By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (9-14, 6-4 OVC) continue to stay hot on their journey to the OVC tournament with their 81-71 victory over UT Martin (6-17, 3-7 OVC) on Wednesday evening in the Hooper Eblen Center. The Golden Eagle victory over the Skyhawks snapped the nine-game UT Martin winning streak in the series and brought the series score to 45-22 still in favor of Tech.
"It was a really big win for our team and our program tonight," head coach Kim Rosamond remarked. "This was a big game for us in the standings. UT Martin is such a great, championship program and it's a team we haven't beat in seven years. Our kids knew that and they wanted it. It was a really big step for our program tonight."
The Golden Eagles and Skyhawks opened up game play wrapped up at 14 with 1:16 to go in the first quarter. However, Tech went on a 4-0 run to close out first quarter play with an 18-14. As second quarter play got underway, the Skyhawks and Golden Eagles once again got into a battle. UT Martin quickly tied things back up at 20 with a three from Jessy Ward. From there, TTU and UTM held a tie at 25 and 5:41 on the clock before the Skyhawks held a slight 30-29 advantage heading into the quarters media timeout at 4:34. Out of the break, the Golden Eagles regrouped and took the 33-30 lead with two at the line from Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks before closing out the second quarter with a 37-34 lead.
At the break, Tech was shooting 53.6 percent from the floor, 25 percent from downtown, and 100 percent (6-for-6) from the free throw line while UT Martin was shooting 44.8 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from the three-point range, and 100 percent (3-for-3) from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles grabbed 37 off the glass to the Skyhawks' 34 and forced eight UT Martin turnovers while allowing just six.
"UT Martin is a very difficult team to guard," Rosamond continued. "But I thought our team had the effort, intensity, and the focus all night long. We've had spurts and quarters where we lost focus and intensity, but I am really pleased with the way we attacked the press and how we played with high energy tonight."
Once play resumed in the third quarter, Tech picked up right where they left off. The Golden Eagles pulled ahead by nine at 45-36 with a layup from Brooks at the 7:40 mark. Tech continued to add buffer to their lead with a Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson jumper with 3:17 on the clock to pull ahead 58-44. From there, a Hannah Goolsby jumper with 2:44 to go in the quarter pushed the Golden Eagles ahead by 14, before closing out third quarter play with a 66-54 advantage over the Skyhawks.
Into the fourth quarter, Tech capitalized on their lead further with a Hickson bucket from downtown at the 6:15 mark to lead UT Martin by 14 at 71-57. An Asia Harper jumper with 4:05 to go maintained the Golden Eagle 14-point lead with 4:05 remaining in the contest before Tech closed out game play with a commanding Tech 81-71 victory.
Brooks led the Golden Eagles with 22 points, tying her career-high previously set in the season at Winthrop. She added three rebounds and three assists to her performance, while shooting 76.9 percent from the field (10-for-13). Hannah Goolsby grabbed a career-best nine off the glass to lead Tech on the boards, adding 13 points and four assists and connecting on 6-of-6 at the line. Two other Golden Eagles also found themselves scoring in double-figures: Hickson totaled 19 points with a career-best six assists, while Harris put up 13 points with six rebounds and six assists. Myah Taylor led UT Martin with 18 points and five rebounds, while teammate Ashton Feldhaus tallied 16 points for the Skyhawks. Two other UT Martin players scored in double-figures: Janekia Mason had 13 points while Emanye Robertson had 12.
"I loved the way Trey played tonight," Rosamond said. "She was confident, and she was composed like the way a senior is supposed to play. Trey is very coachable and has been a lot of fun to coach. I have a lot of confidence in her and I know her teammates do too. She was a big key to our transition, I thought she showed so much heart tonight."
As a team, the Golden Eagles dished out a season-best 25 assists to the Skyhawks' 16. Tech shot 55.4 percent from the field, 30 percent from beyond the arc, and a season-best 100 percent from the free throw line (16-for-16) while UT Martin shot 43.9 percent from the floor, 45 percent from the three-point range, and 70.6 percent from the charity stripe.
The Golden Eagles will play their next two contests on the road, traveling next to Charleston, Ill., to compete against OVC opponent Eastern Illinois in a 1 p.m. contest.
Photo by Jim Dillon
