Hill leads way as Golden Eagles overtake North Alabama
December 21, 2023

Hill leads way as Golden Eagles overtake North Alabama

FLORENCE, Ala. – Kiera Hill scored a career-high 18 points to pace the Tennessee Tech women as the Golden Eagles used two big runs in the second half to rally from a seven-point deficit to take a 78-67 victory on the road at North Alabama. Hill had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, as well as 4-for-5 from the free-throw line, to break her previous career-high of 16 set in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship. Three other Golden Eagles scored in double-digits as Reghan Grimes had 17 points, Maaliya Owens had 11 and Jennifer Sullivan added 10.

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By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
 
FLORENCE, Ala. – Kiera Hill scored a career-high 18 points to pace the Tennessee Tech women as the Golden Eagles used two big runs in the second half to rally from a seven-point deficit to take a 78-67 victory on the road at North Alabama.
 
Hill had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, as well as 4-for-5 from the free-throw line, to break her previous career-high of 16 set in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship. Three other Golden Eagles scored in double-digits as Reghan Grimes had 17 points, Maaliya Owens had 11 and Jennifer Sullivan added 10.
 
Grimes almost picked up the double-double as she ended the game with eight rebounds to lead the way, while Peyton Carter had six boards and five assists. Reagan Hurst and Owens each had five caroms.
 
Veronaye Charlton led North Alabama (4-8) with 25 points, shooting 8-for-15 from the floor and 7-for-7 from the line. Alexis Callins scored 17 points, while Allie Craig Cruce scored 10 points.
 
The Golden Eagles made UNA pay on turnovers as the Lions lost the ball 20 times in the game with Tech (5-6) converting those into 24 points. The offensive glass led into the Golden Eagles' favor as well as Tech pulled down 18 offensive rebounds to collect 14 second-chance points. Tech won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Lions 39-29.
 
Both teams were on fire from the floor in the first quarter as Tech hit 10 of 21 shots in the first 10 minutes for a 47.6-percent clip, while North Alabama hit 9-of-16 for a 56.3 completion rate. The score remained close through the first 10 minutes, but Tech took a 25-22 lead at the end of the first stanza. 
 
The Golden Eagles cooled off considerably as they shot 4-for-15 in the second quarter. UNA used a 10-0 run as it hit 7-of-11 shots and 4-for-4 at the line to outscore Tech 21-14, taking a 43-39 lead into the intermission.
 
North Alabama's torrid pace went ice cold in the third quarter as the Lions missed their first nine shots of the quarter and didn't hit a field goal until two minutes to go in the period. Tech scored 12 straight points to erase the deficit with Jennifer Sullivan draining a 3-pointer at 5:35 left in the quarter to give the Golden Eagles a 47-45 lead, one Tech never relinquished.
 
Before the third quarter ended, the Golden Eagles led by as many as eight points, but the host Lions trimmed the deficit back down to three before the quarter ended with Tech on top 57-52.
 
UNA made another run at the Golden Eagles, cutting the lead down to one at 64-63 with 5:56 remaining in the contest, but Tech went on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to retake an 11-point lead at 2:28 left, with both teams only draining one more field goal each before the game ended.
 
Tech finished the game shooting 26-for-63 (41.3 percent), including 8-for-25 (32.0 percent) from 3-point range, while shooting 18-for-24 (75.0 percent) from the free-throw line.
 
The Golden Eagles (5-6) are idle through the Christmas holiday, but return to action on Dec. 28 as they open Ohio Valley Conference play against defending regular-season champions Little Rock in a rematch of the conference tournament championship game.
 
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
 
Photo | Jim Dillon, file