By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Eastern Illinois' Macy McGlone has been one of the top players in the Ohio Valley Conference this season and she was a tough matchup in Tennessee Tech's first meeting with the Panthers back in January.
On Saturday, Anna Walker did her hardest to stand toe-to-toe, outscoring the EIU post 21 to 17 and blocking two more shots as the Golden Eagle graduate helped lead Tech to a thrilling 65-54 victory over the visiting Panthers in the Hooper Eblen Center.
With the victory – coupled with Lindenwood's win over Tennessee State – the Golden Eagles (18-5, 12-2 OVC) remain in a first-place tie with the Lions and Eastern Illinois (14-9, 11-3 OVC) falls into third place with Little Rock (12-11, 10-4 OVC) and Southern Indiana (17-8, 9-5 OVC) looming just within reach of the Panthers with the conference tournament four weeks away.
The Golden Eagles have now won nine straight games – tied for the second-longest winning streak in the Kim Rosamond era with a nine-game swing in 2018-19 and two behind the longest of 11 in the 2019-20 season. It is tied for the 12th-longest winning streak in program history as it currently stands. Tech has also now won 14 straight home games since falling to Morehead State on Feb. 3, 2024. The longest home winning streak in program history is 23 games between Jan. 5, 1987, and Jan. 11, 1989.
Walker ended the game with a season-high 21 points, seven rebounds, an assist, two steals and four blocks. She was 8-for-18 from the field, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range. McGlone ended the game with a double-double for the Panthers as she scored 17 points on 7-for-20 shooting with 15 boards, an assist and two blocks.
Tech was able to throw McGlone off her game as the EIU standout saw her foul count climb to four, though she remained in the game for 37:14 but was forced to play more cautiously. With a little breathing room and only 10 turnovers against them, the Golden Eagles were able to mount an offense that included a 25-14 effort in the second quarter.
The game did not start off well for the Golden Eagles as the Panthers clawed out to a 10-point, 15-5 lead at the 4:11 mark in the opening stanza, but Tech rallied to cut the deficit back to four points – 19-15 – in the waning moments of the quarter. Kiyley Flowers eight and McGlone six to pace the Panthers early, while Walker and Peyton Carter each had six points in the first 10 minutes.
After a slow shooting start, Tech recovered to finish the quarter shooting 40 percent from the field, but was still eclipsed by a 57.1-percent rate for the visitors.
The Golden Eagles saw Chloe Larry catch fire in the second quarter, scoring 13 of their 25 points as she was 5-for-7 from the field with a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws. Tech forced five Panther turnovers and converted those into 12 points. An 8-0 run led to a nine-point lead at the three-minute mark and again with 38 seconds left before the half, but EIU made it a 40-33 Tech lead at the intermission.
Tech did not score its first points in the third quarter until Carter made a pair of free throws with 4:38 remaining in the period – after EIU cut its deficit to one at 40-39 – then hit its first field goal at 3:22 with Reghan Grimes sinking a 3-pointer to reclaim a four-point 45-41 advantage.
McGlone tied the game with a 3-point play with a layup and a foul shot to even the game at 46 with 1:51 left in the quarter, but the Golden Eagles got two free throws from Keeley Carter and a layup from Taris Thornton to reclaim a four-point advantage at the end of the third and minimized EIU's 13-10 third-quarter outburst.
Flowers tied the game again at 8:18 remaining with a second-chance layup, then McGlone followed suit at 7:34 to make it a 52-50 game with 7:34 left. Keeley Carter sank the back end of a pair of charity tosses, then Walker drained a trey with 6:32 remaining to reclaim a 54-52 lead.
Tech never trailed again as the Panthers only scored a pair of free throws from Alex Rouse at 3:42. EIU did not score a field goal in the final 7:33 of the game, going 0-for-7 from the floor. The Golden Eagles outscored the Panthers 15-8 in the period with EIU shooting 3-for-14 in the final 10 minutes.
In addition to Walker's 21, Keeley Carter scored 16 points on 4-for-7 shooting and 7-for-8 at the line with eight rebounds. Larry finished with 14 points, four boards and two steals.
Flowers also finished in double-digits for the Panthers with 12 points, while Sydney-James Desroches had 10 points on a 4-for-6 day.
The Golden Eagles get set to hit the road once more for their final road trip of the season as they take on Little Rock on Thursday and Southeast Missouri on Saturday.
Tech returns home on Feb. 20 as it hosts UT Martin.
Tickets for Tech basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Jim Dillon
