COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – And the first round goes to the Golden Eagles.

 

Southern Indiana, the defending Ohio Valley Conference champions, came into the Hooper Eblen Center Thursday night looking to extend their early league lead to 4-0 and add another conference victory to their already impressive 22 wins in their last 23 outings.

 

Tennessee Tech wasn't going to let that happen. The title may be decided in Evansville, but the road to the OVC women's basketball championship continues to go through Cookeville as the Golden Eagles knocked off the defending league champs and preseason favorite 83-79.

 

The Golden Eagles improve to 8-4, 2-1 in league play. With USI's loss, Eastern Illinois becomes the conference's only undefeated team at 3-0, followed by the Screaming Eagles at 3-1. Tech, Lindenwood, Little Rock and Southeast Missouri are all tied at 2-1.

 

Tech got two 23-point performances to lead the way as Reghan Grimes picked up a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Grimes also had four assists and three steals. Trevecca transfer Keeley Carter also scored 23 points as she continues to settle in the Golden Eagle lineup, knocking down all six of her 3-point tries with four rebounds, three assists, one block and two steals.

 

Peyton Carter added 11 points with a couple of big buckets late to hold off USI.

 

Triniti Ralston led the Screaming Eagles with 25 points as she was 9-for-16 from the field, including 4-for-4 from long range and 3-for-4 at the free-throw line with five rebounds and five assists. Vanessa Shafford was 9-for-14 from the field and 5-for-8 from 3-point range as she scored 23 points and completed the double-double with 12 rebounds. Meredith Raley scored 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting with four rebounds.

 

Tech took the attack out to the perimeter as the Golden Eagles knocked down 12 3-pointers in the contest among 27 long-range attempts. The Screaming Eagles outscored Tech 36-28 in the paint as the Golden Eagles tried to make things happen mid-range to the arc.

 

Both teams were whistled for a lot of fouls as the teams combined for 35 personal fouls – 18 against USI and 17 against the Golden Eagles. Tech went 13-for-21 at the line, the Screaming Eagles 10-for-19.

 

It was a close contest from start to finish with the Golden Eagles taking the first, third and fourth quarters, but Tech trailed only 2:30 in the contest. The Screaming Eagles had their largest lead with a five-point advantage at the 8:20 mark in the opening quarter, but Tech used an 11-0 run in the first quarter, then a run in the second quarter to build an 11-point lead with 5:07 left before the intermission.

 

The game was tied nine times, including twice in the fourth quarter. Grimes took control in the final stanza as she scored 11 points with Keeley Carter's six for the bulk of Tech's 26 points in the fourth.

 

Tech led by two points to open the final quarter, but Raley tied the game at 58-all with 8:15 remaining in the contest. Keeley Carter sank a second-chance 3-pointer. After Ali Saunders cut it back down to one point (61-60), the Golden Eagles surged back out to a six-point lead with 6:20 left, seven with 5:15 remaining, then the largest lead of the quarter at eight with 4:39 left.

 

Saunders tied the game once more at 74-all with 1:52 remaining in the game. Peyton Carter responded with a driving jump shot with the and-one to complete the 3-point play to make it 77-74. Chloe Larry sank a floating jumper, then Grimes hit the front end of a pair of free-throws to make it an 80-74 game with 39 seconds left.

 

Ralston hit a driving layup to cut the game back to four, then Larry sank both free throws on the other end to make it a six-point game with 28 seconds left. Turnovers swapped possession, then Shafford drained a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left to make it a one-possession game.

 

Forced to foul, USI sent Anna Walker to the line with five seconds remaining. The Tech grad missed the first toss, then hit the second for what became the final four-point margin. Saunders missed a 3-point try with two seconds left and Raley came down with the offensive board, but too late to make another shot attempt.

 

The Golden Eagles return to action Saturday for a conference contest against Morehead State. Tipoff is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.

 

Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.