By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Southeast Missouri women's basketball team outscored Tennessee Tech 17-1 over the final four-and-a-half minutes and pulled out an improbable, 60-57 Ohio Valley Conference victory over the Golden Eagles Saturday night in Eblen Center.
SEMO (12-7/5-1 OVC) has won six of its last seven games, while Tennessee Tech (5-14/1-5 OVC) has dropped five straight.
Sensational defense and relentless rebounding had propelled Tech through three quarters to a double-digit lead in boisterous Eblen Center.
Feeding off the noise and joys of hundreds of youth basketball players, the Golden Eagles clamped down on SEMO defensively, yielding just 22 percent shooting in the third quarter and 29 percent through the first three periods.
The trend continued early in the final session as Tech opened a 13-point lead with 6:12 remaining on a basket by Mariah Dean, making is a 56-43 contest.
With 4:13 remaining, Imani Johnson drained only the second 3-pointer of the night for the visitors, to jumpstart the rally which eventually won the game.
Tech went ice cold and couldn't solve the Redhawks' full-court pressure. Over the next five minutes, Tech missed seven straight shots and suffered six turnovers.
SEMO crept back in, turning those Tech mistakes into points and pulled within one, 57-56, with 1:41 remaining on a jumper by Erin Bollmann.
Tech missed a couple of shots, but SEMO also misfired but grabbed the rebound. With 11 seconds to play, Brianna Mitchell's baseline drive missed the mark but Bollmann found the weak-side rebound and her putback with eight seconds left lifted the Redhawks to a 58-57 lead.
Tech had one final chance with 7.8 seconds, but a turnover in the frontcourt erased any chance of victory and Mitchell's two free throws provided the three-point final difference.
Samaria Howard's second consecutive double-double paced Tech with 21 points and 10 rebounds. She also topped the Golden Eagle attack with four assists. Aliyah Smith finished with eight points and a game-high nine rebounds, Mariah Dean had four blocked shots and two steals, and Hannah Goolsby dished out five assists.
Bollmann did the most damage for the Redhawks with 21 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Mitchell added 12 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Johnson finished with 10 points.
Adrianna Murphy managed seven rebounds and five assists.
The Golden Eagles will enjoy working on their homecourt for a few days, before hosting Tennessee State on Thursday in a 6 p.m. contest.
For tickets or information, contact the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or call (931) 372-3940. Tickets may also be ordered online at TTUsports.com.
