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NASHVILLE, Tenn.—They tried their hardest, but Morehead State women’s basketball couldn’t pull off a second miracle rally, losing to second-seeded UT Martin Friday afternoon in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals, 79-69 at Municipal Auditorium.
Unlike Thursday’s 21-point comeback quarterfinal win, MSU found itself with a 16-point deficit much later in the second half. The Eagles, who got hot in the Thursday win over Jacksonville State, struggled to get the ball to drop, shooting just 32.5 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from long range.
"We knew we were in for a very tough contest. UT Martin has got a tremendous, tremendous basketball team that really stretches you defensively to do a lot of things that you may not want to do," said coach Tom Hodges.
Senior Chynna Bozeman, the all-time leading scorer in MSU history, finished with a game-high 25 points. And junior Courtney Lumpkin had 18 points and seven assists. Lumpkin also became the 20th member of the MSU 1,000 career point club when she scored her 14th today. She will head into her senior year with 1,004 career points. Ashar Harris had her 21st double-double with 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
"It hurts my heart that I couldn’t help [Bozeman] get to a championship. That’s what that kid deserves. She’s going to go out as easily the greatest player in Morehead State history and one of the greatest players to ever play in this league. I’ve been unbelievably fortunate to be able to coach her in her senior year," said Hodges.
Morehead State finished the season at 21-10, setting a school record for most wins under a first-year coach.
UT Martin scored the first seven points of the game, but the Eagles responded quickly and scored 14 of the next 18 points, taking the lead on seven straight points by Bozeman that gave MSU a 14-11 lead with 12:35 left. Seven minutes later, with the game tied at 22, the Skyhawks reeled off an 11-2 run that got their advantage up to nine. A late Harris layup set the halftime margin at seven at 33-26.
The Eagles rallied early in the second half and cut the UTM advantage to just one on a pair of Lumpkin freebies. The comeback bid ended there however as a 17-2 Skyhawk run pushed the lead out to 16 with 4:19 to play. MSU again tried to rally late, getting within eight twice, first a triple from Bozeman, then on a three by Terrice Robinson, but UT Martin hit its free throws to turn back the rally.
Heather Butler and Jasmine Newsome registered 21 and 20 points, respectively, to lead the Skyhawks. Perica Glenn finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. UT Martin hit 42.6 percent of their shots from the field.
The Skyhawks also outscored the Eagles 18-0 on fast break points, using their speed to get past MSU's pressure defense. UTM outscored the Eagles 26-9 at the free throw line, shoting 34 total charity tosses to MSU's 13.
"Our defensive pressure just put them at the foul line too much and we had too many empty possessions, that we didn’t capitalize on. We missed a lot of easy shots and when you miss easy shots it takes the wind out of your sails," said Hodges.
MSU struggled from long range in the first half, sinking just 3-of-19 while shooting 30.6 percent overall.
