COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was a milestone evening for the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team on Thursday night as the Golden Eagles claimed the program's 500th Ohio Valley Conference victory, topping Southeast Missouri 79-66 in the Hooper Eblen Center.

 

It's a milestone, especially in the era of conference realignment, that hasn't been reached by many teams and Tech is the first in the OVC to reach that level. The total only includes the regular-season OVC matchups as the postseason tournaments count only in overall record and not in conference records.

 

The Golden Eagles (11-5 overall, 5-2 OVC) were on fire early on, scoring 28 points on a scorching 12-for-18 (66.7 percent) from the field. The total was the most for Tech in a first quarter this season and the second-most in any quarter, trailing only the 29-point outburst in the third quarter against Western Illinois.

 

Tech then outscored SEMO 20-17 in the second quarter, continuing to shoot 50 percent in the stanza, for a 48-31 halftime lead. The Redhawks bumped things up in the second half, as they held the Golden Eagles to just seven field goals in the third and fourth quarters combined and 0-for-11 from 3-point range. Tech was 6-for-8 at the line in the third and 11-for-14 in the fourth out of its 15 total points in the final 10 minutes.

 

The Golden Eagles led by as many as 19 points midway through the third quarter, but SEMO was only able to cut the deficit down to eight with 2:01 remaining in the game before Tech scored the final five points of the contest to secure the final margin.

 

Tech ended the game with six players scoring in double figures. Anna Walker scored a season-high 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Reghan Grimes, who was 5-for-6 from the field and 6-for-9 at the charity stripe, led the Golden Eagles with 16 points.

 

True freshman Chloe Larry scored 13 points on 3-for-6 shooting and 6-for-6 at the line, while also tying a season-high for assists with six and collecting a team-best seven rebounds. Taris Thornton also scored 13 points, while Keeley Carter picked up 11 points and Peyton Carter 10.

 

Tech finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field (25-for-50), while going 4-for-21 from long-range and 25-for-34 at the free-throw line, stemming from 28 fouls called against the Redhawks. The Golden Eagles were whistled for 18, sending SEMO to the line for 19 shots with 16 made.

 

After losing starter Da'Kariya Jackson to an injury in practice Thursday morning, the Redhawks (4-13, 2-6 OVC) got big performances from Ainaya Williams and Lexi McCully with the former collecting 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 8-for-10 at the line with nine rebounds. McCully had 21 points and five rebounds with a team-best five assists.

 

The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday afternoon as they take on Little Rock at the Eblen Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

 

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.