Morehead State edges Tech women on last-second free throw
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech just needed to hold on for another second. On the home end of the court, Chloe Larry drained a driving layup to knot Saturday’s contest against Morehead State at 66-all. The defense was holding strong until Laura Toffali found an opening for a 3-point try. The shot was no good, but the officials called a foul on the play, sending the .651 shooter to the line with just nine-tenths of a second remaining on the clock.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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14 | 16 | 15 | 22 | 67 |
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17 | 20 | 12 | 17 | 66 |
Team Stats
Morehead State
| Game Statistics | Morehead State | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (25-48) | (20-56) |
| Field Goal % | 52.1% | 35.7% |
| Rebounds | 26 | 35 |
| Assists | 14 | 17 |
| Turnovers | 13 | 13 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 18 | 20 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 7 | 22 |
| Pts in the Paint | 34 | 16 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 7 | 9 |
| Bench Pts | 5 | 9 |
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech just needed to hold on for another second. On the home end of the court, Chloe Larry drained a driving layup to knot Saturday's contest against Morehead State at 66-all.
The defense was holding strong until Laura Toffali found an opening for a 3-point try. The shot was no good, but the officials called a foul on the play, sending the .651 shooter to the line with just nine-tenths of a second remaining on the clock.
Toffali missed the first, hit the second and missed the third, putting Morehead up 67-66. Reghan Grimes came down with the rebound but just had enough time to chuck the ball up and hope for a miracle.
The shot fell short, allowing the visitors to leave with the 67-66 victory.
The defeat gives Tech a five-game losing streak as the Golden Eagles fall to 10-7 on the season and 3-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference. It's the first five-game conference losing streak for Tech since a six-game slide toward the end of the 2017-18 campaign. With Saturday's results, the Golden Eagles now find themselves four games back from first-place Western Illinois and Southern Indiana – both at 7-1 – and two games back from the four-team tie between Lindenwood, UT Martin, Morehead State and Little Rock.
The Golden Eagles are five points away from a 14-3 record and four from a 6-2 mark in the conference – falling by one to Kennesaw State, one at Eastern Illinois, two points against Southern Indiana on Thursday and one to Morehead State Saturday.
Tech finished the game shooting 35.7 percent, hitting 20 of 56 shots. However, the third quarter saw an 18.8-percent rate with the Golden Eagles sinking three of its 16 shots – all 3-pointers – with a 3-for-4 performance at the line.
Morehead State (10-9, 5-3 OVC), however, finished the game shooting a 52.1-percent clip with 25 of its 48 shots falling.
The Golden Eagles won the glass battle with 35 rebounds – including 17 offensive boards for 22 second-chance points.
Tech led the game for 26:08, holding on to a 37-30 advantage at the half and briefly losing the lead in the third quarter only to reclaim a six-point margin before the third had completed.
But Morehead State outscored Tech 22-17 in the fourth, taking a 53-51 lead on Kate Dike's layup off a Tech turnover. Grimes tied the game with a tip-in layup and the free throw on the play put the Golden Eagles up by one.
Marie Sepp hit a driving layup to swap leads, then Dike collected a fast-break bucket to give Morehead a 3-point, 57-54 advantage, then she added a second-chance bucket 30 seconds later to make it a five-point, 59-54 lead.
Cam Mathews knocked in a 3-pointer to get Tech back within two, then she tied the game at 59 with a pair of free throws at 2:25. Sepp responded with a driving layup to make it 61-59 Morehead, then hit two free throws at 1:19 to give the visitors a 63-59 lead.
With 1:02 left, Larry knocked down a 3-pointer, but, at 0:33, Anja Ekstrom countered with a trey to return the four-point edge. On a quick possession, Grimes knocked in a layup to cut it to 66-64 with 31 seconds left.
Ekstrom missed a pair of free throws, then Larry tied the game with a layup at 14 seconds left. Toffali was fouled on her 3-point try, then hit the middle of the three shots to put Morehead back up with nine-tenths of a second remaining.
Grimes ended the game with a double-double – the sixth of her career – with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while also tying her career high in assists with six. Larry led Tech in scoring with 18 points – including four 3-pointers – while Reagan Hurst had 10 points and six assists. LaReesha Cawthown had nine rebounds, two steals and five blocks.
Dike led Morehead State with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting, while Sepp had 21 points on an 8-for-13 night with six assists.
The Golden Eagles are now on the road for the next three games as they travel to Lindenwood on Thursday, SIUE next Saturday and Tennessee State the following Tuesday. Tech returns home on Jan. 31 as Little Rock comes to the Eblen Center.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
