Ohio Valley Conference

COLUMBIA, S.C. - With Tennessee Tech's 12th appearance in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament in the rearview, the Golden Eagles close the books on what has been an incredible season. After all, that's the facet to look at following Friday's first round game against the top-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks.

With a 108-48 loss to the defending national champions, yes, there's disappointment. When wouldn't there be as a season comes to a close, especially with an incredible group of people who have gone through so much and lifted each other up to new heights?

As Tech head coach Kim Rosamond noted in the post-game press conference, it took the defending national champions to end the Golden Eagles' impressive 17-game winning streak.

There's no point in going blow-by-blow. The Gamecocks (31-3) showed their skill, their strength, their worthiness – indicating why they are one of the favorites in cutting down the net at the end of the Big Dance. The Golden Eagles (26-6) showed their heart.

At no point in the game did the Tennessee Tech squad lower their heads. From the first seconds of the game all the way to the final seconds as fifth-year Peyton Carter drained a long 3-pointer, the Golden Eagles fought to the end. South Carolina made it tough, but Tech wasn't going to quit.

The Golden Eagles got double-digit scoring from Taris Thornton and Peyton Carter as the former scored 13 and the latter 12. Reghan Grimes scored nine.

Joyce Edwards scored 22 points on 9-for-12 shooting, followed by MiLaysia Fulwiley with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and Chloe Kitts with 10 points. With the home crowd behind them every step of the way, the Gamecocks shot a scorching 67.2 percent from the field (43-for-64), 63.2 percent from long range (12-for-19) and 76.9 percent from the free-throw line (10-for-13).

Tech had good looks, but was held to 32.2 percent shooting from the court, 4-for-20 from beyond the arc and 6-for-7 at the line.

For Carter, she knows it's the end of an incredible ride, so ending her final campaign on a made 3-pointer was an exclamation point on a tremendous career.

As the fight continued, the Golden Eagles never gave up. The players believed in themselves. The coaches believed in their young charges and kept the battle up until the final buzzer sounded.

Tradition is everything at Tennessee Tech. With the multitude of banners hanging in the rafters of the Hooper Eblen Center, the gathering of loyal alumni in the stands, the never-ending support of the fans and the community, to have two everlasting reminders of what this team accomplished was worth everything.

Two years ago, Tennessee Tech was making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000. Now the Golden Eagles have made two appearances in the last three years.