December 4, 2010

Golden Eagles down Jacksonville State behind Hayes’ double-double

The Tennessee Tech women’s basketball team (5-1, 1-0 OVC) opened its 2010-11 Ohio Valley Conference schedule with a 79-63 win over rival Jacksonville State.

Jacksonville, Ala. – The Tennessee Tech women's basketball team (5-1, 1-0 OVC) opened its 2010-11 Ohio Valley Conference schedule with a 79-63 win over rival Jacksonville State.

Junior guard Tacarra Hayes led the way as she recorded her first double-double of the young season with 31 points and 10 rebounds, while dishing out seven assists.

"The game was a big game for us," Hayes said. "We wanted to make a statement in our first conference game."

The first seven minutes of the contest saw the Gamecocks controlling the pace as they built a nine-point lead at 17-8. Undaunted, the Golden Eagles responded with nine straight points to take the lead just five minutes later.

Both teams would trade points the rest of the way with Tennessee Tech owning a four-point lead at 34-30 heading into the locker room.

Hayes recorded a team-high 16 first half points, while sophomore guard Kellie Cook brought down a team-high five rebounds.

The second half saw the Golden Eagles bust things wide open as they nailed four straight shots from downtown, three of which came from sophomore guard Kylie Cook, to put Tech up 46-30 just four minutes into the second half.

Tennessee Tech would not look back the rest of the way as it took its first OVC contest by the score of 79-63.

Kylie Cook recorded all 15 of her points in the second half, using five shots from beyond the three point line, while Hayes went 9-of-11 from the charity stripe.

As a team, Tech shot .448 from the field and a .792 from the free throw line. Tech also brought down 44 rebounds and dished out 13 helpers, while forcing 19 JSU turnovers.

Danielle Beneby paced the Gamecock offense with 21 points, while Brittany Wiley pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

Tech hits the road as it takes on #9 Kentucky Tuesday, at 6p.m.

"We're excited to play Kentucky," Hayes said. "We're looking forward to giving them a run for their money."