The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team will compete for the program’s fifth Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championship crown with a matchup against Southeast Missouri on Saturday, March 7. Tipoff from the Ford Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The Skyhawks (22-9) advanced to the team’s third straight berth in the tournament championship and eighth in the past 10 seasons. UT Martin is looking to add to its championship history with tournament titles coming in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Meanwhile, the Skyhawks dropped the championship contest in 2015, 2018 and 2019.
UT Martin advanced to the OVC Basketball Championship finals behind a 63-52 victory over Eastern Illinois in the semifinals. The Skyhawks limited their second straight opponent to a field goal percentage under 30 percent (29.1) while dominating the battle of the boards by 22. On the offensive end, UT Martin tallied a remarkable 22 assists on 23 field goals.
OVC Player of the Year Chelsey Perry will be the key for the Skyhawks after posting eye-catching numbers in the season series against Southeast Missouri. Perry tallied 36 points in the first matchup while scoring 38 in the regular season finale. For the year, Perry is averaging 37.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game against the Redhawks. Meanwhile, Maddie Waldrop has tallied 14.5 ppg and 5.5 rebounds in the season series.
Southeast Missouri (24-7) posted a record-setting victory against Belmont in the tournament semifinals by a score of 114-99. The Redhawks broke the OVC tournament single-game record for points scored (114) and 3-point field goal percentage (82.4 percent). The two teams also combined for tournament record with 213 points scored.
The Redhawks are led by a pair of All-OVC first team honorees in Tesia Thompson (19.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and Carrie Shephard (16.7 ppg). Thompson scored a career-high 39 points in the win over Belmont while Shephard tossed in 29 points.
Saturday’s contest marks the 72nd meeting between the two programs with UT Martin holding a 40-31 series advantage. The two teams split the season series with the Redhawks posting a 71-69 win at home on Feb. 13 before the Skyhawks ultimately clinched the team’s league title with a 78-72 win exactly a week ago.
The contest will be streamed online on ESPN+ with Bob Belvin (play-by-play) and Helen Williams (analyst) bringing the action. Fans can also tune into WCMT 100.5 FM or 1410 AM to hear Tom Britt (play-by-play) and Chris Brinkley (analyst) bring the action on the radio waves. Links for video, audio and live stats are located at the top of the webpage.