Tennessee State muscles its way to 65-62 OVC win in Eblen Center
Tennessee State had just enough muscle Saturday night to knock of Tennessee Tech, 65-62, in pivotal Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball action in Eblen Center.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee State had just enough muscle
Saturday night to knock of Tennessee Tech, 65-62, in pivotal Ohio
Valley Conference women’s basketball action in Eblen
Center.
It was a contest between two rivals fighting for a spot in the
upper levels of the OVC standings, with each entering the game at
3-5 in the league.
The Lady Tigers improved to 7-11 overall and 4-5 in the OVC while
Tech saw it’s overall mark slip to 8-11 with a 3-6 OVC log.
It was only the second home loss for the Golden Eagles in eight
contests, and the first road win of the season for the Lady
Tigers.
After trailing by as many as 13 in the second half, the Golden
Eagles pulled within two points with one minute remaining on a
layup by Tacarra Hayes, then got the ball back on Kylie
Cook’s rebound with 35 seconds to play. Following a timeout,
Hayes missed a jumper in the lane and the rebound was ruled out of
bounds off a Tech player.
With 8.4 seconds to go, Meredith Stafford was fouled and made her
first free throw for a three-point lead. Tiara Hopper grabbed the
rebound on the missed second try and gave it to Hayes, who raced
the length of the court and fed Kellie Cook, but her 3-pointer at
the buzzer was off the rim to end the contest.
Hayes narrowly missed a second triple-double, finishing with 17
points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Kylie Cook
had 14 points and seven boards, while Kellie Cook and Krystal
Stirrup scored 10 each.
For TSU. Obiageli Okafor was the high scorer in the game with 22
points. She also grabbed nine rebounds, seven on the offensive
boards. Nikki Rumph was the only other Lady Tiger in double digits,
scoring 11, but TSU got plenty of balance. Jasmin Schuler scored
nine while LaDona Pierce and Meredith Stafford netted eight
each.
Tech led by five early in the game, but TSU took advantage of 12
first half Golden Eagle turnovers, scoring 17 points off mistakes
in the opening half. The Tigers held a seven-point lead late in the
half, and carried that advantage into halftime.
The TSU lead grew to as many as 13 early in the second half,
reaching 40-27 with 17:17 to play on a layup by Pierce.
Kellie Cook hit a 3-pointer to open a 17-5 Golden Eagle run and
the hosts were back to within one point, 45-44, exactly five
minutes later.
The teams waged a stalemate for the next six minutes before Kellie
Cook’s jumper with 6:16 to go put Tech ahead for the first
time in the second half, a 57-56 lead.
Pierce’s basket with 5:20 left nudged TSU back into command
and the Golden Eagles never caught up. The lead was up to four,
64-60, when Tate made two free throws with 3:02 remaining.
The teams combined for only three total points in the final three
minutes, two by Hayes with 1:11 left to make it 64-62, and the one
free toss by Stafford with nine seconds remaining.
The crowd Saturday included dozens of men's and women's former
players on hand (photo) for Basketball Alunni Night.
Halfway through their four-game homestand, the Golden Eagles will
welcome Eastern Illinois to Eblen Center on Thursday night (Jan.
28) and Southeast Missouri on Saturday (Jan. 30).
The Putnam County Health Dept. is offering free H1N1 shots in the
lobby of Eblen Center during both of those games, and Tech will
give a free ticket to the game for anyone receiving the
vaccine.
For tickets or more information, visit or call the Athletics Ticket
Office in Eblen Center (931-372-3940).
