By: Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky.—The first game on the road had some bumps for the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (2-3) as they traveled to Highland Heights, Ky. to compete against Northern Kentucky (4-1). The Norse snapped the Golden Eagle's two-game wining streak when
Northern Kentucky came out hot hitting a three at the 9:25 mark and taking the 8-0 lead before a three from Hannah Goolsby at the 7:19 mark put Tech on the board. The Norse's strong offense continued to dominate with a layup from Northern Kentucky's Christine Roush giving them the 14-8 lead. The Golden Eagles battle to pull back within four with a lay-up from Tia Nicholson at 14-10. The Norse remained dominant and ended the first quarter with a 24-16 lead.
Tech came out stronger at the beginning of the second quarter with Howard hitting a jumper at the 9:23 mark, followed up by a jumper from Nicholson to pull within four at 24-20. The Golden Eagles continued to drive the ball and a three from Kandace Newry followed by a free throw point from Asia Harper pulled Tech within two at 26-24. However, the Norse quickly recovered from the Golden Eagle gain and run to take the 33-26 lead at the 3:20 mark. Northern Kentucky persisted and closed out the first half with a 38-31 lead.
The Golden Eagles came out flat in the second half, with the Norse hitting two three's and two layups to pull ahead by 12 at 48-36. From there, Northern Kentucky continued to dominate on the floor throughout the half, out shooting the Golden Eagles 69.6-percent to 28.6-percent, connecting on 3-of-4 from the three-point range compared to Tech's 2-of-8. The Norse totaled 24 points in the third and 26 in the fourth compared to the Golden Eagles 15 points in the third and 16 in the fourth.
Overall, Tech averaged 34.4-percent from the field connected on 22-of-64 from the field and 13-of-19 from the line. Northern Kentucky averaged an impressive 57.7-percent from the field, connecting on 30-of-52 from the field and 21-of-25 at the line.
The Golden Eagles were led by Howard who posted 16 points for the Golden Eagles hitting 7-of-21 from the field and gathering 3 rebounds. Goolsby added 12 points to the game, hitting 3-of-6 from the three-point range and 4-of-10 from the field. Nicholson and Harper both grabbed seven rebounds for Tech. The Norse were led by Rebecca Lyttle who posted 18 points and eight rebounds for Nothern Kentucky.
The Golden Eagles return home to host Southern Miss in a 6 p.m. contest on December 1 at the Eblen Center.
