By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – While Sunday's game wasn't a win for the Tennessee Tech women over Middle Tennessee, it did show how much progress the Golden Eagles have made in a year's time.
The 63-47 final on Sunday wasn't the desired result, but it's definitely something to build from.
The Golden Eagles fall to 2-6 on the season with a few chances to improve their record before Ohio Valley Conference begins in 18 days. Tech hosts Tennessee Wesleyan on Thursday for its annual Education Day contest, then Northern Kentucky next Monday before closing out the non-conference portion of the schedule on the road at North Alabama on Dec. 21.
In last season's visit to Murfreesboro, the Golden Eagles fell 83-45, but this time around, Tech took the battle to the visiting Lady Raiders, bringing an aggressive defense to the table and making Middle Tennessee work for every point.
It worked as the Golden Eagles were able to keep pace in the opening quarter, not allowing MTSU to climb out by more than six points in the first 10 minutes, then chipped it back down to a one-point deficit in the final 60 seconds before Jalynn Gregory fed Anastasiia Boldyreva under the basket for a layup to make it a 12-9 Lady Raider lead after one.
Anna Walker, Yaubryon Chambers and Kiera Hill were able to get a bucket each, while Reagan Hurst was 2-for-2 at the line with Walker chipping in a completed free throw for Tech's nine points in the quarter. However, the Golden Eagles finished the opening stanza 3-for-12, shooting just 25.0 from the field as the MTSU defense kept Tech from getting the best looks at the basket.
Tech's defense followed suit as MTSU was 4-for-12 in the opening 10 minutes.
The second quarter saw the Lady Raiders shoot 50 percent from the floor with Gregory scoring nine points in the period, helping MTSU extend its lead to 30-24 at the intermission. Tech went 5-for-14 in the stanza.
The second half saw Walker start to take over for the Golden Eagles, scoring 10 of her team-high 13 points in the final two quarters – five each in the third and fourth quarters. Walker narrowly missed a double-double as she ended the game with nine rebounds.
The Lady Raiders pulled away in the fourth quarter at the free-throw line, shooting 7-of-8 as Tech fouled to get possession back.
With Boldyreva holding court under the basket, Tech chose to go long-range on the offense, hitting Middle Tennessee with an assault of 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers. The Golden Eagles ended the game going 4-for-24 from beyond-the-arc.
Gregory, a product of nearby Macon County, scored a game-best 25 points on 8-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-5 at the free-throw line and 4-for-9 from 3-point range. Boldyreva ended the contest with a double-double, scoring 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while also pulling down 15 of the team's 38 rebounds.
Photo | Jim Dillon
