BOX SCORE (HTML) | BOX SCORE (PDF) | REPLAY OF GAME BROADCAST
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Tennessee Tech closed the game on a 17-2 run and held the host Morehead State women’s basketball team without a field goal for a 16-minute span Monday night as the Golden Eagles rallied to hand MSU a 57-53 defeat at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles (7-13/4-4 Ohio Valley Conference) led 51-40 with 7:20 remaining but managed just one more bucket, and saw TTU (10-13/6-3 OVC) take the lead for good on a Kellie Cook three-pointer with 2:58 left. The win was the first for Tech at Johnson Arena since 2005-06, a span of six years to the day.
“The last five minutes to go, we had to give Courtney (Lumpkin), Ashar (Harris) and Linda (Dixon) a break. They got us the big lead and they give everything they have to this program, but we just couldn’t make the necessary plays to hold onto it,” said MSU Head Coach Tom Hodges.
The Eagle upperclassmen trio took a break at the 5:04 mark and couldn’t get back onto the court until 1:36 left.
Cook started a personal 8-0 run at the 3:26 mark of the second half with a triple to pull Tech to within 51-50. She knocked down a second trey 28 ticks later and then capped the comeback with a jumper at the 2:17 mark to push TTU ahead 55-51 and close a 15-0 run. That’s the only points she scored all game.
Tacarra Hayes led the Golden Eagles with 16 points and seven rebounds. Rachel Glidden also reached double figures with 10 markers.
The Eagles got a game-high 19 points from Lumpkin, who hit 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Dixon notched 15 points, and Harris had a game-high 16 rebounds. Freshman Almesha Jones scored nine off the bench. TTU’s bench outscored the Eagles’ bench 33-15.
Tech also claimed the battle of rebounds, 46-35, and won despite shooting just 36 percent. MSU was held to 32 percent, including 29 percent in the second half.
MSU built a 22-13 lead at the 10:08 mark of the opening half after a Jones' layup, but then the Eagles didn’t drain another field goal until the 14:07 point of the final half when Dixon knocked down one of the Eagles’ two three-pointers. Despite the drought, MSU still grasped onto a 29-28 halftime lead. The Eagles hit their final seven free throws in the half.
Dixon’s triple early in the half put MSU on top 36-33. The Eagles went on to outscore the Golden Eagles 15-7 over the next seven-minute span to build their largest lead of 11. But, the hosts went for a six-minute span without a field goal late in the game.
Morehead State hosts Murray State on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. ET.
