By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team kept its momentum going on Monday night by opening its final homestand of the season with a thrilling 60-57 win over Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay.
With runs on each side of the ball and a contest which featured nine ties and eight lead changes, the Skyhawks (10-15, 7-7 OVC) picked up their fifth win in the last six games. The win marked the first season sweep of a league opponent this year and head coach Kevin McMillan’s 250th career victory – making him just the third women’s basketball coach and sixth basketball coach overall (men’s or women’s) to reach the plateau in OVC history.
UT Martin led by as much as eight points in the final minutes of the first half before Austin Peay strung together a 7-0 run in the third to take a lead as large as six points midway through the period. As the fourth quarter opened, the Skyhawks faced a four-point deficit and trailed for the first five minutes of the period before making a run of their own. After the home squad found a layup with 3:12 to play, the Skyhawks never trailed again while holding off the Govs down the stretch for the three-point victory.
The Skyhawks shot 46.7 percent from the field while knocking down seven three-pointers but struggled at the free throw line, making just 11-of-19 attempts (57.9 percent). The Govs came out of the gates on fire – just as the Skyhawks did – by shooting over 50 percent from the field in the first quarter but progressively declined from there before ultimately making just 2-of-8 field goal attempts in the deciding fourth quarter.
Junior guard Paige Pipkin led the Skyhawks offensively for the second straight game against the Governors after scoring a career-high 33 points in the road win back in December. Pipkin tossed in 15 points on the night to lead the charge for UT Martin – including nine points in the fourth quarter alone. She was joined in double figures by graduate forward Holly Forbes who flirted with a double-double after tallying 13 points and nine rebounds down low. The Skyhawks also saw Seygan Robins score nine points off the bench while Ella Thompson and Kyannah Grant each chipped in six points out of the starting lineup.
“Overall if you look at the stats, it was a great basketball game for the fans,” McMillan said. “Both teams lead for nearly identical points of time, the game was tied for a fourth of the game and you kind of saw a battle. Both teams threw punches and both teams took them. People just had to make some plays and ironically, defensively is where we kind of tightened up at the end and made some stops. We didn’t execute well down the stretch but at the end of the day we did what we had to do to win.”
Austin Peay (17-7, 10-4 OVC) saw its four-game winning streak come to a close as Karle Pace’s possible game-tying three-pointer fell just short at the buzzer. The Governors boasted a balanced scoring attack with Shay-Lee Kirby scoring 17 points – including 12 points in the first quarter – after knocking down 5-of-6 three-point attempts. Pace also scored near her average with 16 points and four rebounds after missing the initial matchup to start the OVC slate.
The Skyhawks will wrap up their grueling stretch of 12 games in 25 days with a matchup against Morehead State at home on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Tipoff from the Elam Center is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information