The OVC announced Jan. 7 that the UTM women’s basketball duo of Jasmine Newsome and Ashia Jones have garnered adidas OVC Player and Freshman of the Week honors, respectively.
Leading the team to just the program’s fourth 3-0 start to open OVC play, Newsome and Jones averaged a combined 41.7 points per game to earn road victories at Jacksonville State, Murray State and Austin Peay.
Newsome had an outstanding start to OVC play, averaging 28.8 points to go along with 4.7 assists and 4.3 steals per game. A native of Millington, Tenn., Newsome tallied 37 points to spur a big second-half comeback victory over Austin Peay. Along with her performance at Austin Peay, Newsome tallied 25 points at Jacksonville State paired with 11 assists, notching just her second double-double of the season. Rounding out her week of performances was a 24-point game at Murray State, moving the senior into eighth on the OVC’s all-time scoring list with her 2,276 career points.
Jones tossed in yet another impressive week for the Skyhawks, averaging 13 points and six rebounds per game for the second straight week. A native of Covington, Tenn., Jones tossed in a career-high 20 points while grabbing 10 rebounds, notching her first career double-double against Murray State. The freshman was back at it again on Monday evening, tallying 11 points at Austin Peay.
This marks the fifth time this season that a Skyhawk has taken home at least one OVC weekly honor. The honor is Newsome’s 15th career Player of the Week accolade while serving as Jones’ first Freshman of the Week accomplishment.
The Skyhawks will return home for their first home game since Nov. 25 when they play host to OVC East member Belmont on Saturday, Jan. 11. The women will tip off at 2 p.m. in game one of the doubleheader.
