By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MANHATTAN, Kansas – The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team will leave the WNIT Preseason Classic with glowing reviews after producing a 2-1 overall mark following another impressive showing on Day Three of the round-robin invitational, knocking off Western Kentucky 63-47.
The Skyhawks (2-1) had a quick turnaround, playing their third game in four days and second game in last than 24 hours. While the recovery period was short, the results were nearly identical as the day before. UT Martin took an early lead in the contest and never looked back – building an advantage as large as 24 points in the contest off the shoulders of yet another stingy defensive effort.
Much like in the first two contests of the season which saw the Skyhawks play suffocating defense, the squad emulated a vacuum on Monday evening. UT Martin held Western Kentucky to just two points in the opening quarter while holding them to just 27.3 percent from the field. The Skyhawks also forced a season-high 20 turnovers while recording 10 steals.
With the defensive effort taking care of itself, UT Martin built out its lead behind a strong shooting performance – especially in the second quarter where the team shot 60 percent from the field. The Skyhawks found a lot of success in the paint where they scored 26 points while also knocking down eight three-pointers to stretch the floor.
Seven different players contributed in the scoring column for the Skyhawks while placing a pair in double figures. Hayley Harrison paced all scorers with a career-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting – including three three-pointers. She was joined in double figures by graduate transfer Holly Forbes who capped off her impressive tournament appearance with 16 points and nine rebounds. Other top contributors included Seygan Robins who tallied nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals while Shanice Simpson-Whiteley tallied eight points and five rebounds in eight minutes of action.
“With an inexperience group I was really proud of our effort because I thought we got better every game,” UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. “Our kids really bought into our defensive plan every game – even with quick turnarounds. I think our man-to-man defense is really getting better and we notched two big wins. Our starters played huge minutes and I was proud of our bench and the energy they brought when they weren’t in the game, but we will need even more from them as we move along in the season.”
Western Kentucky (1-3) dropped its second straight contest after struggling to solve the Skyhawks defensive scheme. Meral Abdelgawad posted an impressive performance for the Lady Toppers however, tallying 12 points and 19 rebounds. Meanwhile, Mya Meredith chipped in 12 points off the bench to tie for the team lead.
The Skyhawks took command of the game early by jumping out to an 11-2 advantage at the end of the first quarter. UT Martin would eventually string together a run as big as 14 points which ran into the second quarter while also using their hot shooting touch to push the margin out to as large as 21 points on a pair of occasions. The Lady Toppers did not go quietly however, finishing the first half on a 7-0 run to trim the deficit down to 36-22 heading into intermission.
UT Martin regrouped and turned up the intensity again at the break, coming out of halftime on a 10-0 run to push its lead out to a game-high 24-point margin with seven minutes to play in the third. WKU responded over the next few minutes in the period but the Skyhawks still held a 49-35 advantage at the end of the third. The margin elevated up to around 18 midway through the fourth before leveling off as UT Martin cruised to a 63-47 victory down the stretch with Harrison scoring 14 of her 17 points in the second half.
The Skyhawks will return to action in two days when traveling to national powerhouse No. 10 ranked Louisville on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Tipoff from the KFC Yum! Center is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST and will be broadcast on ACCNX+.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information