Skyhawks Host USI For Penultimate Game of Regular Season Thursday

Date (Time): Thur., Feb. 27, 2025 (5:30 p.m.)
Location (Arena): Martin, Tenn. (Kathleen & Tom Elam Center)
UTM Record: 12-17, 9-9 OVC
UTM Last 5 Games: 3-2 (LWLWW)
Opponent (Record): Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (20-9, 12-6 OVC)
Last 5 Games: 4-1 (WWLWW)
Head Coach (Alma Mater): Rick Stein (Southern Indiana, 1992)
Record (Seas.) Overall/USI: 468-270 (26th)/Same
TV/Streaming: ESPN+ (PxP: Chris Brinkley; Analyst: Davis Gregory)
Radio: WCMT 100.5 FM (PxP: Chris Brinkley; Analyst: Davis Gregory)
UTM vs. USI: USI leads series 3-2

The University of Tennessee Martin women's basketball team could not withstand a second half rally by Tennessee Tech night and fell on the road, 70-55, Thursday night at the Hooper Eblen Center in Cookeville.
Anaya Brown set a new career-high in scoring, while also notching her fifth double-double of the season to lead the Skyhawks Thursday. Brown scored a new personal best 29 points, while also pulling down 10 rebounds, both of which were game highs for UT Martin.
Shae Littleford and Kenley McCarn each scored eight for the Skyhawks, while Daejah Richmond finished with six points and six rebounds. For McCarn, the eight points scored Thursday puts her just four points away from joining UT Martin's 1,000 Point Club.
Southern Indiana enters Thursday night at 12-6 in OVC play and 20-9 overall. The Screaming Eagles are coming off a pair of win last week over Eastern Illinois and SIUE. USI currently averages 71.3 points and 37.8 rebounds per game on 43.9-percent shooting. In contrast, their opponents are limited to 61.8 points and 34.4 rebounds per game on 38.1-percent shooting. Meredith Raley currently leads the Screaming Eagles on the season in scoring at 13.6 points per game, while Vanessa Shafford leads her team on the glass at 6.9 points per game.
With a win in December in Evansville, Southern Indiana now leads the young series between the Skyhawks and the Screaming Eagles, 3-2. In Martin, the two teams have split the two previous meetings with the Skyhawks winning in 2023 and Southern Indiana winning in 2024.
Despite two games being left in the regular season, the Skyhawks will not have to wait until Saturday evening to find out their opponent for next week's OVC tournament. UT Martin has secured the No. 6 seed and will play the No. 7 seed Western Illinois Wednesday at 3 p.m. on ESPN+ at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
Anaya Brown notched her second consecutive double-double and set a new career-high of 29 points Thursday at Tennessee Tech. For her play last week, Brown was honored as the OVC Player of the Week for the second time in her career. For the week, she averaged 26.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game over the span of two game.
After Anaya Brown became the 18th member of UT Martin's 1,000-point club on January 30, the 19th member does not appear to be far behind. Currently sitting at 996 career points, Kenley McCarn needs just four points to reach the historic milestone. If she completes the task before the end of the season, she will become just the fourth sophomore in program history to join the exclusive club, along with Heather Butler, Jasmine Newsome and Ashia Jones.
With one made 3-pointer against Tennessee Tech, UT Martin has now made at least one 3-pointer in 510 consecutive games. The current streak dates back to Feb. 3, 2009, against Austin Peay and currently, ranks seventh nationally.
With 10 rebounds against Tennessee Tech, Brown now has 617 career rebounds, placing her 10th all-time in Skyhawk history. Brown now needs 41 rebounds to pass Tara Tansil and take over ninth place on UT Martin's career rebounding list.

Skyhawks Host USI For Penultimate Game of Regular Season Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Anaya Brown

Shae Littleford

Kenley McCarn

Daejah Richmond