By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE – With the complex and difficult schedule the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team had in front of itself to begin the 2021-22 campaign, there were bound to be some speed bumps along the way.
While learning from these early-season games will help the Golden Eagles become a better team when the Ohio Valley Conference slate begins in just over a month, the sting of a tough 65-47 loss to Middle Tennessee on Monday night will give the Tech women some motivation to improve.
The memory of Monday's loss will have to be short-lived as the Golden Eagles depart Tuesday morning for San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the Thanksgiving holiday. Tech will take on FGCU on Friday and New Mexico State on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles had a tough night shooting, finishing 16-of-59 from the field, including 3-for-29 from 3-point range. Tech was 4-for-13 in the first quarter, 2-for-15 in the second and 5-for-19 in the third before getting shots to land late in the fourth.
Middle Tennessee (4-0), on the other hand, had a hot hand. The Lady Raiders hit 50 percent in the second and third quarters, finishing 24-of-53 for the contest, including 9-for-23 from long-range. Jalynn Gregory led Middle Tennessee with 15 points as she was 6-for-12 from the field, while Alexis Whittington, who was 4-for-5 from the floor – including 4-for-4 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 at the free-throw line – had 14 points and nine rebounds. Courtney Whitson had 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting.
Tech had one double-digit scorer as Jada Guinn ended the contest with 11 points, going 4-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-7 from the line. Anna Jones had a team-high seven rebounds, but the Lady Raiders contained their former teammate, holding the Tech graduate student to six points, including four at the free-throw line.
Middle Tennessee forced Tech into 16 turnovers, converting those into 17 points. The Golden Eagles were able to control the glass, outrebounding the Lady Raiders 42-35.
Mackenzie Coleman and Maaliya Owens each had nine points for the Golden Eagles (2-2).
Photo | Jim Dillon
