By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Trailing by 15 points in the third quarter, things looked grim for the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team on Saturday.
But the Golden Eagles persevered with a tremendous performance from freshman LaReesha Cawthorn as she powered Tech back with 27 points and 27 rebounds – both career-highs – as the home team worked their way back to force overtime then claim the 75-70 victory.
Cawthorn's 27 rebounds tied Pam Cassity for the fourth-most in a single game in Tech history and is the most by a Golden Eagle player since the 1975-76 campaign. Cassity held eight of the top 10 performances – all in the 1975-76 season. It's the most in Ohio Valley Conference play since Southeast Missouri's Lachelle Lyles pulled down 32 against Tennessee State on Dec. 7, 2006. She also tied the NCAA single-game freshman rebound record, joining Aneesah Morrow (DePaul, 2021-22), Jillian Alleyne (Oregon, 2012-13) and Anriel Howard (Texas A&M, 2015-16).
Cawthorn ended the game hitting 11 of her 25 shots, including 5-for-8 at the line. She also had an assist, two steals and four blocks in the victory. The double-double is her seventh of her rookie campaign and the second this week, following a 15-point, 14-rebound performance on Thursday against Western Illinois.
She had 17 points and 13 boards in the second half alone.
In all, four Golden Eagles scored in double figures. Reghan Grimes also recorded a double-double – her career seventh and fourth this season – with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while she also had three assists, two steals and a block. Reagan Hurst also had 13 points with a trio of 3-pointers with a rebound and a steal.
Eastern Illinois (4-21, 3-11 OVC) had four players in double-digit scoring as Tiny Lewis scored 17 points with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Ella Lune and Nyah Hardy scored 14 and Clara Glad 10 as the Panthers only had seven players available due to compiling injuries.
While the Panthers were short-handed, they certainly didn't play like it as Eastern outscored Tech 24-10 in the second and 24-17 in the third to build a 15-point lead at its peak.
In the fourth quarter alone, Tech was able to score 13 points on nine Panther turnovers, shutting down their offense as EIU hit just three buckets in the quarter. The Golden Eagles used a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to one – 62-61 – with 3:02 remaining.
Cawthorn grabbed a steal and made a jumper with 1:07 left to put Tech briefly up 65-64, then Hardy drained a 3-pointer on the other end with 51 seconds remaining in regulation to reclaim a 67-65 advantage.
After Lune was fouled with 26 seconds on the clock, she missed both free throws with Cawthorn pulling down the carom. On the Golden Eagle end, she worked her way into the paint and hit a layup to tie the game with 19 seconds remaining. EIU had one last shot as Meioshe Mason missed a jumper with three seconds on the clock, sending the game to overtime.
The Panthers scored the first three points of the overtime session, but that proved to be it for EIU as it did not score in the final 2:51 of the extra time.
Cawthorn hit the front end of a pair of free throws to make it 70-68 Eastern, then tied the game at 1:42 with a second-chance layup. She game Tech a 71-70 lead at 1:21 as she hit the first of two charity tosses, then Grimes had Tech up by three with a second-chance layup at 1:05.
Larry scored the final two points with eight seconds left in overtime, hitting a pair of free throws.
Tech improves to 13-10 overall, 6-8 in the Ohio Valley. The Golden Eagles return to action next week on the road at Morehead State on Thursday and Southern Indiana on Saturday.
Two home games remain on the regular-season schedule as Tech hosts SIUE on Feb. 19 and Lindenwood on Feb. 21. Tickets are on sale now by calling (931) 372-3940, visiting the Eblen Center ticket office or by ordering online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
