By: Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
CINCINNATI, Ohio—The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (2-5, 0-0 OVC) kicked off their four day road trip against Xavier (5-1) on Thursday in an afternoon matchup on Kid's Day at the Cintas Center. In front of a crowd of 3,216 screaming fans, the Musketeers put the pressure on the Golden Eagles defeating them 64-47.
It was a battle in the first quarter, with Xavier scoring first with a layup at the 9:26 mark. Asia Harper responded with her own bucket at the 9:11 mark to tie the game at 2-2, the only tie of the game. The Musketeers controlled the momentum throughout the matchup pulling away on a 9-4 run to bring the score to 11-6 at the 5:23 mark. The Golden Eagles battled to come within two-points at 16-14 with a good free throw shot from Alliyah Smith, however, Xavier continued to dominate in the game. Nearing the need of the first quarter Tech applied pressure onto the Musketeers with a jumper from Yaktavia Hickson at the 34 second mark to push the score to 19-16, and then Smith followed up with a last second layup to end the first quarter with a score of 19-18.
Xavier ran away with the game in the second quarter. Tech hitting only two buckets compared to Xavier's seven. The Golden Eagles hit a scoring drought not scoring their first point until the 4:14 mark when Hickson hit a jumper to pull within nine at 29-20. The Musketeers continued to stay tough, closing out the first half with a score of 36-24. Holding Tech to 31.3-percent scoring average from the field compared to Xavier's 40-percent average.
The third quarter fared better for the Golden Eagle team. Tech put down 14 buckets compared to Xavier's 12. The third quarter was highlighted by Howard who had a jumper at the 4:17 mark followed by a good free throw shot to pull within nine at 40-31. A three from Goolsby with 1:13 left in the quarter brought Tech closer at 46-35, and the Golden Eagles continued to fend off the Musketeers and allowed Howard to hit a three with 10 seconds left in the quarter to pull within eight at 46-38.
Into the fourth quarter, Xavier toughened up their defense and continued to drive the ball to the hoop. The Musketeers went on a 6-0 run to pull ahead 52-38, and then forced a scoring drought on Tech not allowing their first bucket until the 6:41 mark when Howard put up a layup. Xavier continued to play smart and force the fouls to close out the game 64-47 over Tech.
The Golden Eagles averaged 30.5-percent from the field, 20-percent from behind the arc, and 56.3-percent from the line, whereas the Musketeers ended the game with a 35-percent average from the field, 22.2-percent average from the three-point range, and 78.3-percent average from the line. Tech was led by Howard who put up 14 points and connected on 6-of-17 from the field. Smith grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, and Harper posted eight points and four assists. The Musketeers were led by Glover who gathered 21 points and 10 boards in the matchup.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday, when the travel to Greensboro, N.C. to compete against UNC-Greensboro in a 1 p.m. contest.
