Luckett added eight, while Abby Clayton provided seven points and seven rebounds.
"We had a good win today and a great effort by our defense," said Davis. "Our help wasn't always good when we needed it, but we played hard and our goal is always to allow 30 points or less in each half.
"Asia could do no wrong," Davis added. "She had a great line all across. The only criticism I have is that, at times she wasn't there on defense. Otherwise, she had a great game.
"Trey was solid again, not so much defensively but in every other phase of the game," he said about Brooks' night. "We started her tonight (over Smith) because she fit as a better match up."
The Golden Eagles forced an up-tempo game in the opening stanza, and the Redhawks struggled to keep up. Martin Methodist missed its first five shots and had three turnovers as Tech raced out to a 13-0 lead in the first four-and-a-half minutes. Tech closed out the first quarter with a 20-12 lead.
Davis used numerous lineup combinations, testing the way his roster fits together with seven newcomers. The Golden Eagles maintained their edge throughout the second quarter, heading to intermission with a 15-point lead at 39-24. Seven of the 12 players who saw first half action were in the scoring column, paced by a dozen from Harper on 5-for-6 shooting.
Despite being outshot in the third period while hitting just 23 percent, the Golden Eagles added to their lead by one point and owned a 52-36 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.
Scoring picked up on both ends in the final period, with Tech holding a 21-18 edge for the final margin.
The Golden Eagles will open the doubleheader in Eblen Center Saturday evening with a 5:30 p.m. contest against Arkansas State. The men will follow with a game against Piedmont College.
"It's going to get a whole lot tougher very quickly," Davis said. "Arkansas State is a very, very good basketball team. They're athletic at every position and we're going to have to play better than we did in both of these games to beat them."
The day opens with Tech's Homecoming football game at 1:30 p.m. against Austin Peay in Tucker Stadium.
Basketball season tickets are on sale by visiting the Athletic Ticket Office in Eblen Center, or by calling (931) 372-3940. Tickets may also be ordered online at TTUsports.com.
