In a battle of Ohio Valley Conference leaders, it was the UTM women’s basketball team which came out victorious in the first of two regular season matchups with a 71-62 win over Tennessee Tech (TTU) on Thursday evening.
The Skyhawks (14-8, 10-1 OVC) held one of the OVC’s top-scoring offenses to just 26 points in the second half and 62 points overall on the night. After an impressive first quarter which saw TTU shoot 67 percent from the floor, the Golden Eagles were limited to just a 31.5 field goal percentage over the final three quarters while ultimately being held scoreless in the last three minutes.
With the win, the Skyhawks posted their ninth season out of the last 10 in which the program tallied at least 10 conference victories while improving to 78-11 against league foes in the Elam Center since 2009. UTM also jumped into sole possession of first place in the OVC standings at 10-1.
UTM saw the junior post duo of Chelsey Perry and Maddie Waldrop once again prove lethal as they combined to score 56 of the team’s 71 points. Fresh off being named a semifinalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award Perry tallied her sixth 30-point performance of the season with 37 points while adding eight rebounds and three blocks. Waldrop joined in the action with a strong double-double, posting 19 points and 12 rebounds – including six key free throws in the final quarter. Rounding out the Skyhawks in double figures was freshman Dasia Young with 11 points and five boards.
“I thought that Tech played better tonight but the difference in the game was that we had Chelsey and Maddie,” UTM head coach Kevin McMillan said. “When you look at what we ask our two posts to do combining to score and rebound the way they did is just too much but we survived tonight. Tech did a lot of things that we didn’t have an answer for. I don’t know how we were able to get stops down the stretch but we made enough to win.”
TTU (16-6, 9-2 OVC) fought throughout the contest, string together an 11-0 run in the second quarter to take a lead heading into halftime. Despite the sluggish second half, the Golden Eagles saw three players score in double figures behind a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds from Kesha Brady. Meanwhile, the duo of Mackenzie Coleman and Jordan Brock scored 12 points each.
UTM will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 8 with a matchup against Jacksonville State. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. and serves as Alumni Day along with a special jersey retirement for former Skyhawk greats Heather Butler and Jasmine Newsome between the men’s and women’s doubleheader.
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