THURSDAY'S SCORES
UT Martin 75, @Tennessee State 69
Little Rock 59, @Tennessee Tech 57
UT MARTIN 75, TENNESSEE STATE 69
NASHVILLE - The University of Tennessee at Martin women's basketball squad held a lead for nearly 37 minutes of clock time this evening, soaring to a 75-69 triumph in its first Ohio Valley Conference matchup of the season at Tennessee State.
The Skyhawks (4-8, 1-0 OVC) led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter today before the Tigers pulled within a single possession late in the third stanza. UT Martin then pushed its advantage back to double figures in the fourth quarter and Tennessee State wouldn't get any closer than six points over the final seven minutes.
Redshirt freshman Kenley McCarn published a stat line of 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in her OVC debut tonight. Freshman Norah Clark scored 16 of her career-high 18 points in the first half while Lexi Rubel went off for 16 points, career-best 13 rebounds and a game-high four rebounds. Anaya Brown topped all players with 15 rebounds and three blocks while Josie Storey knocked down a trio of three-pointers on the way to nine points for the Skyhawks, who won the rebounding battle by a 47-34 margin and sank 86.4 percent (19-of-22) of their free throw tries.
Tennessee State (3-8, 0-1 OVC) also placed three scorers in double figures, led by Sanaa' St. Andre's 17 points. Zyion Shannon and Eboni Williams added 14 and 12 points, respectively for the Tigers.
The Skyhawks went on a 16-3 run in the opening quarter, keyed by Storey (six points) and Clark (five points). A three-pointer by McCarn at the 2:55 mark gave UT Martin a 16-6 advantage but the Tigers answered with eight of the next 11 points to trim the Skyhawk lead to 19-14 through 10 minutes.
UT Martin pieced together another extended run to begin the second period, racing out to a 16-5 surge. Clark was responsible for 10 of those points, including three straight buckets to close out the run to make the score 35-19. Tennessee State soon tallied an 8-2 run of its own but the Skyhawks were still able to take a double-digit advantage (42-31) at the break.
Clark's 16 points in the opening half led all scorers as UT Martin canned seven treys on 15 attempts (a 46.7 percent clip). Shannon's 12 points off the bench led the way for the Tigers.
Tennessee State started the third stanza on a 12-4 run, shaving the Skyhawk lead down to a single possession at the media timeout. UT Martin held off the Tigers through the rest of the quarter as a Rubel putback made the score 55-49 heading into the final 10 minutes.
Buckets from Brown and Clark in the first 84 seconds of the fourth quarter helped the Skyhawks get off to a good start in crunch time. A pair of Brown free throws at the 6:25 mark extended UT Martin's lead out to 65-55 as the Skyhawks made 11 of 12 free throws in the final quarter.
LITTLE ROCK 59, TENNESSEE TECH 57
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tia Harvey hit a contested shot to break a tie with less than a minute to play and the Little Rock women's basketball team locked down defensively to preserve a 59-57 win over Tennessee Tech during Thursday's Ohio Valley Conference opener at the Eblen Center. The win is the 400th for head coach Joe Foley at Little Rock and the first for the Trojans as the road team.
Little Rock (2-10, 1-0 OVC) got a career-high 17 points from Leilani Wimbish-Gay, 16 from Faith Lee and 10 from Jayla Brooks. Jaiyah Harris-Smith dished out 10 assists while the Trojans shot 49.1 percent (26-of-53) from the floor. Wimbish-Gay – the reigning OVC Newcomer of the Week – also added five rebounds and three assists. Shug Williams had six rebounds and four points while Harvey added six points off the bench.
The Golden Eagles (5-7, 0-1 OVC) got 10 points from Preseason OVC Player of the Year Maaliyah Owens, but she made just 5-of-13 shots as Tennessee Tech finished just 16-of-47 (34 percent) from the field.
Little Rock led by as many as 13 midways through the third period and the game featured six ties and six lead changes. The Trojans led most of the way, playing in front for more than 31 minutes of the contest. TTU was limited to just 1-of-14 shooting in the first period and 5-of-23 in the first half. Little Rock led 14-8 after the opening period and 27-23 at halftime before starting the second half with an 11-2 run that opened their largest lead at 38-25. The hosts answered with seven straight points to bring the score to 38-32 and eventually tied the game at 42-42 before Wimbish-Gay and Brooks converted layups in the final minute of the quarter.
Late in the fourth, the lead changed hands a few times and TTU tied it at 57-57 with 1:02 to play. With just 32 seconds left, Harvey hit a jumper from the right wing, then the defense did the rest, forcing a shot clock violation to end the game.