COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A couple of freshman came off the bench
and hit from long range, giving the UT Martin Skyhawks an
unexpected added weapon on the way to an 81-63 Ohio Valley
Conference road victory at Tennessee Tech Monday night.
Sydney Vanlandingham was 4-for-4 from long range and Katie
Schubert went 4-for-6 as the Skyhawks drained 12 of 24 from outside
the 3-point arc. They were among the five UTM players to score in
double figures.
Lashay Davis was 5-for-9 from long distance for the Golden Eagles,
who just couldn’t find enough firepower to answer. She
finished with 19 points. Diamond Henderson added 13, while freshman
Mariah Dean posted career highs with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Jala Harris had six of Tech’s 17 assists.
Jasmine Newsome did much of her scoring late in the game, and
finished with 19 points. Heather Butler scored 16 points and added
six assists, while Schubert scored 14 and also dished out six
assists. Rickiesha Bryant had 13 points and led UTM with six
rebounds while Vanlandingham posted 12, all in the first half.
The game was a rematch of last year’s OVC Tournament
championship game, and featured the teams picked to win the
league’s East (Tech) and West (UTM) divisions. UTM improved
to 10-11 overall and 5-2 in the OVC while Tech’s record moved
to 10-9 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
After a close shootout during the first 19 minutes, UT Martin got
back-to-back 3-pointers to move from an eight-point edge to a
14-point lead at halftime when Vanlandingham and Schubert found the
net from long range. The Skyhawks were 7-for-11 from 3-point
range in the opening half.
The Skyhawks opened their lead to 20 points through the first
seven minutes of the second half, going on top 62-42 on a 3-pointer
by Newsome. The largest lead of the game was 22 points.
The Golden Eagles will host Austin Peay Saturday night at 5:30
p.m. on Basketball Legends Night as former players return to Eblen
Center for a night of memories. The game is the first of a
doubleheader against the Governors.
Tickets are on sale at the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen
Center, or by calling (931) 372-3940.