The UTM women’s basketball team got its All-American forward Chelsey Perry back on Saturday afternoon and she made an immediate impact, scoring the game-winning layup with 1.1 seconds left on the clock to lift the Skyhawks to a 67-65 victory over Murray State.
Playing their second game in as many days, the Skyhawks (14-4, 13-2 OVC) overcame a sluggish start and closed the end of both halves strong. After allowing Murray State to jump out to an early 13-point lead in the first half – including giving up 25 points in the first quarter – UTM settled down and limited the home squad to just seven points in the second quarter to close out the first half on a 9-0 run and trim the deficit to two points heading into the break.
The team’s defensive effort would remain high in the second half as UTM held Murray State to just 10-of-29 (34.5 percent) from the field in the half while forcing seven turnovers. Despite the team’s uptick in focus, Murray State still retained the game’s lead for over 35 minutes of action. The Skyhawks would chip away however, ultimately taking their first lead since the first quarter with 7:49 to play in the fourth. From there the game would feature five lead changes and two ties – including three in the final eight seconds.
With eight seconds to go, Seygan Robins sank her lone bucket of the contest – a three-pointer in the left corner to put the Skyhawks up 65-63. Following a timeout by the Racers, Macey Turley would find Katelyn Young in the post for a layup to tie the game at 65-65 with five seconds to play setting up the Skyhawks for their final possession. With a timeout and the opportunity to advance the ball, Paige Pipkin inbounded the ball to Maddie Waldrop who lofted an entry pass to Perry to score the go-ahead bucket with 1.1 second to play for the ultimate game-winner.
After missing the past four games with an injury, Perry made an immediate impact in her return, scoring a team-high 18 points while grabbing six rebounds off the bench. In all, four players scored in double-figures for UTM as Sade’ Hudson posted back-to-back games in double figures with 12 points and three assists while Dasia Young continued a streak of five straight games in double digits with 11 points. Demi Burdick rounded out the Skyhawks in double figures with a season-best 10 points while grabbing four rebounds.
“I hated how we came out in the first quarter and I was very disappointed,” UTM head coach Kevin McMillan said. “I thought we dug ourselves a huge hole early and Murray was a lot more prepared and gave a lot more effort than we did. Our kids came back in the second, third and fourth quarters to really gut it out and find a way to win. We are trying to manage these kids that have injuries and their minutes. Right now, we are just trying to get through everything until we get healthy and get everyone back out there. Given with how we started, I give them credit because they settled down, found their focus and found a way to win back-to-back games on the road which is really hard to do.”
Murray State (11-10, 8-8 OVC) looked to build upon its three-game winning streak after coming out of the gates on fire, shooting 57.9 percent in the first quarter but just couldn’t continue its hot start. After the opening 10 minutes in which the team made 11 field goal, the Racers settled down and made just 13 for the rest of the game.
The Racers boasted a well-rounded offense with four players scoring double-figures led by the play of Macey Turley with a game-high 22 points. Freshman Katelyn Young posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Laci Hawthorne chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Bria Sanders-Woods rounded out the Racers with 10 points and six assists.
UTM will close out its three-game road swing with a matchup at Belmont on Tuesday, Feb. 16.
