TTU gets 8th straight win, beats Monmouth in First Four
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Maaliya Owens and Jada Guinn each scored 18 points and Tennessee Tech won its eighth straight game with a 79-69 victory over Monmouth on Thursday night in the First Four.
Tennessee Tech (23-9), the No. 16 seed, advances to face top-seeded Indiana in the first round on Saturday. The Golden Eagles won their first NCAA Tournament game since 1990.
The Golden Eagles made 10 3-pointers in the first half — after averaging just 6.5 makes this season. Peyton Carter had four 3-pointers, Owens sank all three of her attempts and Jordan Brock also made three. Tennessee Tech finished the game 12 of 26 from distance.
Owens scored seven points in the third quarter and Tennessee Tech closed on an 11-5 run for a 54-44 lead. Monmouth got within six points with 4:31 left in the fourth on a 3-pointer by Ariana Vanderhoop. Reghan Grimes grabbed an offensive rebound at the other end and put it back and Tennessee Tech’s lead didn’t drop below eight points the rest of the way.
Brock finished with 16 points and Carter added 12 points for Tennessee Tech. Owens made four 3-pointers to set the program record for makes in a season. Guinn had six assists.
The Golden Eagles made eight straight field goals and closed the first half on a 12-4 run to take a 40-33 lead. Owens started the run of 10 straight points with a 3-pointer, Brock added a 3 on the next possession, Reagan Hurst sank a baseline jumper and Guinn converted a layup to close the run.
Vanderhoop scored 17 points and Lucy Thomas added 16 for Monmouth (18-16), which was trying for its first win in the tournament since 1983. Bri Tinsley, averaging a team-high 12.1 points per game, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with 11 points.
Monmouth won four games in four days to win the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. The Hawks made history as the first No. 7 seed to win the
CAA title after knocking off the number one, two and three seeds.
ST. JOHN’S 66, PURDUE 64
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jayla Everett made a go-ahead shot with 0.3 seconds left and St. John’s edged Purdue 66-64 on Thursday night in a First Four game.
St. John’s (23-8), a No. 11 seed making its 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, advances to play sixth-seeded North Carolina in the first round on Saturday.
Everett curled off a screen and sank a jumper from the free-throw line with 1:30 left for a 64-62 lead.
But the Red Storm turned it over on their next possession and Lasha Petree made a shot in the lane to tie it at 64-all with 30.3 left.
After a timeout, Mimi Reid dribbled down the clock before starting the offense with about 10 seconds left. Everett drove the right side of the lane and had the ball knocked loose before corralling it and sinking a shot from a difficult angle.
Everett finished with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and Unique Drake added 16 points with four 3-pointers for St. John’s. Drake was 4 of 6 from distance, Everett made 3 of 6 and St. John’s finished 11 of 23 after entering averaging just 6.2 makes per game.
Everett was called for a technical foul with 3:48 remaining in the fourth quarter for arguing with an official after she appeared to cleanly block a shot. Petree celebrated the call and made contact with an opponent, leading to an intentional foul. The two fouls offset, but Everett went to the bench with four fouls before returning with 2:07 left.
Petree had 20 points and eight rebounds for Purdue (19-11), which was making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2017. Caitlyn Harper scored 14 points.
St. John’s scored 22 points off 16 Purdue turnovers.
Everett scored nine points in the third quarter and Drake made St. John’s 11th 3-pointer late in the frame for a 60-45 lead — its largest of the game.