The Tennessee Tech women’s basketball team began their season on Nov. 4, as they hosted Emory & Henry in the Hooper Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagles dominated the game from start to finish, winning convincingly 82-54 to start the season 1-0.
The leading scorer was true freshman guard Chloe Larry (21), who finished with 17 points off of 5-of-12 shooting from the field.
The Golden Eagle defense forced a total of 25 turnovers and were able to out-rebound the Wasps 44-33, two crucial factors in any basketball game.
After the game, head coach Kim Rosamond spoke about the excitement of being back on the court.
“Any time you start the season off with a win, that’s a positive. We’re excited to get it going in the right direction in the first game.”
Junior guard Reghan Grimes (33) also spoke postgame, talking about how this team has meshed so far this season with all the newcomers involved.
“I think we’re gelling really good. I think you can see that with how balanced we are and just knowing that we have a lot of threats on the floor at all times, so trusting each other and trusting the offense and what the coaches are telling us is big.”
The Golden Eagles then took the road to Chattanooga to take on the UTC Mocs on Nov. 7.
The final score was a 48-46 Tech victory to improve to 2-0 in the early season.
It was a wild finish as the score was all tied up at 46 late in the fourth quarter. With one second remaining in the game, Grimes found the bottom of the net with a pass from Larry to secure the victory.
Senior leader and former UTC Moc Anna Walker (4) finished with a team-high in points with 14 and rebounds with 13.
The Golden Eagles once again went to work on the boards, out-rebounding UTC 42-24.
Following the road game against UTC, Tech then returned home to face off against North Alabama on Nov. 10.
The final score was 73-64 in favor of the Golden Eagles in a game where free throws were crucial down the stretch.
In the box score, the numbers were close. Tech had 34 rebounds compared to North Alabama’s 32. The Golden Eagles had 12 turnovers compared to just 11 by the Lions. Both teams shot well from the free throw line as Tech was 25-30 from the charity stripe, while North Alabama was 12-14.
The difference of the game, though, was the play of Reghan Grimes, who finished with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Grimes has started to emerge as one of the top offensive threats for the Golden Eagles so far this season. She also was six-for-six from the free throw line, which was vital for the Golden Eagles down the stretch as they were able to secure the win.
Senior forward Anna Walker also had an impressive performance, finishing with 14 points. However, what Walker did defensively deserves to be recognized even more-so.
Walker was a nightmare defensively, finishing with eight rebounds, three steals and seven total blocked shots.
This Golden Eagles squad seems to have a nice balance of senior and junior leadership as well as young, promising talent to create a recipe for another potential NCAA tournament run in March.
Tech will host Jackson State at the Hoop this Thursday, Nov. 14, so be sure to show support to the Golden Eagles as they search for their fourth-straight win on the season. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Conference play opens up for Tech on Dec. 17 on the road at Western Illinois at 5 p.m., just before the men’s game.
