By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE – Tennessee State made it a fight on Thursday night, but once the Tennessee Tech women gained the upper hand in the Gentry Center, the Golden Eagles held on as tightly as they could with the lead to take the 71-64 victory.
The Golden Eagles (13-5, 7-2 Ohio Valley Conference) got double-digit production from four players, led by Peyton Carter, who collected 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting – all five buckets 3-pointers – and 3-for-4 at the free-throw line. Carter also had six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Anna Walker bested her season-high with 16 points as she was 7-for-11 from the field with a pair of treys. She also pulled down eight boards with a steal and a block. Keeley Carter had another strong performance with 14 points on 4-for-9 shooting and a 5-for-5 night from the stripe with two boards, an assist and a steal. Reghan Grimes, playing in front of her hometown crowd, added 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting and a pair of charity tosses, while also collecting a team-best nine caroms and six assists to go with three steals and a block.
Lyric Cole and Sanaa' St. Andre led the Tigers (5-15, 1-9 OVC) with 11 points, while XaiOnna Whitfield and Erin Martin each had 10 points.
Tennessee State came out and hit at a hot clip, knocking down nine of its 17 shots in the opening stanza with a 52.9-percent rate. Cole had eight of her 11 points in the first quarter as she went 4-for-4 from the field and giving the Tigers a six-point lead. All but two of TSU's 16 first-period points came from the paint and the Tigers manhandled the boards with a 13-to-5 margin.
Things were a little more even in the second as Tech outscored the Tigers 18-15 to make it a 33-30 TSU advantage at the half. The Golden Eagles pulled down 12 rebounds to TSU's seven, while Walker scored six, Keeley Carter five and Grimes four to inch Tech closer. TSU hit six shots as Tech held the Tigers to 13 total tries, while the Golden Eagles knocked down eight of their 19 attempts.
The third quarter belonged to Tech as the Golden Eagles outscored the Tigers 19-9, including a 7-0 run toward the end of the period. TSU was held to a 30.8 percent clip and Tech made the most of second-chances and turnovers, combining those into 14 points. The Carters had 13 of the third quarter's 19 Golden Eagle points with seven for Keeley and six for Peyton, while Walker chipped in five.
Tech took the lead as Peyton Carter drained a trey to make it 37-35, then after a couple of ties, the Golden Eagles built a seven-point lead as Carter knocked down another long-ranger with 15 seconds left in the quarter to make it a 49-42 game.
TSU tied the game twice more – the last with 4:16 remaining in the contest at 59-all – but Tech answered with a 10-0 run to make it a 69-59 game with 35 seconds left. Free throws on both sides see-sawed the 10-point margin, then the Tigers sank the final bucket of the contest with a 3-pointer at 13 ticks left on the clock to secure the final margin.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday as they take on UT Martin for a 1 p.m. tipoff to continue the four-game road trip with contests at Morehead State and Southern Indiana next week.
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.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
