UT MARTIN WOMEN’S HOOPS EARNS SPOT IN OVC CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS WITH COMEBACK VICTORY OVER MOREHEAD STATE

Friday, March 8

Evansville, Ind.

3 p.m.

UT Martin

23-8

Morehead State

23-10

UT Martin

Morehead St.

UT MARTIN WOMEN’S HOOPS EARNS SPOT IN OVC CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS WITH COMEBACK VICTORY OVER MOREHEAD STATE

3/8/2019 7:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Boxscore PDF Photo Gallery

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A 14-point deficit proved to be no match for the No. 3 seed University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team on Friday afternoon as the Skyhawks fought back in the second half to post a 68-58 victory in the Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championship semifinals over No. 2 seed Morehead State. With the win, the Skyhawks advance to the OVC Championship title game against top-seeded Belmont on Saturday.

The Skyhawks (23-8) fell behind early in the contest as the team was looking at a 14-point deficit with 8:21 to play in the second quarter. From there UT Martin began its comeback attempt by trimming the deficit to seven points at halftime before opening the second half on a 15-5 run to erase the deficit and put the squad on top. The game would remain a back-and-forth matchup until the midway point of the fourth quarter when the Skyhawks began to put the game away and ultimately pushed their margin out to 10 points in the final minute.

With the win, UT Martin advances to the OVC Championship title game for the seventh time in the past 10 years while improving the program's record in the field to 17-6 under the direction of head coach Kevin McMillan. Additionally, the team's 23^rd win of the season ranks tied for the second-most wins in program history.

Senior Emanye Robertson steered the ship for the Skyhawks in the contest, as the All-OVC first team selection scored a game-high 26 points while tallying five rebounds and four assists. Fellow guard Zaire Hicks was strong once again with 13 points from the other guard spot while sophomore forward Maddie Waldrop tallied her third double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Rounding out the Skyhawks in double figures was sophomore Chelsey Perry with 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.

"I honestly didn't think we showed up in the first quarter, I didn't think our kids wanted to compete." McMillan said. "Thankfully, I think Emanye really carried us through the first half and into the second half when we proved to be a different team. A couple shots and a couple stops early really got our kids going. It was kind of a strange game to see us down by 14 early, but we didn't panic and our kids were able to recover."

Morehead State (23-10) had its regular season come to a close despite a well-rounded effort. All-OVC guard Miranda Crockett paced the Eagles with 16 points while Mckenzie Calvert (15 points) and Darianne Seward (12 points) also scored in double figures.

UT Martin will return to action in an attempt to tally the program's fifth OVC Basketball Championship title with a matchup against No. 1 seed Belmont on Saturday, March 9. Tipoff from the Ford Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.