By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
GEORGETOWN, Ky. – Tennessee Tech women's basketball got back to its winning ways Saturday afternoon, overcoming poor 3-point shooting and a first-half offensive storm from Eastern Kentucky to prevail 81-68 inside Georgetown College's Davis-Reid Alumni Gym.
"This was another great team win tonight," said head coach Kim Rosamond. "We needed a positive response after what happened Thursday night, and I thought we accomplished that."
"You have to credit (Eastern Kentucky) and Coach (Chrissy) Roberts. For a team that hasn't won a conference game yet and has dealt with some adversity throughout the season, I thought they played extremely well, shot the ball well, and gave us a really tough game, especially in the first half."
The victory moves Tech to 15-4 on the season and 7-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference, which is the program's best start through eight league games since the 2010-11 season.
The seventh OVC win matches the highest total in Rosamond's three seasons, and is also Tech's seventh on the road this year, the most the program has seen since 2012-13.
Five Golden Eagles scored in double figures, led by Akia Harris and Jordan Brock with 14 each. Kentoria Alexander and Mackenzie Coleman both had 13 points, and Lacy Cantrell had 10.
"That's the way we want to play every night," Rosamond said. "We've shown all year that there are a lot of players on this team who can score the basketball, and tonight we needed that balance offensively in order to win the ball game.
Coleman and Harris each had 10 of their tallies in the first half, and Cantrell had nine, which carried the team through its 0-for-10 performance from the 3-point line.
The production from that trio, which went a combined 13-for-19 in the first 20 minutes, also played a crucial role in weathering one of EKU's best offensive halves of basketball this season.
The Colonels shot 51.5 percent from the floor, 60 percent from 3-point range and 83 percent from the free throw line to score 44 points, and hold a four-point lead at the break.
The 44-point output through two quarters was more than EKU had scored in four of its past five games.
Abby Buckner knocked down TTU's first triple three minutes into the third quarter, but the outside shots never consistently fell for the Golden Eagles, who finished a season-low 2-of-18 (11.1%).
However, good teams make adjustments, and Tech did just that by pumping the ball inside to its post players, and taking advantage of offensive rebounds.
TTU scored 48 of its 81 points in the painted area, shot 56.3 percent on its two-point field goals, and produced 15 second-chance points from its 12 offensive boards.
"We are a team that looks to shoot the three, and we shoot the three extremely well," Rosamond said. "To go 2-of-18, shoot 11 percent, and still be able to put 81 points on the board is a tremendous positive for us."
"I thought Mackenzie Coleman was really good when she got touches down in the paint. Even when they weren't scores, I thought she did a really nice job of knowing when to kick it out, and it gave us some really good shots."
Turnovers and free throw shooting were also major parts of the equation.
Tech committed just seven turnovers, its lowest total of the season, and continued its recent trend of clean offensive execution. Over their last three contests, the Golden Eagles are averaging just 9.3 turnovers.
In addition, the Golden Eagles forced EKU into 14 giveaways, and converted them into 19 points.
Tech showed yet again why it is ranked in the top 25 in the country in free throw shooting, as it connected on 21 of its 26 attempts (80.8%). It also made 4-of-6 tries in the final two minutes, which sealed the victory.
TTU would make its move halfway through the third quarter, with Eastern Kentucky holding a two-point lead at 50-48. Led by Kesha Brady, Coleman and Anacia Wilkinson, Tech would mount a 15-4 run over the remainder of the period to take a 63-54 lead with 10 minutes to play.
Eastern Kentucky would get back to within four points, 70-66, with six minutes left, but the final spurt of the contest belonged to the visitors, who outscored the Colonels 11-2 through the end of regulation to slam the door shut.
"I really liked how we grabbed control again after they made it close in the fourth quarter," said Rosamond. "Again, we talk a lot about 'response'. That was a point where we had to respond to the momentum they were building at a crucial moment in the game, and I thought we did a great job of finishing."
Wilkinson finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
Brady ended up with six points to go with her two steals, which tied Brock for the team high.
Buckner's 3-pointer was her only basket, but she led the team in rebounds for the second straight game with nine.
The Golden Eagles won the battle on the glass, 40-35.
"I'm just so proud of the effort from our kids tonight, and the way they were able to refocus after a tough road game at Morehead State," Rosamond said. "We took another step forward in our process tonight, and we were able to get another huge win on the road in conference play. We'll enjoy this one tomorrow, and then we'll get ready for two more big games next week in front of our great fans."
Tech will enjoy the friendly confines of the Eblen Center for two games next week, as it hosts Austin Peay Thursday night at 8 p.m., and Murray State at 5:30 on Saturday afternoon.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
