By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team trailed by as much as 10 points in the second half before mounting a comeback attempts to pick up an Ohio Valley Conference victory at SIUE by a final score of 67-62 on Thursday afternoon in First Community Arena.
In a sloppy game which saw both teams commit 26 turnovers, the Skyhawks (8-15, 5-7 OVC) recorded a season-high 21 steals in the victory. The team’s 21 steals ranked as the highest total against a NCAA Division I opponent since also tallying 21 against Tennessee State on Feb. 17, 2014, while ranking as just the third 20+ steal performance for the program in nearly two decades.
UT Martin trailed for the first three quarters before finally taking its first lead of the game three minutes into the fourth quarter. SIUE quickly retook the lead and pushed it back out to three points until a three-pointer by Seygan Robins with 1:43 to play in the contest gave the Skyhawks their third lead of the quarter, an advantage they would not relinquish down the stretch.
After struggling to find an offensive rhythm in the first half with 21 points at the break, the Skyhawks exploded for 46 points in the second half to key the comeback attempt – their highest point total in a single half this season. During that stretch the team shot 56.5 percent from the field while knocking down six three-pointers to bring the squad’s game total up to a 47.8 percent shooting clip while holding the Cougars to just 31.6 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter.
The Skyhawks placed three players in double figures while graduate forward Holly Forbes posted an impressive showing with 18 points, eight rebounds and a career-high eight steals in the victory. Freshman Shae Littleford had a nice day in her home state with 15 points, four assists and three steals while Robins added 13 points, three assists and three steals off the bench.
“Today was an unbelievable effort by these kids,” UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. “I never felt like we were ever really in control. We were on our heels a little defensively, but we did some nice things that caused some problems. It is nice to see these kids win some games because they have faced so much adversity. Sometimes it has been a struggle, but they are giving you everything they’ve got. The thing you love though, is that I looked up in the fourth quarter when we were behind and then just taken the lead, we had four freshmen on the floor. Sometimes it is going to look ugly but those freshmen are going to figure out what it takes to make plays and help us win ballgames.”
“After the last two games, I have gotten more text messages from fans than when we were winning championships. They were talking about how proud they were of the effort the kids are giving and that they are sorry about the issues we have had to go through, but it is nice to see them playing so hard. You love to hear those things as a coach. You find yourself rooting for these kids and they have figured out ways to win. That is what our program and this community is about.”
SIUE (9-15, 5-8 OVC) dropped its fourth consecutive game despite leading for over 35 minutes in the contest. The Cougars were led by guard Gabby Nikitinaite with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists in the setback while Mikayla Kinnard (13 points) and Allie Troeckler (10 points) also reached double figures offensively.
The Skyhawks will look to maintain their recent momentum of winning three of their last four games with another road contest on Saturday, Feb. 12 at Eastern Illinois. Tipoff from Lantz Arena is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information