The win, which improved the sixth-ranked Golden Suns to 6-1 on the season, extended Tech’s homecourt win streak to 23 straight games, which is tied for the fourth-longest streak in school history. The 23-game homecourt winning streak is the longest for the Golden Suns since winning 35 straight game from Jan. 11, 1993 to March 8, 1995.
“I was pleased with the way we played defense tonight against a very tough and disciplined team,” Golden Suns Head Coach Dave Wilbers said. “I thought our energy level was high and I like the way we played as team, especially in the second half.”
After allowing SEU to shoot 45 percent from the field and 42 percent from the 3-point line in the first half, Tech’s defense held the Hilltoppers to 35 percent field goal shooting and 20 percent shooting from long distance and forced 12 turnovers to earn its fifth home win of the young season.
“In the first half, give some credit to SEU, they hit a lot of shots,” Wilbers said. “But I think our defense wore them (SEU) down in the second half and then we got on a good run, got some transition going and our game took off after halftime.”
The Hilltoppers, who are a member of the Heartland Conference, jumped out to a 14-6 lead just a little more than five minutes into the game. Following SEU’s opening run, Tech used a 14-3 run capped by a lay-up by sophomore forward Jessica Weatherford (Bonnerdale, Ark.) with 10:59 left in the first half to take a 20-17 lead.
SEU (5-4 on the season), though, would retake the lead two minutes later on a three-pointer by Brittany Ward. Neither team would have more than a two point edge in the half until Tech used a 14-10 run over the final five-plus minutes to take a 41-36 lead at the half.
In the second half, SEU pulled with 43-39 following a free throw by Haley Tidwell with 17:11 left in the game, before Tech used a 13-0 run to push its lead to 56-39 with 12:49 left in the game. Tech’s run was aided by four consecutive lay-ups and capped by a three-pointer from junior forward Katie Horsman (Fairfield Bay, Ark.).
Perhaps the biggest catalyst for Tech’s second-half performance was senior guard Laura Beth Anderson (Springdale, Ark.). Anderson finished the game with eight points, a career-high eight rebounds and a career-high 10 assists against the Hilltoppers. In the second half, she scored six points, had three rebounds and six assists.
“Laura Beth played the best game since she’s been here at Tech,” said the fourth-year Tech coach. “It was her total game. She really played good defense, ran our transition (offense) good, got the ball to the open player and made some shots.
“She looked faster than anybody on the floor.”
Following Horsman’s trey, the Hilltoppers scored four straight points to pull within 56-45 with 10:05 left in the game, but that would be close as they would get as Tech pushed its lead to as much as 26 points following a lay-up by Weatherford with two minutes left in the game. SEU outscored Tech, 5-2, in the final minutes to make the final margin.
Junior forward Natalia Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) led the way offensively for Tech with 26 points and she added eight boards, while senior All-America guard Jenny Vining (Marshall, Ark.) tallied 15 points in the win. Weatherford and senior guard Shaquilah Davis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) each had eight points while battling foul trouble.
Tech’s bench played well for the second straight game as Horsman scored seven points off the bench, while junior forward Lindsey Root (Marion, Ark.) added six points and junior center Taise Da Silva (Americana, Brazil) had four points, three rebounds and two blocks off the bench.
“I liked the way our bench has played the last two games. That is something we’ve stressed in practice,” said Wilbers. “Our bench players came in and gave us some good, positive production.”
SEU was paced offensively by Kasey Harlos, who tallied 12 points, while Tidwell added nine points. Tidwell entered the game averaging a team-best 13.0 points per game.
Tech finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field and 46 percent from the three-point line and held a 42-29 edge on the glass. In addition, Tech dished out 21 assists and has now had 20 or more assists in five of its seven games this season.
The Golden Suns will now take a week off for first semester final exams and will return to action next Saturday, Dec. 11 as they travel to Jackson, Tenn., for a 2 p.m. contest at Lambuth. Tech collected a 107-60 win over the Lady Eagles at Tucker Coliseum on Nov. 20.
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