Golden Eagles hit from outside, protect the ball to down Skyhawks
Tennessee Tech hit a season-best 15 shots from long range and had a season-low six turnovers to cruise to an 85-41 Ohio Valley Conference victory Saturday night over UT Martin in the Eblen Center
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech made sure there could be no
last-minute letdown Saturday night as the Golden Eagles built a
huge lead in the first half and buried a season-high 15 3-pointers
while cruising to an 85-41 Ohio Valley Conference victory over UT
Martin in the Eblen Center.
With the victory, the Golden Eagles (11-14/6-9 OVC) jumped from
eight place all the way up to fifth in wins in the OVC standings.
The Skyhawks, who had claimed a 56-52 win over Tech a month ago
with a late surge, slipped to 7-17 overall and 7-9 in the
league.
In addition to hitting 15-for-29 from long range, Tech had a
season-low six turnovers in the contest and owned a 37-20 rebound
edge. Six different players made treys.
Freshman Kellie Cook led TTU with 20 points, hitting 5-for-7 from
the arc while sophomore Rachel Glidden was 6-for-12 on the way to a
career-high 18 points. Krystal Stirrup also scored in double digits
with 11.
Guard Tacarra Hayes narrowly missed her second triple-double of
the year, finishing with eight points, nine rebounds and nine
assists.
UT Martin was led by Alecia Weatherly with 14 points, the lone
Skyhawk in double figures. Cali Cupples, Erica Glisson and Darnisha
Lyles had seven each.
Kellie Cook popped a 3-pointer on the game’s first
possession to put Tech ahead and the Golden Eagles rolled out to a
10-0 lead in less than three minutes. Making their first six shots,
the Golden Eagles saw their advantage grow to 15-2 with 16:29 to
play in the first half.
Tech’s lead hit 20 points on a 3-pointer by Glidden with
9:37 to go, then soared to 30 with 1:53 remaining on a bomb by
Stirrup. The Golden Eagles were up by 29 points at halftime, 51-22,
after hitting 62.1 percent (18-for-29) from the field.
The largest lead of the game was 46 points with 1:52 to play when
the Golden Eagles were up 85-39 before finishing with a 44-point
difference.
The Golden Eagles will play their third game in five days when
they travel to Nashville Monday to challenge Tennessee State.
Tipoff in the Gentry Center is at 5:30 p.m.
Later in the week the Golden Eagles play at Austin Peay on
Saturday night, and on Tuesday (Feb. 23) they come home to host
future OVC member SIU Edwardsville at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale at
the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or by calling (931)
372-3940.
