Senior Chelsey Perry poured in a season-high 37 points to lift the UTM women’s basketball team to the program’s third postseason win in a 58-48 victory over Louisiana in the consolation round of the 2021 Women’s National Invitation Tournament at the Memphis Regional this afternoon.
The Skyhawks improved to 21-6 on the season after earning their own little piece of history. Today’s win marked only the third time in the program’s 29-year Division I history that UTM has won a postseason game, joining postseason victories in the 1999 (Ole Miss) and 2016 (Memphis) WNIT fields. The Skyhawks now advance to the consolation championship of the Memphis Regional which will be played on Monday, March 22 against the winner of Samford and Illinois State.
UTM controlled the tempo for the majority of the contest against the Sun Belt regular season champion Louisiana. The Skyhawks improved their shooting stroke after posting several season-lows in the first round on Friday, rebounding to shoot 43.2 percent for the day and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. The higher percentage was critical for success as the slower tempo resulted in just 44 field goal attempts for the Skyhawks as the squad capitalized by leading for 85 percent of the game.
After posting a double-double in the opener, reigning two-time OVC Player of the Year Perry took her game up another notch on Saturday, scoring a season-high 37 points on 13-of-17 field goal attempts while knocking down 6-of-7 three-pointers and 5-of-6 free throw tries. She filled out her impressive stat line with seven rebounds and four blocks. It marked the 13th 30-point outing of Perry’s career while bringing her career scoring total to 1,945 points.
Playing short-handed once again, all five Skyhawk starters played over 30 minutes in the contest. Seygan Robins ranked second on the team in scoring with six points while Kyannah Grant led the team with six assists on the afternoon. Senior Maddie Waldrop tallied four points while grabbing 10 rebounds for the 23rd time in her career. Paige Pipkin rounded out the starting five with four points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“I could not be more proud of this group to win a game in the postseason,” UTM head coach Kevin McMillan said. “We knew how athletic and tough they would be. They were probably the most athletic team we have faced all year and to hold them to 48 points is amazing. We went into this game knowing we were just going to give it to Chelsey and Maddie and see what happened. It is unbelievable what this group did in the postseason against a conference champion. They executed the gameplan two games in a row, they handled the pressure, and they were smart. It took that mental toughness to pull out a win.”
“To play the way they did in back-to-back days basically with six kids is amazing,” McMillan continued. “I can’t be more proud of those kids for going out and competing.”
Louisiana (16-8) saw its season come to a close after shooting 35.8 percent from the floor and 21.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Skyhawks held two of their three all-conference honorees below their season averages while Ty’Reona Doucet ranked as the lone player to score in double figures for the Ragin’ Cajuns with 15 points.
The Skyhawks will have 48 hours to rest and recover before looking to cap their season with a win. UTM will square off against either Samford or Illinois State in the consolation championship of the WNIT Memphis Regional on Monday, March 22. Action from My Town Movers Fieldhouse in Collierville, Tennessee is scheduled to get underway at 4 p.m.
