By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
CHARLES, Mo. – Despite the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team forcing Lindenwood into 26 turnovers today, the Lions shot 61.7 percent and made 14 three-pointers to claim an 84-75 win at Robert F. Hyland Arena.
Sophomore Shae Littleford reeled off a career-best 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting for the Skyhawks (9-13, 6-6 Ohio Valley Conference). The Charleston, Ill. native went 7-of-7 from the free throw line while adding four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 39 minutes.
Sharnecce Currie-Jelks posted 16 points and a game-high seven rebounds while Lexi Rubel (11 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists) also scored in double digits for UT Martin. Josie Storey swiped a game-high four steals for the Skyhawks, who led by as many as nine points in the first half but were outscored by a 12-2 margin midway through the second half.
Playing its first contest since Jan. 21, Lindenwood (2-18, 1-11 OVC) placed five scorers in double figures this afternoon. Masyn McWilliams scored a team-best 25 points and Mary McGrath secured a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to pace the Lions. Devin Fuhring tallied 16 points and a game-high eight assists while Alana Striverson and Emily Benzschawel each added 10 points as Lindenwood connected on 29 of its 47 field goal tries – including a 14-of-26 effort (53.8 percent) from three-point range.
“The bottom line is that Lindenwood just played harder than we did and they deserved to win,” UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. “I could see it on film – they didn’t look like a 1-win team coming in, they just hadn’t made shots at critical times up to this point. It’s frustrating – we don’t learn lessons unless we learn them the hard way. This is where our youth and inexperience caught up with us.”
The Skyhawks came out blazing as Currie-Jelks sank a turnaround jumper only 12 seconds into the contest. Back-to-back three-pointers from the left side by Littleford pushed UT Martin’s advantage out to 10-3 a little over three minutes in. The Lions eventually used a 7-0 run to even the score at 12-all and the score remained tied until Littleford dropped in six of the Skyhawks’ final eight points of the quarter. When the dust settled, UT Martin took a 22-16 advantage through 10 minutes of play.
Three-pointers from Anaya Brown and Storey on back-to-back possessions pushed the Skyhawk lead out to nine points with 7:26 remaining before the halftime break. Soon thereafter, Lindenwood scored eight unanswered to claim its first lead of the day (37-36) at the 3:38 mark. Rubel was responsible for UT Martin’s last five points of the half but a layup with five seconds to go in the second quarter provided the Lions with a slim 43-41 edge at the intermission.
Littleford pumped in a game-high 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first 20 minutes for the Skyhawks. McGrath (11 points) and McWilliams (10) each scored in double figures in the opening half for Lindenwood.
A backdoor layup by Littleford on the opening possession of the second half tied the contest at 43-43. The Lions soon took a five-point lead but an old-fashioned three-point play by Littleford and a Rubel bucket inside whittled UT Martin’s deficit to just two points midway through the third quarter. McWilliams then caught fire for Lindenwood, scoring 10 consecutive Lion points in a span of 2:54 as the Lions took a 71-61 lead into the fourth quarter.
Lindenwood hit a deep three-pointer on its first trip down the floor in the final period, taking its biggest lead of the day (74-61) in the process. Littleford scored the Skyhawks’ next four points on two straight putbacks. A few minutes later, Currie-Jelks sank back-to-back buckets to get UT Martin back within single digits (79-71). However, that was as close as the Skyhawks would get the rest of the way as McWilliams converted a three-pointer 10 seconds later to flip the momentum back in favor of the Lions.
UT Martin resumes its four-game road trip on Monday, Feb. 6 when it heads to Evansville for a makeup game that was originally scheduled for Dec. 22. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information