Thursday 21st August 2025
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UT Martin Women’s Basketball Narrowly Falls at Tennessee State

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By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Freshmen Josie Storey and Anaya Brown each established career-highs in the scoring column this evening but the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball squad dropped a close 71-67 decision to Tennessee State at the Gentry Center.

Storey’s game-high 18 points came off a 6-of-11 performance from three-point land while Brown tallied 17 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Skyhawks (6-10, 2-3 Ohio Valley Conference), who saw all seven players score at least four points tonight. Shae Littleford added 10 points while Lexi Rubel (career-best nine rebounds) and Seygan Robins (career-high seven assists) were also heavy contributors for UT Martin, who only committed nine turnovers and shot 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from three-point land.

The Lady Tigers (7-9, 2-3 OVC) were guided by Erica Haynes-Overton’s 16 points while Kianni Westbrook (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Saniah Parker (15 points) additionally reached double figures in the scoring column. The Skyhawks trimmed a 10-point deficit down to one with under a minute to play but Tennessee State shot 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter in a contest that featured 16 lead changes and six ties.

“I’m proud of our kids – I thought all seven girls we played did a great job but our youth couldn’t sustain for 40 minutes,” UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. “There were three little spurts where we lost our focus and that ended up costing us the ballgame. We’ve been touting the freshman class – we’ve had four different freshmen lead us in scoring this year. There were some really good things that we did today that we can learn from – we can definitely grow from this. We just have to be patient – if we ever can put four quarters together, we can do some damage.”

After Tennessee State scored the opening bucket of the game, a Storey three-pointer from the right wing got the Skyhawks on the scoreboard. UT Martin eventually used a 10-0 run – capped off with five straight points by Brown – to go on top by a 15-6 margin at the 3:54 mark. The Lady Tigers wrapped up the quarter on an 11-2 run to even the score at 17-all.

Two more ties took place in the early stages of the second quarter until a Rubel trifecta with 6:36 remaining before the halftime break flipped the score back in favor of the Skyhawks. UT Martin led by five points (26-21) after a pair of Littleford free throws at the 5:02 mark but Tennessee State made a pair of three-pointers in a 23-second span to go back on top. The lead would change hands six times over the final 4:26 before the two sides entered the half tied at 33-33.

Storey and Brown each accounted for a game-high nine points at halftime while Haynes-Overton’s seven points topped the Lady Tigers.

A pair of Storey treys got the Skyhawks going to start the third quarter. A strong take to the hoop by Sydneey Boykin at the 4:27 mark made the score 41-39 in favor of UT Martin but Tennessee State concluded the quarter on a 9-2 run, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Parker that gave the Lady Tigers a 48-43 advantage.

Diamond Cannon sank a stepback jumper to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, trimming the Skyhawk deficit to a single possession. Tennessee State responded with the next four points but UT Martin once again pulled within three after a Robins trifecta and a driving layup from Brown. Haynes-Overton scored seven points in a 97-second span to push the Lady Tiger lead out to 60-50 with just under six minutes remaining. Brown poured in five straight points before Cannon glided in for a fast break layup to whittle the Skyhawk deficit to 67-64 with 1:31 to go. Another defensive stop led to Robins draining two free throws, cutting Tennessee State’s lead to 67-66 with 54 seconds left. However, that would be as close as UT Martin would get the rest of the way.

The Skyhawks travel to OVC newcomer Southern Indiana on Saturday, Jan. 14 for the middle matchup of a three-game road trip. Tipoff from Screaming Eagles Arena in Evansville, Ind. is set for 5 p.m. on ESPN+.

 

Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information

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