PERRY AND WALDROP NAMED PRESEASON ALL-OVC WHILE SKYHAWKS PICKED TO FINISH SECOND AT OVC MEDIA DAY
10/22/2019 9:15:00 AM | Women's Basketball
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball junior duo of Chelsey Perry and Maddie Waldrop were recognized at Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Media Day as Preseason All-OVC honorees. Meanwhile, the Skyhawks were picked to finish second in the league standings in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
The voting panel picked Belmont as the preseason favorite while Bruin senior Ellie Harmeyer was named the league's Preseason Player of the Year. The Skyhawks duo of Perry and Waldrop is joined on the Preseason All-OVC team by Harmeyer, Jordan Brock (Tennessee Tech), Arielle Gonzalez-Varner (Austin Peay), Maura Muensterman (Belmont), Karle Pace (Eastern Illinois), Tesia Thompson (Southeast Missouri), Macey Turley (Murray State) and Maddie Wright (Belmont).
The Skyhawks return 12 players from a team that went 23-9 a season ago, finished second in the league standings and advanced to the program's seventh OVC Basketball Championship title game in the last nine years. UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan ranks third in OVC history with 196 career victories through 10 seasons. During his tenure, the Skyhawks have never finished worse than fourth place in the OVC standings while tallying four conference championships.
A native of Middleton, Tenn., Perry is a two-time Preseason All-OVC honoree after averaging 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season. Perry scored in double figures in 19 contests while tallying four games with at least 20 points. She scored a season-high 28 points against Tennessee Tech while ranking 24th nationally with 71 blocks and 30th with 2.22 blocks per game. The prolific shot blocker tallied a career-best six blocks against Mississippi Valley State and Morehead State while also garnering a spot on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Hailing from Murray, Ky., Waldrop took the next step in her progression in 2018-19, averaging 8.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Waldrop scored in double figures 10 times while tallying a season-high 20 points against Southeast Missouri, Belmont and Tennessee State. Along with her three double-doubles, she posted her best game of the season against Tennessee State in the regular season finale with 20 points and 16 rebounds. She ranked sixth in the OVC in defensive rebounds (4.8), ninth in total rebounds (7.3) and 10th in offensive rebounds (2.5). Academically, she has been named an OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient twice along with an OVC Medal of Honor recognition.
UT Martin will officially open the season on Wednesday, Nov. 6 with a matchup against Saint Louis. The Skyhawks will make their Kathleen and Tom Elam Center debut on Thursday, Nov. 21. For season tickets, go to www.UTMSports.com/tickets or call 731-881-7207.
2019-20 OVC Women's Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
Order of Finish
1. Belmont (14 first-place votes) - 234
2. UT Martin (Nine first-place votes) - 227
3. Tennessee Tech (One first-place vote) - 203
4. Austin Peay - 151
5. Jacksonville State - 147
6. Southeast Missouri - 139
7. Morehead State - 117
8. Murray State - 108
9. SIUE - 99
10. Eastern Illinois - 76
11. Tennessee State - 53
12. Eastern Kentucky - 30
(*Schools were not allowed to rank their own team. 11 points awarded for a first-place vote, 10 for second, etc.)
The voting panel picked Belmont as the preseason favorite while Bruin senior Ellie Harmeyer was named the league's Preseason Player of the Year. The Skyhawks duo of Perry and Waldrop is joined on the Preseason All-OVC team by Harmeyer, Jordan Brock (Tennessee Tech), Arielle Gonzalez-Varner (Austin Peay), Maura Muensterman (Belmont), Karle Pace (Eastern Illinois), Tesia Thompson (Southeast Missouri), Macey Turley (Murray State) and Maddie Wright (Belmont).
The Skyhawks return 12 players from a team that went 23-9 a season ago, finished second in the league standings and advanced to the program's seventh OVC Basketball Championship title game in the last nine years. UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan ranks third in OVC history with 196 career victories through 10 seasons. During his tenure, the Skyhawks have never finished worse than fourth place in the OVC standings while tallying four conference championships.
A native of Middleton, Tenn., Perry is a two-time Preseason All-OVC honoree after averaging 12.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last season. Perry scored in double figures in 19 contests while tallying four games with at least 20 points. She scored a season-high 28 points against Tennessee Tech while ranking 24th nationally with 71 blocks and 30th with 2.22 blocks per game. The prolific shot blocker tallied a career-best six blocks against Mississippi Valley State and Morehead State while also garnering a spot on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll.
Hailing from Murray, Ky., Waldrop took the next step in her progression in 2018-19, averaging 8.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Waldrop scored in double figures 10 times while tallying a season-high 20 points against Southeast Missouri, Belmont and Tennessee State. Along with her three double-doubles, she posted her best game of the season against Tennessee State in the regular season finale with 20 points and 16 rebounds. She ranked sixth in the OVC in defensive rebounds (4.8), ninth in total rebounds (7.3) and 10th in offensive rebounds (2.5). Academically, she has been named an OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll recipient twice along with an OVC Medal of Honor recognition.
UT Martin will officially open the season on Wednesday, Nov. 6 with a matchup against Saint Louis. The Skyhawks will make their Kathleen and Tom Elam Center debut on Thursday, Nov. 21. For season tickets, go to www.UTMSports.com/tickets or call 731-881-7207.
2019-20 OVC Women's Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
Order of Finish
1. Belmont (14 first-place votes) - 234
2. UT Martin (Nine first-place votes) - 227
3. Tennessee Tech (One first-place vote) - 203
4. Austin Peay - 151
5. Jacksonville State - 147
6. Southeast Missouri - 139
7. Morehead State - 117
8. Murray State - 108
9. SIUE - 99
10. Eastern Illinois - 76
11. Tennessee State - 53
12. Eastern Kentucky - 30
(*Schools were not allowed to rank their own team. 11 points awarded for a first-place vote, 10 for second, etc.)
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballSkyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 27
Thursday, April 10
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 26
Thursday, April 10
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 25
Thursday, April 10
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 24
Thursday, April 10