The historic 2024-25 season has come to an end for the Tennessee Tech Women’s basketball team as they fell to South Carolina 108-48 in the first round of the NCAA tournament last Friday.
Tech entered the tournament as an automatic qualifier after winning both the OVC regular season championship and the OVC tournament championship, finishing with a record of 26-6 overall.
The matchup was your classic 16-seed versus 1-seed scenario as the Gamecocks, led by head coach Dawn Staley, were too much for the upset-minded Golden Eagles.
South Carolina out-rebounded Tech 47 to 15, had 58 points in the paint compared to Tech’s 20 and saw their bench outscore Tech’s bench 66-13.
Senior forward Taris Thornton finished with a team-high 13 points in the contest, while senior guard Peyton Carter had 12.
The Golden Eagles, despite the loss, won 17 games in a row prior to their meeting against South Carolina. Tech also had numerous all-OVC selections on their roster as well.
Junior guard Reghan Grimes was selected to the first team, while senior guards Peyton Carter and Keeley Carter were selected to the second team.
Freshman guard Chloe Larry was selected to the OVC all-newcomer team along with Keeley Carter.
Prior to the matchup against the Gamecocks, Tech hosted a watch party on Mar. 16 during Selection Sunday as they awaited their fate in the tournament.
Head coach Kim Rosamond started the interview by describing how proud she was of her team; “I can’t say enough about our locker room and the young women in that locker room, and what they have done to put Tennessee Tech on this platform.”
Rosamond also emphasized that the team was aware of the challenge ahead of them; “We’re playing the defending national champions, and the respect that I have for Dawn Staley, having been in that league…I can promise you this, our kids, they won’t back down.”
Peyton Carter, a member of the 2022-23 Golden Eagle squad that also made it to the NCAA tournament, described the takeaways from the last experience; “You learn every time you get to a place and a situation…we’re excited to be back here again. We’re ready to make some noise.”
The loss to South Carolina in the NCAA tournament brings the storied season to an end for the Golden Eagles as they will now enter the roster-managing phase that the offseason provides.
In terms of eligibility, if all players decide to return to the team, Tech could see the likes of Reghan Grimes, Chloe Larry and freshman center Amelia Pfieffer return for the 2025-26 season.
Junior guard Reagan Hurst also recently announced her plans to return for her senior season, which could be huge for the Golden Eagles.
