After fighting back to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter, the UTM women’s basketball team could not get over the hump in the final period, dropping the 70-59 road contest at Southern Illinois on Tuesday night.
The Skyhawks (2-5) saw their road woes continue despite a valiant effort. After watching an early lead slip away, the Skyhawks dug themselves out of a double-digit deficit to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter. With the game in reach, it was the Salukis who took control of the contest in the final period by outscoring the Skyhawks by 11 which proved to be the difference in the outcome.
UTM struggled from the floor once again after being held to 35.2 percent shooting from the field while making just 2-of-11 three-point attempts. Despite the shooting struggles, reigning OVC Player of the Week Chelsey Perry tallied her second 20-plus scoring outing of the season with a game-high 24 points while tallying five rebounds and four blocks. Junior Maddie Woldrop returned to the starting rotation after missing back-to-back games with an injury to post the first double-double of the season for the Skyhawks with 16 points and 14 rebounds.
Southern Illinois (5-2) posted its fourth win in five tries behind a balanced scoring attack which featured four players in double figures. Leading scorer Makenzie Silvey led the way with 20 points while the trio of Kristen Nelson (14), Abby Brockmeyer (11) and Nicole Martin (10) each posted double-digits in the score column.
UTM jumped out an early lead in the first quarter, scoring the first seven points of the contest. The run would be short-lived however, as Southern Illinois surged back to ultimately take a 16-15 lead into the second quarter. The Saluki run continued in the second period as they outscored the Skyhawks by eight to push their lead out to as much as 12 midway through the quarter before taking a 36-27 advantage into the halftime break.
The Skyhawks would fight back in the third quarter, outscoring the Salukis by nine in the period to tie the game up heading into the fourth quarter. With the game back at a blank slate, the lead would go back and forth in the final period but SIU pulled away down the stretch to secure a 70-59 victory.
UTM will look to get back to its winning ways when playing host to Chattanooga on Sunday, Dec. 8. Tipoff from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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