By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State stayed just far enough ahead of Tennessee Tech in the fourth quarter as the home-standing Eagles scored 12 points at the free-throw line and got 15 points from Sandra Lin in the final 10 minutes as MSU took a 70-68 victory over the Golden Eagles on Thursday night.
Tech falls to 13-8, 7-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday as they host Southeast Missouri at 1 p.m.
Anna Walker tied Tech's largest lead of the game with 9:47 remaining in the contest, but a 6-0 run by Morehead (9-13, 5-6 OVC) with two second-chance layups and a pair of Lin free throws put the home squad back up by one with 8:14 remaining.
From there the lead ping-ponged back and forth until Maaliya Owens gave Tech its final lead with 5:50 remaining on a 3-pointer at 54-52. After Tolisha Walker gave Morehead the 56-54 lead on a layup off of a Tech turnover, the Golden Eagle Walker connected on a jump shot to even the score once more at 56.
Lin knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:09 left, then Reghan Grimes answered with a long-range shot of her own, making it 59-59. Down on the other end, Lin drained another 3-pointer with 2:19 remaining, then Jada Guinn cut the deficit to one on a layup.
With just over a minute remaining, Lin pulled up for a 3 and missed the shot, but Jordan Brock was called for a foul, sending Lin to the line for three – she connected on all of them to extend Morehead's advantage to 65-61.
With 47 seconds left, Grimes knocked down another trey to cut it back to a one-point, 65-64 game. Morehead chewed time off the clock, forcing the Golden Eagles into late fouls to try to get the ball back. Crystal Corley missed the front end of a pair to put Morehead back up by two, then Veronica Charles hit both of hers to put the home team back up by four.
With seven seconds remaining, Anna Walker drained a jumper and Tech followed by immediately fouling Lin. She missed her first shot and hit the second to make it a three-point advantage at 69-66. Jayden Rhodes fouled Guinn to take the long-range shot out of the equation and put her at the line for two, where she hit both shots to make it a one-point 69-69 Morehead lead with five seconds left.
Grimes fouled Lin and she hit the first of the two, giving Tech one last chance. Peyton Carter took the inbound and heaved it toward the basket as time expired, the lob sailed almost the distance but fell just short and to the right.
Lin ended the game with 22 points on 4-of-9 shooting – 3-for-4 from 3-point range – and 11-for-13 at the charity stripe. Charles was Morehead's other double-digit scorer, collecting a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Walker led the Golden Eagles with 21 points on 9-for-11 shooting with five rebounds, while Brock scored 14. Grimes and Owens each had 11.
Statistically, Tech had a better game shooting – connecting on 46 percent from the field, including 64.3 in the fourth quarter. On the glass, however, Morehead controlled the battle pulling down 38 boards and 14 offensively. The home Eagles scored 17 second-chance points – nine of those in the fourth quarter.
It was slow going in the first quarter with Tech holding a 14-11 advantage after 10 minutes with both teams shooting an identical 4-for-13 from the field. Brock scored nine of her points in the opening period as she went 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
Morehead surged in the second, outscoring Tech 17-12 as the hosts led 29-26 at the intermission. Tech outscored Morehead 16-11 in the third to retake the lead, bolstered by a 7-0 run early in the new half.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
