The Skyhawks Women’s basketball team came away with some security after a 1-1 week against SIUE and Eastern Illinois, securing their spot in the OVC tournament.
The Skyhawks defeated a 4-20 SIUE team, 77-66, to improve to 11-15 and 8-7 on the season. They secured their spot in the OVC tournament and completed a season sweep over the Cougars. The win also marks head coach Kevin McMillan’s and his team’s 16th tournament trip in 16 seasons.
The Skyhawks took advantage of some loose ball handling and lack of hustle from the Cougars, outscoring them 20-8 in points off of turnovers and 13-6 in 2nd chance points—points in which the offense scored after already missing a shot in the same possession.
The Skyhawks were led by sophomore guard Kenley McCarn who tallied 21 points on 65.1% field goal percentage, including 5-8 from beyond the arc, to power the Skyhawks to 77 points.
Other contributors for the Skyhawks included junior forward Anaya Brown (18 points; six rebounds), sophomore guard Daejah Richmond (ten points; six assists; six rebounds) and freshman guard Morgan Borgstadt (four steals).
The Skyhawks led by as much as 18 in the fourth quarter, but they held on to defeat the Cougars and advance to Eastern Illinois.
On Saturday, the Skyhawks traveled to Charleston, Illinois, where they fell to a 15-9 Eastern Illinois Panthers squad 66-62.
The Skyhawks would fight and claw their way back into contention late in the game against the Panthers but could not recover from a six-point second quarter that left them 11 points behind.
The Skyhawks shot just ten percent from the field in the second quarter, compared to the Panthers’ 46.7% from the field in the same quarter.
The Skyhawks were led by junior forward Anaya Brown, who poured in 25 points on just 17 shots and shot 100% from the free-throw line. Brown also captured five rebounds and three steals on the night.
Other contributors for the Skyhawks included sophomore guard Kenley McCarn (nine points, five rebounds, three steals) and sophomore forward Norah Clark (nine points; 100%).
The Skyhawks would make a push and pull within three points with just three minutes remaining before the Panthers would respond and pull out of reach once again. The Skyhawks would try their best but to no avail, as they fell by four to the Panthers.
Next week, the Skyhawks welcome the 8-18 Tennessee State Tigers to Martin on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. before leaving for Cookeville to take on the 20-5 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
