By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – On Monday night, Trevecca Nazarene made the cross-town trip to Tennessee State and gave the homestanding Tigers a scare before TSU prevailed 84-40 in the Gentry Center.
On Thursday, the Trojans will hit I-40 to come to Cookeville to take on the Tennessee Tech women.
Tipoff for Thursday's game is set for 5:30 p.m. Roger Ealey will have the call on 106.1 The Eagle, while Dylan Vazzano and Frank Harrell will describe the action on ESPN+ (subscription required).
The Golden Eagles (2-1) and Trevecca (0-2) both have championship traditions and have seen their share of success. While the Trojans have just over 10 years of NCAA Division II experience under their belts, Trevecca was an NAIA powerhouse under the direction of Julie van Beek and Gary Van Atta (a name that should be familiar to long-time OVC fans as he also helped guide UT Martin in the early 2000s.)
Surprisingly, this is the first time in program history that the two Tennessee teams have met, even with both teams' varsity histories stretching back to the 1970s.
Tech is coming off of a thrilling 75-70 victory against Samford, overcoming a strong inside game as Anna Walker, Peyton Carter, Jada Guinn and Maaliya Owens all scored in double figures, while the Golden Eagles also got impressive outings from newcomers Reghan Grimes and Kiera Hill to earn the victory.
Like the season-opener against Ball State, the free-throw line was Tech's friend as the Golden Eagles finished 20-for-28 at the charity stripe, led by 5-for-6 efforts from Hill and Grimes. Samford's 11-for-23 on the other end made up more than the difference, while Tech also forced the Bulldogs into 17 turnovers along the way.
Tech rallied from a 12-point deficit early in the second quarter with a 16-0 run and outscoring the Bulldogs 20-3 just before the first half ended. The two teams battled back and forth until Carter hit a clutch 3-pointer, followed by a jumper from Guinn to give the Golden Eagles enough distance to outlast the Bulldogs' effort.
Meanwhile, in Nashville, the Trojans, under the direction of first-year head coach Karen Booker, stunned the Tigers with a 31-point outburst in the opening quarter. In the first 10 minutes, Trevecca shot 65 percent from the field, hitting 13 of its 20 shots, including 4-for-9 from long-range.
The Trojans led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter before Tennessee State and its press started to wear down the Division II squad. TSU was able to create 22 turnovers and turn those into 28 points, while the Trojans' shooting cooled off to 29.4 percent in the second and 30.8 in the third.
TSU outscored Trevecca 24-16 in the second and 28-16 in the third to make it a 69-63 Tiger lead at the end of the third quarter. After the Trojans tied the game at 59 with 3:05 left in the third, Zyion Shannon drained a jumper to retake the lead for TSU and the Tigers never trailed again. TSU extended its lead out to 11 with 5:56 remaining in the game, but Trevecca challenged once more, cutting the deficit down to two points with 32 seconds left.
The Trojans lost the ball on a turnover, forcing a desperation foul and putting Gia Adams at the line. She knocked down both tosses to make it a four-point game – the final margin. Bayleigh Carmichael attempted a three to give Trevecca an opportunity, but the shot failed and the Trojans quickly had to foul again with time running out following the two misses at the line on the other end.
Lili Wilkin led Trevecca with 17 points, while Faith Wilken added 16, Carmichael 13 and Keeley Carter with a double-double – 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Adams led TSU with 20 points, while Lyric Cole had 19, Erica Haynes-Overton 17 and Shannon 13, with Saniah Parker and Sierra McCullough pulling down 10 boards each.
Thursday's game will actually be the sixth game of the season for Trevecca. The contests against Southwest Baptist and Drury are the only ones that count so far as Fisk and Tennessee State were exhibition contests for the Trojans – as will the Tech game on Thursday even though it counts for the Golden Eagles. Trevecca also hosts Alabama-Huntsville tonight in its home opener before visiting Tech on Thursday.
The Trojans are currently averaging 69 points on offense and 75 on defense, while shooting .434 from the field, .333 from beyond-the-arc and .871 at the line. Carter is the team's leading scorer and assist-giver, averaging 23.5 points and 3.5 assists.
Tech, meanwhile, recorded its 995th win on Monday and the 94th for head coach Kim Rosamond. The Golden Eagles are averaging 62.5 points on offense and 65.5 on defense, while shooting .315 from the field, .364 from long-range and .853 at the line. Walker currently stands as Tech's top scorer and rebounder with 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game so far. Guinn leads the team on average in assists with 4.0 per game.
Season tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or visit TTUsports.com to order.
Photo | Jim Dillon
