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MARTIN, Tenn. – UT Martin guards Jasmine Newsome and Heather Butler combined for 51 points, and the Skyhawks used a late first-half momentum change to race past the visiting Morehead State women’s basketball team, 75-56, Saturday at the Elam Center.
UTM, the two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champions, improved to 9-11 overall and 4-2 in the league. Morehead State fell to 6-13 in all games and 2-3 in the conference race.
“You just try to keep Newsome and Butler under 30 each, and we did that,” Head Coach Tom Hodges said. “Credit UT Martin, they have a really nice team. It’s something for us to really learn about and try to progress to that kind of level.”
Newsome scored 27 and also had six assists and five steals, while Butler – already UTM’s all-time leading scorer with her senior season left to play totaled - 24 points on 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc. Rickiesha Bryant registered her second straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Katie Schubert nailed a pair of three-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds.
“It’s the little things like letting Bryant take control down low and letting a player like Schubert get wide open for two threes that hurt,” Hodges said. “We know their two guards are going to do their thing, but we needed to stop the others and hit shots, and we fell a short there.”
MSU junior guard Terrice Robinson led her team with 17 points, her 16th double-figure effort and her sixth straight. Junior guard Allie Turner scored 11, her second consecutive double-figure performance.
The Eagles, who rank 12th in the league in rebounding margin, only lost that battle 35-32 and grabbed 11 offensive boards. Sophomore forwards Casey Ryans and Mackenzie Arledge each collected nine caroms.
“For us to get 11 offensive rebounds is really encouraging. We just didn’t see the ball go through the basket enough. We got open looks and we just missed,” Hodges commented.
The Eagles shot 38 percent (21-of-56) for the game but hit just seven of 38 three-pointers against the Skyhawks’ 1-3-1 zone defensive scheme. The hosts drilled eight of their 17 from distance and hit 53 percent (30-of-57) overall.
The Eagles bolted to a 9-2 advantage and later held a 21-15 advantage following a Ryans’ layup at the 4:52 mark. The Skyhawks ended the half on a 10-0 run, keyed by two Newsome jumpers, to lead 31-25.
“We got into foul trouble with some of our guards, and late in the first half we had to put some of our freshmen out there against their veterans,” Hodges added. “They really took advantage there and pulled away.”
UTM built as much as a 22-point cushion in the second period when it made 57 of its shots.
Sophomore guard Almesha Jones handed out a game-high six assists for the Eagles.
The Eagles host SIU Edwardsville at 6 p.m. ET Monday night.
