By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – On the same day senior guard Jordan Brock was honored for surpassing the 1,000-point mark in her career, she showed why she has been a crucial part of the Tennessee Tech offense over the last few years.
Brock ended the game with 22 points as she helped lead the Golden Eagles to a 73-59 victory over Western Kentucky on Sunday in a game that was a quick change after Saturday's opponent, Samford, had to cancel as the team entered COVID protocols.
That will also close out Tech's pre-Christmas slate as Mercer's trip to Cookeville tomorrow has been canceled, leaving the Golden Eagles' next contest on December 30 as Tech returns to Ohio Valley Conference play with a visit from Southeast Missouri.
"I'm very, very proud of our team," Rosamond said. "It was a very quick turnaround with a lot of change over the last two days. There was a lot of uncertainty, but our kids responded and handled it very well. They put together a great team effort today,"
Brock made plenty of noise though, knocking down four 3-pointers and moving her five away from breaking the Tech career record for 3-pointers made, currently held by assistant coach Allison Clark with 225.
The Golden Eagles in total had four players in double-figure scoring. Mackenzie Coleman had a nearly perfect night as she scored 17 points, missing just two layups on the night. She was 3-for-3 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 at the line, while shooting 6-for-8 from the floor. Kesha Brady scored 13 points and now stands 14 points away from reaching her own 1,000-point milestone. Anna Jones also added 10 points.
"Any time you can put together four players a night in double figures, that's really hard to defend," Rosamond said.
Jones narrowly missed her first double-double with the Golden Eagles, pulling down a team-high nine rebounds. She, along with Jada Guinn, also led the team with five assists.
Tech also had its best performance if the season so far from long range, knocking down 12 3-pointers, and also had an efficient 13-for-17 effort at the free-throw line.
Western Kentucky (1-5) had a strong shooting night, shooting 54.8 percent from the field, but the Golden Eagles were able to slow them down by forcing 23 turnovers. Tech also controlled the glass, outrebounding the Lady Toppers 36-26.
"We outrebounded a very athletic Western Kentucky team by 10, with 19 offensive boards, and that's huge for us," Rosamond said.
Tech had a fast start early, but the two teams battled to a 21-all tie through the first quarter. The Golden Eagles stepped its defense up, holding WKU to a 1-for-6 effort as Tech outscored the Lady Toppers 16-6 to take a 37-27 lead at the half. Tech extended its lead in the third quarter as the Golden Eagles rained 3-pointers, going 5-for-8 from long range and outscored WKU 24-18.
"With the effort in the second quarter to get us up by 10, and the kids did a really great job of finishing down the stretch. There's a lot to improve on, but there were a lot of positives."
Fatou Pouye led WKU with 19 points, while Myriah Haywood scored 14 and Ally Collett added 12.
Photo | Jim Dillon
