The Skyhawk women’s basketball squad made a second road trip to Louisville (8-0) this season on Dec. 5 but was unable to even the series, falling to the Cardinals again 61-96.
The Skyhawks faced off against the then No. 5 Cardinals in UTM’s season-opener on Dec. 6, losing 85-67. Now at No. 2, the Cardinals won by an even greater margin, digging the Skyhawks into a deficit to the tune of 35 points.
Senior forward Chelsey Perry led the way for the Skyhawks once again with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Scoring from the rest of the squad was sparse, however, as junior guards Paige Pipkin and Sade’ Hudson both tied for second on the team in points with nine each. UTM’s starting lineup struggled, as sophomore guard Seygan Robins managed only five points while senior forward Maddie Waldrop was unable to score at all. Waldrop’s presence was felt defensively, however, as she earned five defensive rebounds (only trailing Perry’s seven) and a blocked shot.
For Louisville, guard Dana Evans dominated in the scoring department with a game-high 29 points. In addition, Evans facilitated five assists and earned two steals. Guards Kiana Smith and Hailey Van Lith followed suit with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Perry kicked off the scoring with a jumper at 9:42, but the Cardinals would limit her scoring to just that in the first half. With Perry’s offensive ability limited, Pipkin stepped up in her place, keeping the Skyhawks’ heads above water by scoring UTM’s next six points.
Louisville earned a double-digit lead at 2:18 when a couple of free throws by forward Elizabeth Dixon put the Cardinals up 19-9. Two consecutive fouls on Hudson allowed the Skyhawks to earn four consecutive points close the gap to a six-point deficit. The Skyhawks left the first quarter with a manageable 13-21 deficit, but Louisville stepped on the gas in the second and never let off.
At 5:55 in quarter two, the Cardinals took a commanding 20-point (35-14) lead over UTM and eventually took a 49-24 lead going into halftime. The first half was marred by an inability to gain second chances on offense, as the Skyhawks managed only one offensive rebound going into the third quarter. UTM also committed 11 turnovers to Louisville’s three, helping dig a hole of over 20 points for the orange-and-blue.
The Skyhawks failed to ever close the deficit to less than 24 points, and at times trailed by 30+ points in quarters thee and four. Perry was able to reel off 24 points and six rebounds in the second half of play, but the rest of the Skyhawks were only able to combine for 13 points.
After everything was said and done, the Skyhawks finished with a field goal percentage of 40% (20-50) and a sub-par three-point percentage of 28.6% (4-14). Arguably the Skyhawks’ biggest crutch was turnovers, as UTM not only committed double the amount that Louisville had (18-9), but the Cardinals capitalized on the Skyhawks’ mistakes with 26 points off turnovers.
The Skyhawks now fall to 2-3 overall on the season and now sit in seventh place in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Skyhawks will head to Nashville on Dec. 7 to take on the last-place Tennessee State (0-3 OVC).
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