By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The new year will open with the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team residing in the win column after the Golden Eagles opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 81-74 victory Thursday afternoon in Eblen Center.
Tech (5-9/1-0 OVC) overcame an ice-cold opening that included 10 Golden Eagle turnovers and a 13-point deficit in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles fought their way back into the contest during the second quarter, heading to halftime within three points, 44-41.
The Golden Eagles made up two points in the third quarter to head to the final period down by one, then held an eight-point advantage in the final quarter to claim the seven-point win.
Senior Samaria Howard paced Tech with 22 points and junior Hannah Goolsby added 14 points and five assists, but it was the pick-me-up play off the bench by Yaktavia Hickson and Mariah Dean that lifted coach Jim Davis' team to the victory.
Hickson had 19 points, four assists and three rebounds. She was 5-of-7 shooting from the field including 2-for-3 from long range, and knocked down a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. Dean, who missed the first 10 games after undergoing preseason foot surgery, dumped in 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting, and added seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
The Golden Eagles connected on an impressive 55.3 percent from the field, hitting 26-for-47, including half of their 10 3-point tries. Tech was 24-of-29 at the free throw line for 82.8 percent, and held a 29-24 edge in rebounds.
Eastern Illinois (1-12/0-1 OVC) also shot the ball well, hitting 46.4 percent overall (26-for-56), and 40 percent (6-of-15) from downtown. The Panthers were 16-for-21 at the charity stripe for 76.2 percent.
A couple of other impressive numbers from the contest are listed in the assists column. EIU had 18 assists and Tech dished up 17.
The Panthers had five players in double digits in scoring, led by Grace Lennox, who also had seven assists and three steals. Phylicia Johnson was 5-for-10 and added 14 points, while Shakita Cox netted 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Halle Stull and Alece Shumpert scored 10 apiece for EIU. Erica Brown scored eight and led the Panthers on the glass with nine rebounds.
The largest difference in the game came with 4:05 to play in the opening quarter when Lennox hit a jumper to put the Panthers on top, 19-6. Hickson scored five down the stretch to make it a 24-15 lead after one period.
A 3-pointer by Goolsby got Tech's second quarter comeback underway, with plenty of damage from Hickson and Dean as the Golden Eagles eventually pulled to within three at the break on a three-point play by Lindsey Jennings.
Tech tied things three times and actually took a slim lead in the third, before ending the period on the short end of a 57-56 tally.
Baskets by Brown and Cox, and two free throws by Lennox pushed EIU on top 63-59 early in the fourth, and Tech continued to battle from behind until Howard twined together a three-point play with 5:20 to play that lifted the Golden Eagles into a 67-65 lead.
The Golden Eagles were able to hold onto their edge by hitting 10-for-10 at the free throw line, along with a couple of jumpers from Howard, over the final five minutes.
Howard led the Golden Eagles with 22 points and two assists. Yaktavia Hickson set a career high 19 points with 4 assists in the game, while Dean hit a career-high 15 points with 7 boards in the match. Grace Lennox led EIU with 18 points and seven assists.
Tech will host SIU Edwardsville Saturday in an Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader, with the women's game set for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff and the men's contest to follow.
