By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Sports Assistant Sports Information Director
MURRAY, Ky. – Fresh off a 16-day layoff and armed with just seven healthy players for today’s game, the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team battled Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State in their return to action but ultimately ran out of steam down the stretch to drop the road matchup 65-49.
The Skyhawks (4-11, 1-3 OVC) suffered their third consecutive loss after coming head-to-head with a red-hot shooting Racer squad which shot 56.1 percent from the floor and knocked down 61.5 percent of their three-point attempts. UT Martin stayed in the contest by taking care of the ball and committing just six turnovers in the game while forcing 16 on the other end despite shooting 36.5 percent themselves.
Neither team would pose significant runs in the contest with the game’s largest run coming in the first quarter and totaling just six points. The Racers would jump out to an early lead however and hardly looked back, leading for over 39 minutes of the contest in a game which featured just two lead changes.
UT Martin’s depth was stretched to its limits as the bench featured just two players. Junior Paige Pipkin led the Skyhawks offensively by scoring 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting while classmate Kyannah Grant tossed in 12 points to also reach double figures.
“I thought we had a good first half then to start the second half we tried something different and gave up two quick threes and I think that was the difference in the game.” UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. “After that I thought we recovered and played really well until the eight-minute mark of the fourth quarter when I think we just ran out of gas. Give them credit though because they shot 65 percent and it is hard to beat anyone when all of those shots were falling.”
Murray State (13-6, 5-3 OVC) saw three players score in double figures including a game-high 17 points from Lex Mayes who knocked down five three-pointers. The league’s leading scorer Katelyn Young also tossed in 16 points and five rebounds while Hannah McKay rounded out the trio with 13 points to snap a six-game losing streak to the Skyhawks.
UT Martin has a quick turnaround with a road matchup at Morehead State on Monday, Jan. 24. Tipoff from Johnson Arena is scheduled for 4 p.m. CST.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information