Harvey sinks game-winner as Trojans top Tennessee Tech in OVC opener

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. — Tia Harvey hit a contested shot to break a tie with less than a minute to play and the Little Rock women's basketball team locked down defensively to preserve a 59-57 win over Tennessee Tech during Thursday's Ohio Valley Conference opener at the Eblen Center. The win is the 400^th for head coach Joe Foley at Little Rock and the first for the Trojans as the road team.

Little Rock (2-10, 1-0 OVC) got a career-high 17 points from Leilani Wimbish-Gay, 16 from Faith Lee and 10 from Jayla Brooks. Jaiyah Harris-Smith dished out 10 assists while the Trojans shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the floor. Wimbish-Gay – the reigning OVC Newcomer of the Week – also added five rebounds and three assists. Shug Williams had six rebounds and four points while Harvey added six points off the bench.

The Golden Eagles (5-7, 0-1 OVC) got 10 points from Preseason OVC Player of the Year Maaliyah Owens, but she made just 5-of-13 shots as Tennessee Tech finished just 16-of-47 (34 percent) from the field.

Little Rock led by as many as 13 midways through the third period and the game featured six ties and six lead changes. The Trojans led most of the way, playing in front for more than 31 minutes of the contest. TTU was limited to just 1-of-14 shooting in the first period and 5-of-23 in the first half. Little Rock led 14-8 after the opening period and 27-23 at halftime before starting the second half with an 11-2 run that opened their largest lead at 38-25. The hosts answered with seven straight points to bring the score to 38-32 and eventually tied the game at 42-42 before Wimbish-Gay and Brooks converted layups in the final minute of the quarter.

Late in the fourth, the lead changed hands a few times and TTU tied it at 57-57 with 1:02 to play. With just 32 seconds left, Harvey hit a jumper from the right wing, then the defense did the rest, forcing a shot clock violation to end the game.

The Trojans will look to win their third in a row Saturday when they play at Tennessee State (3-8, 0-1 OVC), which lost at home to UT Martin on Thursday, 75-69.