By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team made all the right plays down the stretch Saturday evening, overcoming a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to claim a 63-60 Ohio Valley Conference victory at Southern Indiana.
After scoring 33 points in the first three quarters, the Skyhawks outscored the host Screaming Eagles by a whopping 30-17 margin over the final 10 minutes of play. UT Martin shot a sizzling 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the floor in the fourth period and added in 12 free throws in the last quarter alone.
The backcourt duo of Shae Littleford and Josie Storey were dynamic tonight for the Skyhawks, who improve to 7-10 overall and 3-3 in OVC play. Littleford tied a career-high with 21 points to go along with game-highs of four assists and four steals as she sank seven of her 14 field goal tries. A mere two days after dialing up a career-best scoring tally at Tennessee State, Storey went off for a new single-game high of 20 points – 17 of which came in the fourth quarter alone (3-for-3 from three-point range, 8-of-9 from the free throw line).
Southern Indiana (8-9, 2-4 OVC) placed four scorers in double figures, led by Vanessa Shafford’s 14 points. Meredith Raley added 12 points while Hannah Haithcock and Tori Handley each collected 10 points apiece for the Screaming Eagles, who shot 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from three-point land.
“This is one of the most improbable wins that I’ve ever seen,” UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. “We almost had to end the game with four players because we’re only playing with seven and we had two girls foul out with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter. We shouldn’t have been in this game, teams are pressing us the whole time to wear us down. I’m extremely proud of this bunch – these girls will never forget this one.”
The Skyhawks came out hot, racing out to a 5-0 advantage only 55 seconds into the game. Seygan Robins beat the shot clock on the opening possession with a jumper in the lane before Storey canned a three-pointer from the left wing. Southern Indiana followed with 14 of the next 16 points en route to a 15-9 advantage through 10 minutes of play.
The Screaming Eagles accounted for the first seven points of the second quarter before a Diamond Cannon fast break layup at the 7:15 mark ended the run. Southern Indiana led by a 25-11 margin with 4:40 to go before the halftime break but UT Martin wrapped up the half on a 10-2 run over the final 2:38. Sydneey Boykin (left wing trey), Lexi Rubel (straightaway three-pointer and putback layup) and Littleford (pull-up jumper) each provided buckets during the Skyhawk surge, which made the score 27-21 at the intermission.
All seven UT Martin players scored in the opening half, led by Rubel’s five points. The Screaming Eagles were led by eight points out of Raley in first 20 minutes.
After Southern Indiana scored the first four points of the second half, the Skyhawks answered right back with five unanswered points – trimming their deficit to 31-26 following a pair of Littleford free throws at the 6:42 mark. The Screaming Eagles posted the next five points of the game to go back ahead by double figures. Littleford was responsible for each of UT Martin’s final six points of the quarter but Southern Indiana took a 43-33 lead into the final period.
The Skyhawks came charging back in the fourth quarter, erasing a 12-point deficit to lead by three points with under five minutes remaining. After the Screaming Eagles were responsible for the first two points of the period, UT Martin went on a 16-2 run. Storey knocked down three-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor before a Littleford driving layup with 5:11 remaining pushed the Skyhawks ahead 49-47 – their first lead since the 7:03 mark of the first quarter. Storey then took over as the freshman out of Mountain View, Ark. unreeled UT Martin’s next 10 points to extend the Skyhawk advantage out to 59-52 with 1:55 to go. Southern Indiana got back within a single possession (62-60) with eight seconds left to play but UT Martin’s defense held strong on a potential game-tying shot right before the buzzer.
The Skyhawks close out a three-game road swing on Thursday, Jan. 19 at Southeast Missouri. Tipoff from the Show Me Center is set for 5 p.m.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information