Tech women earn share of 19th OVC regular-season title, top Western Illinois
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The championship has been won, but the Tennessee Tech women’s basketball team is not done yet. The Golden Eagles defeated Western Illinois 68-51 on Thursday night to claim a share of their 19th Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship in program history and first since 2012-13. Tech (23-5, 17-2 OVC) claimed its program-record 17th conference victory of the season and extended its winning streak to 14 games and 17 at home.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
11 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 51 |
|
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14 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 68 |
Team Stats
Western Illinois
| Game Statistics | Western Illinois | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (20-52) | (21-58) |
| Field Goal % | 38.5% | 36.2% |
| Rebounds | 38 | 36 |
| Assists | 12 | 16 |
| Turnovers | 18 | 13 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 12 | 18 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 5 | 2 |
| Pts in the Paint | 30 | 18 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 6 | 3 |
| Bench Pts | 12 | 12 |
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The championship has been won, but the Tennessee Tech women's basketball team is not done yet.
The Golden Eagles defeated Western Illinois 68-51 on Thursday night to claim a share of their 19th Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship in program history and first since 2012-13. Tech (23-5, 17-2 OVC) claimed its program-record 17th conference victory of the season and extended its winning streak to 14 games and 17 at home.
Tech can win the conference crown outright and claim the No. 1 seed in next week's OVC Basketball Championships in Evansville with a victory over Lindenwood on Saturday afternoon. A loss to the Lions will leave the two teams tied atop the league standings and Lindenwood will claim the No. 1 seed by tiebreaker.
It was slow going early on but the Golden Eagles were able to slowly build an advantage, outscoring Western Illinois 14-11 in the first quarter, 19-14 in the second, 17-13 in the third and 18-13 in the fourth.
The biggest factor that helped the Golden Eagles was slowing down the OVC's top scorer, Raegan McCowan, who ended the contest with just seven points on 3-for-11 shooting. She picked up two fouls early in the first quarter and saw her court time held to just over 23 minutes.
In her stead, Mia Nicastro showed why she has been one of the conference's top newcomers as she tried to carry the Leathernecks on her shoulders, scoring 23 points with eight rebounds, an assist, three steals and two blocks. Nicastro dominated in the paint, helping WIU collect 30 points under the basket.
In addition to McCowan's seven, Kennedy Flanagan and Shelby Bowman each had six points.
Tech had five players score in double figures, led by Keeley Carter, who collected 18 points on 5-for-11 shooting and 6-for-7 at the free-throw line. She also had six boards, a steal and a block. Reghan Grimes had 14 points – including a 6-for-8 effort at the line – with four rebounds, three assists and a block.
Taris Thornton also had 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, two assists and a block, Peyton Carter added 11 points with a trio of 3-pointers, five rebounds, a steal, a block and tying her career-high in assists with seven. Anna Walker also had 10 points.
Tech edged the battle on the glass with 37 rebounds, including nine on the offensive side. Chloe Larry led the Golden Eagles with seven boards, while Nicastro and Madison Davis led WIU with eight caroms each.
The Golden Eagles was able to outdo the Leathernecks at the line, going 16-for-19 at the stripe off of 14 fouls, while WIU was 9-for-14 as Nicastro was 4-for-7. Tech also knocked down more long-range shots, hitting 10 of its 28 3-point tries, while WIU was 2-for-11.
The 23 overall wins is tied for the most in the Kim Rosamond era with the 2022-23 OVC tournament champions. Only 10 more Tech women's teams have won more games in a single season with 28 standing as the program record.
With 17 OVC victories, the Golden Eagles have a chance to tie the 2017-18 Belmont women for the most OVC wins in a single season if they beat Lindenwood on Saturday. The win on Thursday tied the 2024-25 Tech team with the 2007-08 Southeast Missouri, 2022-23 Little Rock and 2023-24 Southern Indiana teams for second with 17 conference wins.
Tech returns to action on Saturday as it looks to win the conference crown outright against Lindenwood. Tipoff is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
Tickets for Saturday's game – as well as next week's OVC Basketball Championships in Evansville – are on sale now. Call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Jim Dillon
