The 120 points are the most scored by the Golden Suns in the program’s 34-year history, while the 86-point margin of victory was the largest in school history. Tech bettered the old scoring record of 114 points set against Philander Smith in 1989, while the 86-point victory margin bested the old mark of 80 set against Rhema Bible College in 2008. In addition, it was the 100 point game for the Golden Suns since scoring 106 points in its 106-62 home win last season over Lane College.
“We really played well tonight and were firing on all cylinders,” Golden Suns Head Coach Dave Wilbers said following the record-setting victory. “Our bench players played a lot of valuable minutes tonight and that will help us down the road.”
Tech, who improved to 2-0 for the third consecutive year and the 23rd time in school history, put Tuesday’s game away early as Tech, who is ranked No. 1 in the Preseason USA Today/ESPN WBCA Division II Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, scored the game’s first seven points and led by as much as 31 points in the first half.
After opening the game by scoring the first seven points, the Lady Eagles pulled within 14-9 following a three-pointer by Hannah Brim with 11:54 left in the first half. But that would be as close as Rhema (2-2 on the season) would get as Tech used a 30-4 run over the next nine-plus minutes to push out to a 44-13 lead following a three-pointer by senior All-America guard Jenny Vining (Marshall, Ark.). Vining was one of six Golden Suns to reach double figures in the win as she scored 16 points and added eight rebounds.
In the first half, Tech, who ran its homecourt winning streak to 20 straight games, shot a blistering 61 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line and forced 23 turnovers that led to 29 points.
“I thought we did a lot better on defense tonight than we did on Sunday against St. Gregory’s,” Wilbers said. “I thought we passed the ball extremely well tonight and everyone on the court was looking for each other.
“And when we run the floor like we did at times tonight, it can be really overwhelming.”
Tech finished the game with 33 assists on 48 made baskets and scored 36 fast break points in the victory. Freshman guard Shanae Govan (Crossett, Ark.) dished out a game-high six assists, while senior guard Laura Beth Anderson (Springdale, Ark.) had five assists.
In the second half, Tech hit its first four baskets to push its 48-18 halftime lead to 59-18 just three minutes into the second half. In fact, Tech connected on 13 of its first 18 shots of the second half, including junior forward Lindsey Root (Martion, Ark.) connecting on three consecutive three-pointers, to take an 82-22 lead following a three-pointer from junior forward Katie Horsman (Fairfield Bay, Ark.) with 11:59 left in the contest. Root finished the game a perfect 4-for-4 from the 3-point line.
“Lindsey was outstanding shooting the ball from the 3-point line tonight. It gives her some confidence and will help our team down the road,” said the fourth-year Tech coach.
The Golden Suns hit the century mark with 7:22 left in the game following a three-pointer on a fast break by Vining. Vining’s trey capped an 18-1 run by the Golden Suns.
Along with Vining’s 16 points, junior forward Natalia Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) led the way with a game-high 18 points, including scoring 12 points after halftime. Root and sophomore forward Jessica Weatherford (Bonnerdale, Ark.) each tallied 12 points, while Horsman and junior forward Samanta Ludwig (Toledo, Brazil) each scored 10 points in the win.
Junior center Taise Da Silva (Americana, Brazil) had nine points and six boards and sophomore guard/forward Sarah Martin (Muldrow, Okla.) chipped in with eight points. In fact, every one of Tech’s players that saw action scored, except for sophomore guard Laura Davidson (Greenwood, Ark.), who collected three rebounds, three assists and three steals in 10 minutes of action.
Tech’s defense forced 40 turnovers and held a 60-5 edge in point off turnovers and also Tech dominated on the glass as they outrebounded the Lady Eagles, 45-15, including picking up 20 offensive boards.
Rhema had two players reach double figures as Hannah Daniel scored 12 points, while Brim added 11 points in the loss.
For the game, Tech shot 62 percent from the field, including shooting 64 percent from the floor in the second half and was 11-for-20 (55 percent) from downtown in the victory. Rhema finished the night shooting 28 percent from the field and 25 percent from the 3-point line.
The Golden Suns will remain at home this coming weekend as they host Lambuth in a 4 p.m. South Region contest on Saturday, Nov. 20 at Tucker Coliseum.
“Lambuth has a good team with a bunch of new players this season,” Wilbers said. “It will be a good test for us. We have got to get better over these next three days.”
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