Thursday, January 3
Charleston, Ill.
5:15 p.m.
UT Martin
71
at
77
Eastern Illinois
SKYHAWK WOMEN’S HOOPS SIMPLY FALL SHORT IN OVC OPENER AT EIU
1/3/2019 8:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CHARLESTON, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team saw its three-game winning streak come to a close on Thursday night as a sluggish start to the night proved too much to overcome in the Ohio Valley Conference opener, falling at Eastern Illinois 77-71.
The Skyhawks (8-4, 0-1 OVC) trailed by as much as 16 points in the contest, as the nation's No. 8 scoring offense was held to just 27 points in the opening half of action. A rough shooting performance plagued the squad early as the Skyhawks shot just 33.3 percent from the field in half while tallying 12 turnovers. UT Martin would look to make a final move in the fourth quarter by scoring 27 points and cutting the margin to as close as four points before ultimately running out of gas.
UT Martin saw four different players score in double figures in the contest. Sophomore forward Maddie Waldrop tallied a season-high 15 points to lead the Skyhawks while tallying eight rebounds. The trio of senior Emanye Robertson, junior Aundrea Adams and freshman Brittni Moore also chipped in 11 points each to round out the quartet.
"I've been trying to tell people but they didn't believe me that we haven't been getting better but we have won some games," UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. "When you wear a UT Martin uniform, everyone wants to beat you and EIU wanted to beat us tonight. We simply didn't show up. I knew from a loose ball on the opening tip that it set the tone for the whole game. Our mindset is to show up when we want to and tonight we didn't."
Eastern Illinois (7-5, 1-0 OVC) notched its first win in an OVC opener since the 2014-15 season. The Panthers were led by a balanced scoring attack and the play of senior guard Grace Lennox who tallied a season-high 26 points while dishing out five assists. Carmen Tellez scored 15 points off the bench while the starting trio of Grace McRae (13 points), Taylor Steele (13 points) and Karle Pace (10 points) also cracked double-digits.
UT Martin will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 5 when traveling to Southeast Missouri. Tipoff from the Show Me Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Skyhawks (8-4, 0-1 OVC) trailed by as much as 16 points in the contest, as the nation's No. 8 scoring offense was held to just 27 points in the opening half of action. A rough shooting performance plagued the squad early as the Skyhawks shot just 33.3 percent from the field in half while tallying 12 turnovers. UT Martin would look to make a final move in the fourth quarter by scoring 27 points and cutting the margin to as close as four points before ultimately running out of gas.
UT Martin saw four different players score in double figures in the contest. Sophomore forward Maddie Waldrop tallied a season-high 15 points to lead the Skyhawks while tallying eight rebounds. The trio of senior Emanye Robertson, junior Aundrea Adams and freshman Brittni Moore also chipped in 11 points each to round out the quartet.
"I've been trying to tell people but they didn't believe me that we haven't been getting better but we have won some games," UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. "When you wear a UT Martin uniform, everyone wants to beat you and EIU wanted to beat us tonight. We simply didn't show up. I knew from a loose ball on the opening tip that it set the tone for the whole game. Our mindset is to show up when we want to and tonight we didn't."
Eastern Illinois (7-5, 1-0 OVC) notched its first win in an OVC opener since the 2014-15 season. The Panthers were led by a balanced scoring attack and the play of senior guard Grace Lennox who tallied a season-high 26 points while dishing out five assists. Carmen Tellez scored 15 points off the bench while the starting trio of Grace McRae (13 points), Taylor Steele (13 points) and Karle Pace (10 points) also cracked double-digits.
UT Martin will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 5 when traveling to Southeast Missouri. Tipoff from the Show Me Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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