Golden Eagles hit from outside, protect the ball to down Skyhawks
February 13, 2010

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

Box Score

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.