By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—After being down by 15 points at one time, the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (6-12, 3-2 OVC) made a dramatic comeback in the second half to top Jacksonville State (8-9, 1-4 OVC) 56-54 with a last second jumper from Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson.
"I am beyond proud of our team and our heart and fight tonight," head coach Kim Rosamond remarked. "It wasn't pretty, but we found a way. I think you are seeing this team grow and blossom in front of your eyes. It's fun to be with this team and to be with them in the locker room, and I just look forward to the journey ahead."
Jacksonville State held the lead throughout the entire of the first half of the contest, opening with a 7-4 lead and 6:51 on the clock. The Gamecocks maintained that three-point lead late in to the quarter at 9-6 with a layup from Rayven Pearson at the 3:52 mark. JSU continued to hold the advantage at the end of the first quarter ending the period with an 11-9 lead over the Golden Eagles.
Into the second quarter, the Gamecocks slowly began to run away with it as they pulled ahead by five at 17-12 with 3:34 remaining. From there, Jacksonville State went on a 5-2 run to extend their lead out to 21-14 with 2:25 on the clock. The Gamecocks then closed out the second quarter leading 23-15 heading into the break.
"We were really struggling offensively in the first half," Rosamond continued. "Our defense really kept us in the game. We only allowed 23 points the first half. Finally, things started to shift in the second half. Our offense started to knock down some more points and then there was a stretch early in the third quarter when we stopped defending and that's when the lead bloomed."
At the half, Tech was shooting 19.2 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from the free throw line, while JSU was shooting 30 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from the charity stripe. Both teams corralled 24 off the glass, however, the Golden Eagles allowed eight turnovers to the Gamecocks' six.
As the third quarter began, it did not look well for the Tech team with JSU extending their lead out to 34-21 with a layup from Tyler Phelion and 6:18 on the clock. However, Tech found some momentum and went on a 9-4 run to cut the JSU lead down to 38-30 with 2:15 remaining in the quarter. From there, the Golden Eagles continued to battle and came within six points of the Gamecocks at 39-33 to close out the third quarter.
"I can't say enough though about our kids' energy and their effort," Rosamond said. "That changed the game. I thought our girls really fed off the excitement. When we started to get some turnovers, we started to frustrate them and they began to take quick shots so we were then able to box out and convert on the other end."
Finally, heading into the fourth quarter, Tech really found a spark. The Golden Eagles kept the third quarter drive going and opened play with a 6-0 run to tie things up at 39-39 with a jumper from Lindsey Jennings and 6:49 remaining in the contest. Tech continued to push JSU and took their first lead of the game at 41-39 with back-to-back layups from Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks and Jennings at the 5:36 mark. The Gamecocks would not relent easily, however. JSU came back to tie the game up at 43-43 with a layup from Tasha Magruder, and continued to battle back and forth with the Tech team. With things still tied up at 48-48 and 1:40 to go in the quarter, every possession mattered immensely.
The Golden Eagles held a slight advantage at 51-50 with a layup from Hickson and 1:06 to go. The Gamecocks immediately game back and tied things up at 54 with a layup from Phelion, who drew the Tech foul for the chance to make the three-point play and put JSU up. However, Phelion's attempt fell short and the Golden Eagles called for a timeout to advance the ball. As the Golden Eagles inbounded the ball they began to drain the clock, and then, finally, with four seconds remaining in the contest Hickson hits the game-winning jumper to seal a Tech victory at 56-54.
Hickson led the Golden Eagles with 14 points in the contest (seven of those 14 points coming within the last minute of the contest), while teammate Hannah Goolsby tallied 10 points and eight boards. Kandace Newry corralled a career-best 11 boards to lead Tech, while Akia Harris notched eight points and seven assists and Anacia Wilkinson totaled six points and a career-high four blocks. Phelion and Magruder both led the Gamecocks with 13 points, while Magruder added nine rebounds to her performance.
The Golden Eagles shot 39.6 percent from the field and 56.5 percent from the free throw line while the Gamecocks shot 35.1 percent from the floor and 56.5 percent from the charity stripe. It was not a good three-point shooting game for either team, as both totaled just one single three in the contest, a season-low on each side. Jacksonville State outrebounded Tech by a 43-38 margin, however, the Golden Eagles forced 19 turnovers while allowing only 14.
"We have to build off of this," Rosamond remarked. "I won't say this was our prettiest win, and it was not the best we have played offensive or defensively either. But we dug deep and we found a way to battle it out."
Tech returns to action on Wednesday when the Golden Eagles host Tennessee State in a 6 p.m. contest at the Hooper Eblen Center.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
