Box Score EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE center Raven Berry picked up her 28th career double-double Saturday but the Cougars dropped a 66-56 decision to visiting Tennessee Tech at the Vadalabene Center.
The loss dropped the Cougars to 7-9 overall and 1-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Tennessee Tech remained undefeated in league play at 4-0 and is now 10-7 overall.
Berry scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. She shot 7 of 10 from the field and 6 of 10 from the free throw line. She played just 28 minutes due to foul trouble.
"I can't say enough about how hard Raven plays and all the things she brings to the table. We need to learn to play around her a little bit more. She's always going to draw two players, but she's doing a great job of going hard to the boards. Everyone is trying to play physical with her, and it hurt us when she got in foul trouble," said SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher.
Tierny Austin was the only other Cougar in double figures with 16. She joined CoCo Moore for the team high in assists with four.
The Cougars were unable to slow down Jala Harris who finished with a game-high 26 points and seven assists.
"A lot of credit goes to Harris because she was creating for them. Our perimeter players were allowing her to penetrate into the paint and that gave them the kick out to hit some three-pointers. We need to do a better job defensively of keeping penetrators out of the lane," said Buscher.
The Golden Eagles shot nearly the same in both halves and far better than what the Cougars defense wanted to allow. TTU shot 51 percent from the field (25-49).
Lashay Davis was the only other Golden Eagles player in double digits with 10.
The Cougars opened the game with a 2-0 lead on a bucket by Berry who now needs eight points to move into the No. 7 slot in all-time scoring past Jenny Abert (1987-90) and Alicia Harkins (1995-97).
Tennessee Tech seized the lead 3-2 on a three-pointer by Katherine Barker with 18:18 to play in the first half and never trailed the rest of the contest. The Golden Eagles extended their lead to 11 by halftime at 36-25.
Despite outrebounding Tennessee Tech 41-28, SIUE pulled within six twice in the second half but couldn't overcome the Golden Eagles down the stretch. The Cougars shot 31.5 percent from the field for the game.
"I know we can shoot the ball better. Sometimes it's just about staying calm and not getting rushed with the ball. We had some nice open looks tonight, and we have to drop those," Buscher said.
SIUE looks to get back on the winning track Monday with a 7 p.m. game at the Vadalabene Center. The Cougars entertain Jacksonville State.
"We'll turn around tomorrow, talk about some things, and look at the film from tonight. After that we'll shift our focus to Monday's game," Buscher said.
