The UTM Skyhawks defeated the Belmont Bruins 78-66 to win the programs fourth straight OVC Championship.
With the win, the Skyhawks will clinch a berth to the NCAA Women’s Tournament for the fourth consecutive time.
“I’m very thrilled,” said UTM head coach Kevin McMillan, ” … I think all of us are pretty happy to be where we are.”
The Bruins and the Skyhawks only met in the regular season one time, and the Bruins dropped that game at the Tom and Kathleen Elam Center 82-53.
The game started with Ashia Jones scoring the first bucket for the Skyhawks, but the Bruins answered back with a three-pointer.
Belmont called a timeout after UTM went on a 11-3 run in the first two minutes and 23 seconds in the game. After the break, the Bruins started to rally back, pulling within one point of the lead during the first half.
It was a clean first half, with the first foul being called at the 11:42 mark.
“The tournaments have kind of turned back into tournament basketball where the officials aren’t quite as tight as they were in the season,” said McMillian.
The Skyhawks ended the first half on a 9-2 run including a buzzer beater three pointer coming off the bench by UTM’s Karisma Tyson late in the first half. The shot sent the Skyhawks to the locker room with a 37-29 advantage over the Bruins.
The second half began with UTM’s Heather Butler hitting a three, and similar to the first half, both schools going back and forth early in the second.
The Skyhawks also started to experience some foul trouble as freshman forward Ashia Jones, who finished the game with 16 points, left the game with four fouls at the 9:49 mark.
Despite Belmont’s frequent surges, the Skyhawks maintained a double-digit advantage throughout most of the second half. The Bruins could not rally back, and the Skyhawks captured their fourth straight OVC title by the final score 78-66.
The Skyhawks were led by Jasmine Newsome, who tallied 25 points and six rebounds.
Heather Butler finished with 12 points and Katie Schubert, who also had 12 points, went 4-6 from outside the arc.
The Bruins were led by Jordyn Luffman, who totaled 16 points, and Frankie Joubran, who had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
After the game, the Skyhawks had two players selected to the All-OVC tournament team with Butler and Newsome, joining Belmont’s Jordyn Luffman and Katie Carroll and Eastern Kentucky’s Marie Carpenter.
Newsome was also named OVC tournament MVP, her third in her four year career at UTM.
“It’s an amazing feeling, and we are truly blessed and fortunate to have a team each year to win an OVC championship,” said Butler.
UTM also set a new program record for single season scoring with 2,623 total points this season
The Skyhawks will find out what seed and where they will play on Selection Monday, which is set for March 17 at 7 p.m. The event will be broadcasted on ESPN.
