EVANSVILLE, Ind. – It’s hard to beat a team three teams in the same season, much less twice on their home turf. Southern Indiana might have had the fans at their back, but the top-seeded Tennessee Tech women’s basketball team has been there in hostile environments. Instead, the Golden Eagles stood tall, showing grit and determination.
The Tech women – now on their 16th straight victory – are in it to win it and they aren’t stopping now. The Golden Eagles topped Southern Indiana 88-78 on Friday afternoon in the Ford Center in the OVC Basketball Championship semifinals and now advance to their 25th OVC championship game.
Tech will play Lindenwood for the title at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Ford Center. The game will be live on 106.1 The Eagle with Dylan Vazzano and Frank Harrell on the call, while Dorian Craft and Lexi Ayala will handle broadcasting duties on ESPN+ (subscription required).
The game was a heated battle through and through, but while Tech won three of the four quarters, it all came down to the fourth quarter. In that period alone, the Golden Eagles scored 31 points, going 16-for-16 at the line, 6-for-11 from the field and 3-for-7 beyond the arc.
Tech had six players score in double figures – the second time this season after doing the same at home against Southeast Missouri. Taris Thornton ended the game with 20 points – 12 in the second quarter to propel the Golden Eagles to a 23-17 period and a 39-31 halftime lead – as she was 8-for-9 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers. Thornton ended the game one rebound short of a double-double to lead the battle on the glass.
Keeley Carter had 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting, while Chloe Larry scored 15, including 8-for-9 at the stripe. Anna Walker scored 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers – a big one in the fourth quarter – and blocking four shots. Peyton Carter added 12 points with a 6-for-6 day at the line and Reghan Grimes had 10 points, knocking down 8-of-8 at the stripe.
Meredith Raley led Southern Indiana with 29 points and nine rebounds as she tried her hardest to get the win in front of her hometown fans. She was 12-for-18 from the field and 5-for-5 at the line before she got her disqualifying fifth foul in the waning moments of the contest. Ali Saunders also scored 12 points, including 6-for-9 at the line.
While the Golden Eagles were getting it done at the free-throw line – hitting 28-for-30 – the Screaming Eagles struggled to seal the deal there as they hit 19 of 31, a potential difference in the game. Foul troubles hit both teams hard as Walker, Peyton Carter and Grimes all had four fouls in the contest, leading to a range of lineups out on the court. Raley and Triniti Ralston fouled out for the Screaming Eagles, while Vanessa Shafford was on the edge with four.
Both teams went at the game like boxers in the prize ring, feeling each other out with neither side taking a big advantage early on. USI’s largest lead came midway through the opening quarter with a 3-point edge. In the first 10 minutes, there were six ties, but it was Tech on top 16-14.
Things started to shift in the second as the Golden Eagles were able to collect seven unanswered points and led by as many as nine points before taking the 39-31 halftime lead. Tech led by 12 early on in the new half, but USI battled back to tie the game and take a lead. Thornton hit a second-chance layup to tie the game once more, then Larry drained three free-throw shots after being fouled on a long-ranger to give the Golden Eagles a 57-54 lead at the end of three.
In the fourth quarter, there were four ties and five lead changes with USI going on a 6-0 run, then the Golden Eagles answering with a 7-0 streak. The Screaming Eagles weren’t able to get the boards with Tech doubling them up 10-5. Raley put USI back up for the final time at the 4:45 mark with a pair of free throws, then, on the other end, Grimes sank a pair to give Tech a 71-70 lead.
Thornton extended the lead to three on a pair of tosses, then Saunders cut it back to one. Peyton Carter sank a pair to get back up by three, then Raley hit a second-chance jumper to make it a one-point game once more with 3:13 left.
Then the momentum shifted for the final time. Amelia Pfeiffer grabbed an offensive board and put the ball back up and in, then Keeley Carter drained a 3-pointer and Larry hit two freebees to make it an eight-point lead with 1:38 remaining.
Ralston hit the front end of a pair, then Grimes hit four straight free throws to make it an 11-point Tech lead with just 1:03 left, then Larry added two more at the 50-second mark for Tech’s final points of the game.
USI hit a layup and a free throw for its final points.
