By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (0-1) opened up their 2016-17 season at home versus Wright State (1-0) Friday evening, where the Raiders defeated the Golden Eagles 65-54.
"The positive from tonight is that when there was a point in the game when everything was going against us, our kids didn't quit," head coach Kim Rosamond remarked. "They came back and cut the lead to get us right back in the game. However, Wright State is a well-coached basketball team and when we got back in it they went to zone and we struggled with that."
It was a tight first quarter as Tech and Wright State opened the game neck and neck at 10-10 at the 4:22 mark. However, the Raiders went on a 9-3 run to take a lead at 19-13 with 1:11 on the clock. A Lexi Smith layup with four second left in the half put up Wright State 21-13 going into the second quarter.
The Golden Eagles began to close in on the Raider lead in the second quarter, opening with a 4-2 run to pull within eight at 25-17. Wright State's Smith knocked down a layup while drawing the foul from Hannah Goolsby to create the three-point play at the 4:23 mark to extend their lead to 30-19 over Tech. The Golden Eagles found some momentum in the latter part of the first half; going on a 7-4 run to close out the half with two at the line from Yaktavia Hickson.
At the half, Wright State was shooting 34.4 percent from the floor to Tech's 29.4 percent. The Raiders also got to the foul line and connected on 11-of-14 attempts, while the Golden Eagles only got to the charity stripe nine times and hit five of the attempts.
Into the third quarter, Wright State maintained a buffer in their lead notching a layup at the 5:25 mark to bring the score to 45-31. But the Purple and Gold squad refused to relent easily. Tech had a jolt of energy and went on a 10-3 run to cut the lead down to seven by the end of the third quarter.
The Golden Eagles kept that momentum into the fourth quarter, however, the Raiders continued to adjust and held a 10-point buffer at 54-44 with 5:49 to go in the game. Late into the fourth quarter, Tech began to draw fouls hoping to knock Wright State off their drive, however, the Raiders held on to defeat the Golden Eagles 65-54.
Hickson and Akia Harris both led Tech with 12 points each. Hickson shot 26.7 percent from the line and added three rebounds, while Harris shot 38.5 percent and grabbed four off the glass. Asia Harper put up a career-high three blocks in the contest, while Lindsey Jennings and Treyvonna Brooks each totaled nine points and seven boards.
"I thought Yaktavia Hickson can really be a game changer for us," Rosamond said. "She is aggressive with the basketball and finds ways to get to the rim and to the free throw line. We just have to do it more consistently as a team."
Lexi Smith led Wright State with 25 points and nine boards in the game. Smith took advantage of Golden Eagle fouls to get to the line and connect on 13-of-15 attempts, while shooting 46 percent from the field.
"We didn't have an answer for Lexi Smith," Rosamond continued. "She is a bear to guard in the paint and hard to get around. She used her strength very well, and we didn't use our athleticism and agility to get around them."
Two other Raiders found themselves in double-figures: Chelsea Welch totaled 16 points, while teammate Emily Vogelpohl put up 10.
As a team, Wright State shot 32.7 percent from the floor to the Golden Eagle's 29 percent. It was a game of fouls as the Raiders connected on 27-of-34 from the charity stripe, while Tech went to the free throw line just 18 times and made 11 of their attempts.
"We will take this game and use it as feedback and let it make us stronger, Rosamond stated. "Overall, I was proud of the team's heart and proud of their fight. I think they stayed together and that's what we are going to be about. We are going to play very hard on both ends of the floor. We just have to get back to doing what we do well, which is defending and holding people to one shot. We need to execute and run our plays. We will watch the film and talk about what we need to do better and get ready for Monday."
The Golden Eagles get right back into action on Monday when Tech hosts Tennessee Wesleyan in a 5:30 p.m. contest in the Hooper Eblen Center.
You can follow the Golden Eagles online on the TTU Sports and Tennessee Tech Women's Basketball Facebook pages or on Twitter at @TTUGoldenEagles and @TTUWBB.
Photo by Jim Dillon
