RICHMOND, Ky. – Crystal Jones scored 25 points and Niki Avery added 17 as Eastern Kentucky beat Tennessee Tech University, 74-62, Saturday at McBrayer Arena. The Lady Colonels move to 3-2 in Ohio Valley Conference games and 8-4 overall. The Golden Eagles fall to 2-12 on the season and 1-3 in league games.
Jones made 11 of 23 shots from the field and added nine rebounds to go along with her 25 points. Four of Avery’s six field goals came from beyond the three-point arc.
Kristina Tyler scored a game-high 30 points for Tennessee Tech. She also had eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Meagan Lyons finished with 12 points.
The game remained close throughout much of the first half as each team exchanged runs to prevent the other from gaining too much momentum.
LaTonyah Bentley’s three-pointer with 13:35 left in the opening half put the Lady Colonels on top 17-12. However, Tyler scored six straight and her jumper at the 10:26 mark put Tennessee Tech up by one, 18-17. Tyler connected on six of her first eight shots and scored 14 of Tech’s first 18 points.
Eastern Kentucky answered the Golden Eagles’ 6-0 run with an 8-0 run of its own. Jones scored six of the eight points and her jumper with 8:17 left in the opening period gave EKU its largest first half lead at seven points, 25-18.
One good run deserves another and TTU rolled off eight straight to get back on top by one. Three-pointers by Meagan Lyons and Marissa Hensley fueled the run.
It was the Lady Colonels turn and a Jones jumper and a three by Avery created a 5-0 spurt to put the home team up by four, 30-26, with 3:30 showing on the clock.
Tennessee Tech tied the score again with a pair of free throws by Tyler with less than a minute to play. Lindsey Waters’ driving lay-up in the closing seconds sent Eastern Kentucky to the locker room with a 34-32 lead.
Tyler had 18 first half points. Only four Golden Eagles scored in the first half and only three players had more than two points.
Jones led the Lady Colonels with 10 points.
Eastern Kentucky opened the second half with a 15-6 run. A three-pointer from Avery pushed the Lady Colonels to a 10-point lead, 45-35.
The Lady Colonels worked the transition game to perfection to cap the run. Waters rebounded a missed Tech shot and hit Cherie White at mid-court. With a two-on-two situation, White drove to the basket on the left side before passing to Avery on the right side. Avery dished to a driving Jones down the middle and Jones converted the lay-up to extend the lead to 11, 49-38. That play forced Tech to take a time out with 15:15 left in the game.
The Golden Eagles scored four unanswered points after the time out to cut the deficit to seven points, but they would get no closer. A lay-up by Jones with 7:46 left in the game put the Lady Colonels in front by 11, 55-44. EKU would maintain a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.
A jumper and a free throw by Shavonne Jones gave Eastern Kentucky its largest lead, 14 points, with just over a minute left in the game.
EKU only out-rebounded Tennessee Tech by two, 35-33, but the Lady Colonels limited the Golden Eagles to eight offensive rebounds while grabbing 15 boards off the offensive glass themselves. Eastern held a 13-20 edge in turnovers.
TTU shot 44.0 percent (22-of-50) for the game. Eastern made only 39.1 percent (25-of-64) but connected on three more field goals than the Golden Eagles did.
The Lady Colonels will return to action on Thursday when they face OVC rival Morehead State at Johnson Arena in Morehead, Ky. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m.
