UT MARTIN’S THRILLING SECOND HALF COMEBACK ATTEMPT COMES UP JUST SHORT IN 86-84 LOSS TO SIUE IN OVC TOURNAMENT

Wednesday, March 2

Evansville, Ind.

3:30 p.m.

UT Martin

12-18

SIUE

13-17

SIUE

UT Martin

UT MARTIN’S THRILLING SECOND HALF COMEBACK ATTEMPT COMES UP JUST SHORT IN 86-84 LOSS TO SIUE IN OVC TOURNAMENT

3/2/2022 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After once trailing by as much as 24, the sixth seeded University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team rallied in the second half to tie the game in the final minute against the seven seed SIUE before ultimately seeing its comeback attempt come up just short with a heartbreaking 86-84 loss in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championship.

With the loss, UT Martin brings its 2021-22 campaign to a close with a final record of 12-18.

UT Martin overcame a 24-point deficit in the first half and rattled off 58 points in the second half to ultimately tie the contest in the final minute and set a new season-high in total scoring output with 84 points. Sophomore guard Seygan Robins played a big roll in the comeback attempt by knocking down six three-pointers in the second half and scoring 22 of her career-high 26 points in the final 20 minutes of the contest.

Despite the sizable second half push, the game came down to a pair of free throws by Mikayla Kinnard with 2.2 seconds remaining in the contest which she sank to give the Cougars a two-point advantage. While the Skyhawks had a good look at the potential game-tying bucket, the layup rolled around the rim and out as the final horn sounded.

The offensive shootout saw a total of seven players score in double figures in the contest with Robins leading all scorers with her 26 points. All-Newcomer selection Shae Littleford also posted a strong showing her tournament debut with 18 points while graduate Holly Forbes tossed in 16 points and seven rebounds in her final collegiate game.

Gallery: (3-2-2022) WBB vs. SIUE (OVC Tourney)

For the Cougars, it was All-OVC first team selection Gabby Nikitinaite who led the way for the team by tallying 24 points and seven assists in the win. Senior Allie Troeckler notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds for SIUE while both Kinnard and Masyn McWilliams scored 14 points each.

"We were down by as much as 24 in the game and just kept battling," UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. "I really screwed it up in the first half because I was tinkering with minutes trying to keep everyone fresh and I think that got our kids out of rhythm a little bit. Give SIUE credit though, they made everything in the first half. I told them at halftime that you have two choices, we are either going to get beat by 50 or we are going to win the game. We fought hard enough to win that game and were just one or two plays away from doing just that. How do you hang your head if you are a UT Martin kid? You don't. They did everything they could do to give us a chance and I am very proud of them."

SIUE came out of the gates on fire with an 8-0 run and maintained that momentum throughout much of the first half. After facing a nine-point deficit after one quarter of play, that margin quickly ballooned to 24 points with 5:12 to play in the first half. When everything was said and done, the Cougars took a 46-26 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

The early portion of the third quarter saw both teams go blow for blow as each team used mini-runs to try and make a difference in the margin but with nearly three minutes to play in the quarter, SIUE's lead still held at 23 points. From that point on, the Skyhawks made their push by finishing the third quarter on a 13-3 run.

Once in the fourth quarter, UT Martin stayed aggressive and continued to chip away. The Skyhawks got the margin down to single digits for the first time since early in the first quarter with three minutes to play before a free throw by Shanice Simpson-Whiteley with 1:04 left in the game knotted the contest up at 84-84.

With the game in crunch time, a foul with two seconds to play sent Kinnard to the free throw line where she knocked down both free throw attempts to put the Cougars up 86-84. Following a timeout to advance the ball down the court, the Skyhawks drew up a potential game-tying score but the layup attempt by Raegan Johnson rattled around the rim to seal game's final decision.