By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – As the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team returned back from Richmond, Ky., on January 9, head coach Kim Rosamond gathered the troops in the back of the bus, determined that the Golden Eagles were going to bounce back from a frustrating loss to the Colonels.
"That was a tough weekend," she said. "We were 0-2 on that road trip and we left Eastern Kentucky very, very disappointed. When we got back into Cookeville, I went to the back of the bus and told them if we could play as hard as we played against them, we would fix the execution piece."
In the five games since, it looks like they may be on the right path. In the span since, Tech has lost once, pulling together four wins. That includes a decisive win on Thursday as the Golden Eagles powered their way to a 74-58 victory against that same Eastern Kentucky team in the Hooper Eblen Center.
"They have committed to doing that," Rosamond said. "We have really started to focus in getting better defensively, playing more disciplined on the defensive end and executing offensively. We are a completely different team over the last three weeks and I give the credit to our players. They have committed themselves and gotten focused. They took the lessons we learned that weekend and have really applied them in the last five games."
Right from the onset, the Golden Eagles never let up. Tech outscored EKU 23-14 in the first quarter, saw its only slowdown in the second, then put the game away in the second half.
"It was a wonderful team effort tonight," said Rosamond. "It all started on the defensive end. We only gave up 58 points to a team that scored 73 the last time we played them just three weeks ago. Our defensive effort and execution was very solid tonight. We were able to get stops and get out in transition. We were able to break out in transition and get some fast break points and that just loosened us up and opened up the game for us."
In the return visit from the Colonels, Tech was able to get 72 points out of its starters, proving just how potent the Golden Eagles' offense can be as all five starters ended the night in double figures.
Anna Jones, the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, led the Golden Eagles (8-5, 6-4 OVC) in scoring with 17 points. Jones was 6-for-9 from the field and 4-for-5 from the line. Kesha Brady (16 points, eight rebounds) and Mackenzie Coleman (15 points, eight rebounds) flirted with double-doubles, while Jordan Brock and Jada Guinn each tallied 12 points.
"Any time you can get five starters in double figures, that's really hard to guard," Rosamond said. "Offensively, that's it's our philosophy and what we preach – we want to share the basketball. It's great to have someone who can score 25 points, but when you can't key in on one person and all five players on the court can score, that makes us really tough to defend."
For Guinn, it was her first career double-double as she recorded a game-high 12 rebounds. It is the third double-double for the Golden Eagles this season, after Coleman and Jones recorded one in the previous outing against the Colonels. Guinn was halfway to a triple-double, collecting a game-high five assists as well.
Tech dominated the boards, collecting 43 caroms to EKU's 34, but the impressive number was 16 offensive rebounds, leading to 21 second-chance points.
The Golden Eagles were also able to take advantage of their trips to the free-throw line. Tech finished the night 18-for-23, led by seven points there for Brady and five for Coleman.
Two of the three players that had breakout games for the Colonels in the previous matchup were contained as Kendall Wingler, who scored 22 previously, was held to six and Bria Bass, who had 11 last time, scored seven. The third in the trio, Alice Recanati, improved just slightly from 19 points to 22. EKU's leading scorer, Jayla Johnson, finished the contest with 11 points.
"EKU is probably the most improved team I have seen in the OVC this season," Rosamond said. "(Head coach) Sam (Williams) is doing a great job with them. They are a very tough team to guard. They have a lot of weapons and have a lot of players who can just shoot the ball and do a lot of things offensively."
Tech also kept EKU from taking advantage of mistakes as the Golden Eagles tied a season-low in turnovers, giving up the ball just seven times.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday as they play the second game in a twinbill with Morehead State. Tipoff from the Eblen Center is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Photo | Matt Dexter, TTU Athletics
