UT MARTIN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SET FOR WNIT CONSOLATION MATCHUP WITH LOUISIANA ON SATURDAY MORNING

Saturday, March 20

Collierville, Tenn.

11 a.m.

UT Martin

Louisiana

UT MARTIN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SET FOR WNIT CONSOLATION MATCHUP WITH LOUISIANA ON SATURDAY MORNING

3/19/2021 10:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Watch: FloHoops Live Stats Listen: WCMT 1410 AM / 100.5 FM UTM Notes Tournament Central

The defending Ohio Valley Conference regular season champion University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team will square off with Sun Belt foe Louisiana in the 2021 Women's National Invitation Tournament Memphis Regional consolation bracket on Saturday, March 20. Tipoff from My Town Movers Fieldhouse in Collierville, Tenn. is scheduled for 11 a.m.

The WNIT Memphis Regional site will allow 100 guests per team. Tickets will not be available to purchase for the general public. All games will be streamed by FloHoops, available here: https://bit.ly/3sJSgny.

The Skyhawks (20-6) recently won the program's seventh OVC championship with a 17-2 league mark. UT Martin posted its third straight 20-win season while qualifying for the postseason 10 times in the program's 29-year Division-I history. This marks the Skyhawks sixth berth in the Women's NIT as the team competed in the event in 1999, 2015, 2016 and 2018 while earning an automatic bid to the postseason tournament before its cancelation last season.

UT Martin dropped its first-round matchup to Nebraska 72-46. The Skyhawks jumped out to a quick start, growing a lead as large as six points in the first quarter while holding the advantage for nearly 12 minutes of the first half. Both teams would go back and forth in the opening half with the lead changing hands 10 times before the Huskers took control in the second half. While the shots were there for the Skyhawks, they just wouldn't fall as the team shot just 30.9 percent from the floor – a season-low.

Highlighting the squad is the senior pair of Chelsey Perry and Maddie Waldrop which are looking to put the finishing touches on their decorated careers. Perry recently earned her second consecutive OVC Player of the Year honor and is averaging 22.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. She led all scorers in the first game of the WNIT, tallying her 17^th career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Waldrop tallied eight points and seven rebounds in the opener.

UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan is 238-142 in his 12 seasons at the helm of the Skyhawks. McMillan claimed his fourth OVC Coach of the Year honor this season after leading his team to its 10th championship crown – six regular season and four tournament titles – during his tenure.

Louisiana (16-7) is making its first appearance in the WNIT after clinching the program's first Sun Belt regular season championship with a 13-1 league mark. Three Ragin' Cajuns earned Sun Belt All-Conference honors including first team selection Ty'Reona Doucet (10.7 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 34 blocks), second team honoree Brandi Williams (12.0 ppg) and third teamer Skyler Goodwin (10.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg). The Ragin Cajuns' dropped their first-round matchup 68-45 to move into the consolation bracket.

Friday's contest marks the first meeting in the all-time series against Louisiana while UT Martin is 5-4 against members of the Sun Belt during the McMillan Era. The Skyhawks are 2-5 all-time in the WNIT with the program's last win coming in the 2016 tournament field against Memphis.

The game will be streamed live on FloHoops (pay-per-view) with Greg Gaston doing play-by-play. Both on the radio and streamed online, Chris Brinkley will broadcast the game on WCMT 1410 AM / 100.5 FM and through the Thunderbolt Radio app. Those links - in addition to live stats - can be found at the top of the webpage.