Martin, Tenn.–The official March Madness bracket is out!
How exactly does a team start its season with six consecutive setbacks, lose its lone Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference honoree less than two weeks into the season as part of seven separate season-ending injuries, tout a playing rotation of a maximum of six players and still prevail?
Look no further than the 2023-24 edition of the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team, who will represent the OVC in next week’s NCAA Tournament field for the fifth time under head coach Kevin McMillan.
“Patience is a virtue” is a famous proverb and perfectly applies to this situation. “Just wait until they figure it out” was a common quote provided by McMillan throughout the course of the season. With 14 victories in their last 22 outings entering the postseason, it’s safe to say the youthful Skyhawks have flipped the switch.
The potential was always there but the results weren’t matching the effort. UT Martin led for over 32 minutes of a Nov. 9 game against Southeastern Conference opponent Vanderbilt before losing by a 70-68 margin. The Skyhawks took an eventual 21-win South Dakota squad into overtime on Dec. 16 before falling 80-74.
UT Martin went on to power through the grind of an OVC schedule for an 11-7 record with five of those seven setbacks coming by single digits. Despite injury bugs taking its toll – playing all five starters 40 minutes without a single substitute in the regular season finale – the Skyhawks somehow finished in a tie for second place in the OVC standings. It marked perhaps the best coaching job in Kevin McMillan’s career – quite a bold statement for a future UT Martin Hall of Famer who has won 73 percent on his OVC games and is a four-time OVC Coach of the Year.
McMillan and the coaching staff – who rightfully deserve equal credit after pushing all the right buttons down the stretch – had their work cut out for them after being dealt a rash of injuries. NCAA Division I transfers Sydneey Boykin (Mercer), Ally Collett (Eastern Kentucky) and Kiya Dorroh (Colorado State) have been sidelined for the entire season. Preseason All-OVC honoree and two-year starter Shae Littleford lasted just four games before suffering a season-ending injury while promising freshman Morgan Borgstadt was limited to only eight games before playing her final contest of the season on Dec. 16.
A prominent number of underclassmen stepped up to fill the void as 1,989 of the Skyhawks’ 2,041 points (97.5 percent) were scored by freshmen or sophomores.
A large ingredient to the recipe of UT Martin’s success was an offense that was one of the most efficient in the country. Despite logging major minutes which leads to tired legs late in games, the Skyhawks topped the OVC in field goal percentage (44 percent) while ranking in the top-20 nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.366, 16th) and free throw percentage (.775, 20th).
Of course, it also helps to have two certified bucket-getters who can go off for monster performances at will. The All-OVC first team duo of redshirt freshman Kenley McCarn (10 games of 20 or more points, including a pair of 31-point performances) and sophomore Anaya Brown (20-plus points in five separate games, nine double-doubles) displayed plenty of firepower in 2023-24.
Freshman Norah Clark added a consistent third scorer at 10.0 points per game – including a 29-point outburst at SIUE on Feb. 3 – before suffering a season-ending injury on Feb. 29.
With that said, do-it-all sophomore point forward Lexi Rubel – who was snubbed of any All-OVC recognition – was the glue for UT Martin. She averaged 8.8 points, 7.2 rebounds plus team-highs of 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per outing while swishing the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:35 to go in the OVC Championship semifinals against Little Rock to book the Skyhawks for the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Josie Storey was responsible for a big OVC Championship tournament as she shot a sizzling 75 percent (6-of-8) from three-point land. On the season, she canned a whopping 45.4 percent (54-for-119) of her tries from downtown.
Love Mays – UT Martin’s fifth starter – has displayed flashes of brilliance during her freshman campaign. She scored 15 points in the aforementioned matchup against Vanderbilt and tossed in a career-best 17 points (on 8-of-9 shooting) against Evansville on Dec. 2. The combo guard also displayed a clutch gene as she knocked down a pair of free throws with 18 seconds remaining to extend the Skyhawk lead to two possessions in the OVC Championship semifinals against Little Rock.
The five current UT Martin reserves showed out in the OVC Championship finals against Southern Indiana, more than holding their own against a team that went 17-1 in league play. Freshmen Amari Bonds (game-high 26 points off the bench), Tori Rubel (three points, career-best eight rebounds), Kendal George (four points, two assists) and Sophie Singleton (four points, two steals) joined junior Mah Minthe (season-high 12 points) as the only six Skyhawks to see playing time. That group proved that they could play at a high level under pressure-packed situations.
UT Martin will surely be overlooked on Selection Sunday as millions of viewers see their 16-16 overall record and not give the Skyhawks a shot at making any noise in the NCAA Tournament. That may not be a wise move given the program’s track record – 10 postseason berths in the last 14 years under McMillan – paired with an assortment of hungry underclassmen ready for their moment under the bright lights of the sport’s premier event.