After a 10-year hiatus, the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team will make its long-anticipated return to the national stage with a First Four matchup in the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship against fellow 16 seeded Holy Cross on Thursday, March 21. Tipoff from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa is set for 8 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
Two local ladies are on the team: Sophie Singleton of Huntingdon and Amari Bonds of Union City.
The Skyhawks (16-16) enter March Madness with the Ohio Valley Conference’s automatic bid after clinching it with a pair of victories in last week’s OVC Basketball Championship. This marks UT Martin’s 11th postseason berth all-time while the program has punched its ticket to the postseason 10 times during the Kevin McMillan Era.
UT Martin has appeared in five NCAA Tournament fields – including four consecutive trips from 2011-14. The Skyhawks have entered the field on multiple seed lines appearing as high as the No. 13 seed in 2014 (North Carolina) while garnering the No. 15 seed in both 2011 (Duke) and 2012 (Tennessee). This marks the second time the program has been the No. 16 seed in Iowa City after squaring off against Notre Dame in Carver-Hawkeye Arena back in 2013.
The program has recorded four postseason victories in its storied history – all of which came in the Postseason WNIT. The Skyhawks won their first postseason matchup back in 1999 before picking up victories in the 2016 and 2021 (two wins) WNIT fields.
The Skyhawks feature a young roster which has seen 97.5 percent of its offensive production come from their freshmen and sophomores. Freshman All-OVC guard Kenley McCarn leads the team with 16.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while sophomore All-OVC forward Anaya Brown provides 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per night as a stretch-four.
Holy Cross (20-12) recently won its 13th Patriot League Championship and second-straight NCAA bid with a 61-55 win over Boston in the league tournament. This is the third straight year the Crusaders have won 20 or more games and 24th time in program history. The Crusaders are led by back-to-back Patriot League Championship MVP Bronagh Power-Cassidy who averages 16.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while Cara McCormack (10.5 ppg) and Janelle Allen (10.2 ppg) round out a balanced offense.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 with Beth Mowins and Stephanie White providing the call. Locally, fans can tune into the Skyhawk Sports Network to hear Chris Brinkley (play-by-play) call the action live from courtside.
UTM Athletics photo.