MONDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 104, Alabama-Huntsville 73
Gardner-Webb 68,
@Morehead State 60
UT MARTIN 104, ALABAMA-HUNTSVILLE 73
MARTIN, Tenn.- The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team cruised to a 104-73 home victory over Division II foe Alabama Huntsville on Monday evening to notch the team’s first win of the season.
The Skyhawks (1-1) moved into the win column behind a dominating effort which saw the squad force a season-high 33 turnovers and place four players in double figures. UT Martin made the most of the team’s 33 forced turnovers by scoring 38 points in transition while posting a commanding 54 points in the paint.
Preseason All-OVC selection Myah Taylor tallied a game-high 22 points off the bench while knocking down five three-pointers. Sophomore standout Kendall Spray wasn’t far behind the team-lead with 19 points, five steals and four rebounds while Emanye Robertson (16 points) and Janekia Mason (14 points) also scored in double figures.
Three players scored in a game which served as an exhibition for Alabama Huntsville (2-0). The Chargers were led in scoring by Chandler Elder with 19 points while Aryn Sanders (16 points) and Loren Foster (12 points) rounded out the trio in double figures.
Play would start out slow for both teams with neither squad finding much momentum. UAH would score the game’s first points with the UT Martin answering on the following possession. The game would stay within a single possession until midway through the quarter when Myah Taylor knocked down her first trifecta of the season. The seesaw affair would continue though as both teams combined for 45 first quarter points with the Skyhawks taking a 25-22 lead into the second quarter.
UT Martin would open the second quarter on a substantial 16-3 run to put some distance between the Alabama Huntsville. A big reason for the powerful run was the Skyhawks defensive effort where they forced the Chargers into the 15 second quarter turnovers. With 17 points coming off said turnovers in the second, UT Martin would take a 51-34 lead into halftime.
The third quarter would see the margin stretch to 31 points behind an 11-0 run over the course of a minute. Taylor would put on a show during the quarter with 11 points behind a trio of three-pointers to blow the game open. With a strong period in the book, the Skyhawks would head into the fourth with an 83-55 lead.
UAH would make one final push in the final quarter of play. Entering the half trailing by 28, the Chargers would trim the lead down to 23 midway through the period. Looking to finish strong down the stretch, UT Martin would close out the game on a 14-3 run to seal the team’s first victory of the season 104-73.
UT Martin will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 18 when the Skyhawks play host to Big Ten member Northwestern. Tipoff from the Elam Center is scheduled for 2 p.m.
GARDNER-WEBB 68, MOREHEAD STATE 60
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Senior forward Eriel McKee posted her second consecutive double-double and 17th of her career Monday night, and the Morehead State women's basketball nearly erased a 17-point second-half deficit before absorbing a 68-60 setback to Gardner-Webb in the Matthew Mitchell Classic at Johnson Arena Monday night.
Morehead State (1-1) trailed 60-46 with 7:51 remaining but held the visitors scoreless for more than five minutes and used a 12-0 run to make it interesting.
McKee, the Lawrenceville, Ky., native scored 13 and grabbed 11 rebounds. Junior forward Tierra McGowan notched 16 rebounds for the second straight game and netted eight points. McGowan, a junior college transfer, again grabbed 10 offensive rebounds and equaled her feat from the season opener. She now has 32 rebounds in 42 minutes on the court at the Division I level.
Junior guard Miranda Crockett led the Eagles with 18 points after a 17-point effort Saturday.
The tide turned midway through the first quarter when the Eagles led 18-17. However, Morehead State missed its last seven field goals in the period, and GW (2-1) ended on a 9-0 run to lead 26-18 after one.
The Runnin' Bulldogs pushed their cushion out to 13 (33-20) with 2:45 left before halftime, and the Eagles trailed 39-28 after 20 minutes.
Gardner-Webb led by as much as 17 (53-36) with 3:48 left in the third quarter.
Alexus Hill and Tierra Huntsman paced the Runnin' Bulldogs with 18 points each. Huntsman corralled eight rebounds.
Morehead State held a 45-33 rebounding edge and now owns a +37 rebounding margin in the first two games. The Eagles turned the ball over 16 times, and Gardner-Webb turned that into a 22-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Eagles continue the Matthew Mitchell Classic on Wednesday with an 11 a.m. ET game against Brescia (Ky.).