FIVE SCORE IN DOUBLE FIGURES AS SKYHAWK WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SOARS TO 83-64 OVC ROAD TRIUMPH AT SIUE

Thursday, February 2

Edwardsville, Ill.

11 a.m.

UT Martin

9-12, 6-5OVC

SIUE

6-16, 5-6OVC

UT Martin

SIUE

FIVE SCORE IN DOUBLE FIGURES AS SKYHAWK WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SOARS TO 83-64 OVC ROAD TRIUMPH AT SIUE

2/2/2023 1:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Stats PDF Photo Gallery

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball team connected on a season-high 48 percent of its three-point attempts as the Skyhawks rolled to an 83-64 road victory at Ohio Valley Conference rival SIUE.

UT Martin's 83 points were one shy of its season-high in the scoring column as the Skyhawks converted 12 of their 25 tries from three-point land. UT Martin forced the Cougars into 26 turnovers, outscoring SIUE by a 33-13 margin in points off turnovers.

Shae Littleford collected game-highs of 20 points and four steals while adding four assists and four rebounds for the Skyhawks, who improve to 9-12 overall and 6-5 in OVC play. UT Martin also received 17 points from Josie Storey (5-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc), 13 points out of Sharnecce Currie-Jelks, 12 points from Paige Pipkin and 11 points out of Lexi Rubel.

The Cougars (6-16, 5-6 OVC) were paced by Ajulu Thatha's 19 points and 14 rebounds. Sofie Lowis provided 15 points and a team-high three steals but the Cougars were limited to 21.4 percent shooting (3-for-14) from three-point range.

"I thought we played really well for the first 36 minutes," Skyhawk head coach Kevin McMillan said. "We haven't been able to press all year because we've had excuses – injuries, sickness, playing with only seven kids, etc. Our kids are way more intense when we press – we shot the ball well and were the aggressor. Now that we're playing with nine players, we have to figure out chemistry. We have some minutes to spread around now and we have to get them used to playing together. We're playing hard and we're growing up – the kids are giving everything they got."

Gallery: (2-2-2023) WBB at SIUE

After SIUE scored the first four points of the contest, UT Martin went on a 9-0 run. Rubel knocked down long jumper from the right corner to get the Skyhawks on the scoreboard and added a pair of free throws during the run. The freshman out of Cape Girardeau, Mo. also added an old-fashioned three-point play at the 4:41 mark as UT Martin doubled up the Cougars at 14-7.

Littleford then took over, canning a pair of three-pointers in a three-minute stretch. Seygan Robins beat the buzzer with a straightaway trey just before time expired to give the Skyhawks a 23-14 edge after the first quarter.

Just 13 seconds into the second quarter, Storey sank a three-pointer from the right corner to build UT Martin's lead up to a dozen. The freshman from Mountain View, Ark. tacked on another trifecta less than two minutes later to keep the Skyhawk advantage in double digits (31-20).

The Cougars responded with six unanswered points but Currie-Jelks generated six of UT Martin's final eight points of the half as the Skyhawks claimed a 42-31 lead at the break.

Littleford's 13 points and three steals guided UT Martin in the first 20 minutes while Thatha's 13 first-half points paced SIUE.

The Cougars scored the first bucket of the second half but Currie-Jelks helped spur another UT Martin run. The freshman out of Jackson, Tenn. tossed in six points during an 8-0 Skyhawk surge that expanded the lead out to 50-33.

Storey splashed another triple at the 5:20 mark to push UT Martin's advantage out to 55-37. SIUE pulled within 13 points with 2:48 to go in the period but Littleford responded with an old-fashioned three-point play off a long inbounds pass. A deep trey from the left wing by Paige Pipkin capped off a 10-2 run to help the Skyhawks take a 69-52 lead after three quarters of play.

Pipkin and Robins each buried three-pointers in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter before a strong take to the hoop from Littleford wrapped up a 10-2 UT Martin run. Storey's fifth trey and a Currie-Jelks free throw with 4:09 to go gave the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the afternoon (83-58) as UT Martin won going away.

The Skyhawks resume their road trip on Saturday, Feb. 4 when they travel to Lindenwood for a 1 p.m. tipoff.