Golden Eagles fall to East Tennessee State 82-76 in Sunday mid-afternoon matchup
December 11, 2016

Golden Eagles fall to East Tennessee State 82-76 in Sunday mid-afternoon matchup

The Tennessee Tech women’s basketball team (3-7) fell to in-state rival East Tennessee State (6-5) in their Sunday midafternoon matchup. The Buccaneers topped the Golden Eagles 82-76 in Eblen Center, bringing the series score to 20-4 (still in favor of the Purple and Gold).

Box Score Preview

By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (3-7) fell to in-state rival East Tennessee State (6-5) in their Sunday mid-afternoon matchup. The Buccaneers topped the Golden Eagles 82-76 in Eblen Center, bringing the series score to 20-4 (still in favor of the Purple and Gold).

The day's game was highlighted by two Tech double-doubles: one from Anacia Wilkinson and another from Treyvonna "Trey" Brooks. Wilkinson notched 16 points and 13 boards (career-highs in both) to lead the Golden Eagles and secure her first career double-double, while Brooks totaled 13 points and a career-best 12 boards to tally her second career double-double and second on the season.

ETSU held the early lead in the first quarter, opening play with an 11-4 lead at the 6:47 mark. A Wilkinson jumper at the 4:21 mark, followed by two at the line from Yaktavia "Shug" Hickson cut the Buccaneer lead down to one at 11-10 with 2:09 remaining in the quarter. From there, the two teams battle in the quarter, with Hickson hitting a jumper with eight seconds left on the clock to leave things tied at 16-16.

Into the second quarter, the Golden Eagles found their first lead of the game when Goolsby opened up with a jumper at the 9:08 mark to put Tech up at 18-16. ETSU and Tech fought for control, holding ties at 22-22 and 30-30. Heading into the latter portion of the second quarter, the Buccaneer's Yamile Rodriguez put ETSU up by three (33-30) with 2:08 left, before closing out the quarter with a 38-32 lead over the Golden Eagles.

At the half, ETSU was shooting 42.4 percent from the field to Tech's 35.0 percent. However, the Golden Eagles grabbed 25 off the glass and forced four Buccaneer turnovers, while ETSU corralled just 20 caroms and only forced three Tech turnovers.

Into the second half, the Buccaneers went on a 10-2 to take a 48-34 lead just over two minutes into the quarter. From there, ETSU kept the pressure on and pulled ahead by 14 at 51-37 with a layup from Tianna Tarter at the 5:30 mark. The Buccaneers then finished the third quarter, leading the Golden Eagles 66-54.

A layup from Brooks at the 6:37 mark in the fourth quarter put Tech back within nine at 70-61. However, ETSU extended their lead once again out to 12 with 3:55 remaining in the matchup. The Golden Eagles would not relent and two at the line from Brooks cut the Buccaneer lead down to six at 76-70 at the 1:38 mark, however, Tech's efforts came up shy as ETSU claimed an 82-76 victory over the Purple and Gold.

Hickson led the Golden Eagles with 21 points in the contest, hitting a perfect 9-for-9 at the line (career-high attempts and made free throws) and adding three assists to her performance. Freshman Akia Harris also found herself in double-figures in the contest as she tallied 11 points for the Tech squad. Tianna Tarter led the Buccaneers with 30 points and 10 boards (her second double-double of the season). Three other ETSU players scored in double-figures in the game: Raven Dean with 17 points, Shamauria Bridges with 14, and Micah Norris with 11.

As a team, the Golden Eagles shot 37.1 percent from the field and 82.1 percent from the line while the Buccaneers shot 46.8 percent from the floor and 69 percent from the charity stripe. The Golden Eagles grabbed a season-high 48 rebounds to Buccaneer's 36.

Tech returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 14, when they travel to IUPUI to take on the Jaguars in a 6 p.m. contest in The Jungle.

Photo by Jim Dillon