By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team received major contributions from almost every player who stepped on the floor Friday night at Lipscomb, as the Golden Eagles notched their seventh win of the season by a score of 67-52.
With that seventh victory, Tech has equaled its total from the 2017-18 campaign, and has matched the program's best start in the nonconference slate since Bill Worrell's team won seven non-league games in the 2004-05 regular season.
If Tech can conclude its nonconference portion with an eighth win over Tennessee Wesleyan on December 29, it would be the best mark since Worrell's club won nine in 1990-91.
It was also Tech's third triumph on the road this year, all coming by double-digit margins of victory, which finalizes an above-.500 record for non-league road matchups (3-2).
Sophomore Jordan Brock had the sweet stroke from three-point range to start the game, as she connected on her first three attempts from downtown – all in the first 1-minute, 20-seconds – to give Tech some breathing room early on.
Brock scored five more points over the ensuing three quarters to finish as the team leader with 14, which marked the third time she has paced the TTU offense this season.
Lacy Cantrell and Abby Buckner would add six more points to the Golden Eagle assault out of the gate, capping a 15-2 run over the first six minutes, but Lipscomb answered with nine in a row to bring it back to a four-point game after one period.
Tech would seize control again in the second thanks to a spectacular defensive effort. LU scored just four points in the quarter on 2-of-14 shooting (14.3 percent), making consecutive games that TTU has allowed just 15 first-half tallies to its opponents.
The Golden Eagles kept the pedal to the floor to start the second half, stretching the lead to as many as 20 points with three and a half minutes remaining in the third.
The third stanza was also where Tech really started to exploit its advantage inside, as Lacy Cantrell went 3-for-3 in the painted area, scoring the final six of her 10 points on the game. She also ripped down five rebounds.
Buckner also collected six points in the quarter, adding to a solid all-around performance. The sophomore from Murfreesboro totaled nine points, grabbed six rebounds, and recorded a career-high five steals while playing a team-high 37 minutes.
Buckner was not the only Golden Eagle to produce in multiple stat categories.
Kentoria Alexander continued her remarkable efforts on the glass, matching a career-high with 10 rebounds. She also scored six points and dished out two assists. At just 5-feet, 7-inches, the senior from Tullahoma now has 62 boards for the year, making her the team leader with 6.2 per game.
Anacia Wilkinson scored six points, pulled down seven caroms and picked up four more blocked shots. Wilkinson's rim protection has been a key piece of the Tech defense all year long, as she is now up to 2.8 per game for the season, which ranks among the nation's best.
While Akia Harris's shooting struggles continued, she showcased her distributive abilities on Friday, matching a season high with eight assists.
Kesha Brady chipped in seven points to go with two rebounds and a steal, and added an emphatic block on a Lipscomb three-point attempt late in the game.
Perhaps the most encouraging performance of the game belonged to Mackenzie Coleman.
The 2017-18 OVC All-Newcomer Team selection has had difficulty acclimating herself to game action following an ankle injury in the preseason, but looked like her old self in the second half.
After picking up two points in the first half, Coleman ignited when she converted a three-point play on a contested layup in the closing seconds of the third quarter.
Following a stint on the bench, Coleman subbed back in with six minutes left in the fourth and went to work. The Edmonton, Ky. product put up six more points on 3-of-4 shooting over the next three minutes, but then sat out the remainder of the contest when things started to get excessively physical down the stretch.
She ended up with 11 points – her first outing of the season in double figures – while playing just 10 minutes.
Keyed by the effortx of Cantrell, Coleman and Wilkinson, Tech finished the game with 34 points in the paint to Lipscomb's 16.
Tech takes a two-game winning streak into the holiday break and will be back in action on Dec. 29 for a 6 p.m. tip with Tennessee Wesleyan in the Hooper Eblen Center.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
