By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball squad placed three scorers in double figures today but the Skyhawks fell by a 74-63 margin at Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech.
Sharnecce Currie-Jelks earned the fourth double-double of her remarkable freshman campaign with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while adding a pair of steals and a block. Paige Pipkin finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including a 5-for-7 effort from three-point range. Seygan Robins’ 14 points rounded out the double-digit scorers while the freshman pair of Anaya Brown (seven points, seven rebounds, three assists) and Josie Storey (career-best seven assists) also heavily contributed today for UT Martin, who is now 11-16 with a 7-9 OVC record.
Tennessee Tech (17-9, 11-5 OVC) was led by Maaliya Owens’ game-high 27 points. Jordan Brock added 15 points for a Golden Eagle squad that shot 50 percent (11-of-22) from three-point range and 85 percent (17-for-20) from the free throw line.
“We fought for 40 minutes but we settled too much early on and got a little too trigger-happy,” said Skyhawk assistant coach Garner Small, who filled in as acting head coach while Kevin McMillan was attending to a family matter. “We shot 29 three-pointers and should have pounded it in the post more – that’s on me. We stressed rebounding and I thought we controlled the boards pretty well. We just weren’t locked in defensively – we gave them too many easy looks in the first half.”
After Tennessee Tech scored the first five points of the contest, UT Martin answered with a right-wing trey from Pipkin and a reverse layup from Currie-Jelks to even the score. The Golden Eagles followed with an 8-0 run before Pipkin sank another triple at the 5:31 mark.
Robins connected on a pull-up jumper 40 seconds later but Tennessee Tech scored the next nine points of the contest. Pipkin knocked down her third three-pointer of the contest a little less than three minutes into the second quarter but the Golden Eagles used another lengthy run – this time an 8-0 surge – to go on top 33-13 at the media timeout.
The Skyhawks struck for an 8-0 run to wrap up the second quarter, starting with a deep trifecta by Robins that just beat the shot clock. Currie-Jelks added a bucket inside before a Brown three-ball with 23 seconds remaining before the halftime break to make the score 39-27.
Pipkin had a game-high 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting performance in the opening half as UT Martin forced nine turnovers. Owens and Brock each had 10 points for Tennessee Tech, who shot 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the floor.
Robins scored on the Skyhawks’ first possession of the second half as UT Martin came out aggressive. Currie-Jelks scored seven consecutive points in the span of 1:34, capped off with an old-fashioned three-point play to will the Skyhawks within eight points (44-36) at the 7:32 mark of the third quarter.
A long three-pointer from Robins and a pair of Josie Storey free throws helped keep UT Martin within single digits before the Golden Eagles scored eight unanswered points, taking a 58-43 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Skyhawks accounted for the first six points of the fourth quarter as a Pipkin fast break layup closed out the run and trimmed their deficit to 58-49. Moments later, Currie-Jelks scored on back-to-back trips down the floor before Pipkin splashed her fifth and final triple of the afternoon as UT Martin closed the gap to 70-63. However, time ran out on the Skyhawk comeback attempt.
UT Martin holds its final home contest of the season on Thursday, Feb. 23 when it takes on Tennessee State. Tipoff time is set for 5 p.m. in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information