SKYHAWKS TAKE SUN BELT PRESEASON FAVORITE TROY TO THE BRINK BUT FALL 89-84 IN SEASON OPENER

Thursday, November 10

Martin, Tenn.

6 p.m.

UT Martin

0-1

Troy

2-0

Troy

UT Martin

SKYHAWKS TAKE SUN BELT PRESEASON FAVORITE TROY TO THE BRINK BUT FALL 89-84 IN SEASON OPENER

11/10/2022 10:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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MARTIN, Tenn. – A young University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team went toe-to-toe with the Sun Belt Conference preseason favorite Troy in the squad's season opener on Thursday night but fell just short of the victory, dropping the 89-84 decision.

The Skyhawks (0-1) gave the home fans a glimpse of the team's potential with a strong impression in the season opener. Along with a faster paced offense, UT Martin was highly efficient from the floor as the team made 56.4 percent of its shot attempts while knocking down eight three pointers. The team's only Achilles heal was its turnovers as Troy forced the home squad into 29 turnovers which also resulted directly in 32 points for the Trojans.

UT Martin had four players score in double figures in the contest led by the standout performance of freshman Kenley McCarn who poured in 31 points in her Skyhawk debut. McCarn's performance ranks as the best debut scoring performance by a Skyhawk in program history. Another freshman also had a nice night as Sharnecce Currie-Jelks notched hopefully the first of many double-doubles in her career with 14 points and 15 rebounds.

The team also had strong contributions from two of the team's most veteran performers in graduate guards Paige Pipkin and Seygan Robins. The tandem both scored 14 points in the contests while Robins did a lot of her damage from beyond the arc where she knocked down four three-point field goals. Meanwhile sophomore Shae Littleford did a little bit of everything with eight points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.

Gallery: (11-10-2022) WBB vs. Troy

"Probably the thing I'm most proud of is that when we were down 14 with a little over a minute left to go, that we were able to cut it down to five with five seconds to go," UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. "That is what I want to see from us, that we are not going to quit. If they will do that, I like where we are going to be at the end of the year."

Troy (2-0) picked up its second win of the week after overcoming a tough shooting night with a blistering 50 percent effort in the fourth quarter to pull away. The Trojans knocked down six of their 10 three-pointers in the final period while winning the battle of the boards with 44 rebounds – including 25 offensive second chances.

The Trojans saw three players reach double figures with guard Jada Walton pacing the team with 18 points while also tallying seven rebounds and four assists. Tai'Sheka Porchia had a nice double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Gabbi Cartagena came alive in the fourth quarter to score all 14 of her points. Fellow guard Sharonica Hartsfield also stuffed the stat sheet with six points, 10 assists and eight steals in the win.

UT Martin jumped out to a lead as large as five points in the first quarter before Troy later took a one-point advantage in the second quarter. The Trojans then built upon that final run to close out the first by stretching their advantage out to seven points midway through the first half. From there the Skyhawks answered by chipping away each possession before ultimately taking a 37-36 lead into halftime.

The second half saw both teams trade shot for shot with the Skyhawks pushing out a lead as high as four points in the third period before both teams went into the final quarter tied at 58-58. With just 10 minutes left to determine the winner, Troy used a 9-0 run to take control of the game and later pushed its advantage out to as large as 14 points with 46 seconds to play. The Skyhawks would not go down quietly as they trimmed the deficit to as slim as five points in the final seconds but saw their comeback attempt ultimately run out of time.

UT Martin will look to rebound when returning to the court to host Arkansas State on Monday, Nov. 14. Tipoff from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is scheduled for 6 p.m.