LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Kenley McCarn led the University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball squad in scoring for the 12th time while Anaya Brown generated her seventh double-double of the season as the Skyhawks registered an impressive 64-58 road win at Little Rock.
McCarn’s 23 points marked the seventh time in 2023-24 that the redshirt freshman from Melbourne, Ark. scored more than 20 points in a game. She was 10-for-14 from the floor – including 3-of-4 from three-point range – while adding five rebounds and two steals in the full 40 minutes. Brown also logged the full 40 minutes as the Lexington, Ky. native posted 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for UT Martin.
Reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week Norah Clark added 11 points in 40 minutes for the Skyhawks (10-12, 7-4 OVC), who shot their second-highest field goal percentage (.571) of the season.
The Trojans (8-14, 7-4 OVC) saw four players score in double figures, led by Faith Lee’s 18 points. Jayla Brooks (14), Lamariyee Williams (10) and Leilani Wimbish-Gay (10) also paced Little Rock, who shot just 23.5 percent (4-of-17) from three-point land.
“I thought this was a gutsy performance – I would have never thought that with us playing these three games so close together that we’d be able to give that kind of effort but we did,” UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. “We went on a big run in the second quarter and we were able to create some separation by making them take tough shots. We’ve said this all along – we have the pieces and when those pieces work together well, we’re pretty good.”
Four different Skyhawks scored UT Martin’s first four buckets of the game. An offensive rebound and putback by Brown opened the scoring for both sides before a Josie Storey three-pointer from the right wing gave the Skyhawks a 10-9 lead at the 3:12 mark. However, the Trojans ended the first quarter with five unanswered points to take a 14-10 advantage.
UT Martin began a 19-6 run early in the second quarter, taking a 35-27 lead into the locker room at the break. Brown began the surge and contributed eight of the Skyhawks’ first 14 points of the run. A trey from McCarn with 1:19 remaining before the halftime break capped off the run and made the score 33-25 in favor of UT Martin.
Brown and McCarn shared the team lead with 10 points apiece in the opening half, shooting 64.7 percent (11-of-17) in the second quarter alone. Lee had 12 points to guide the Trojans in the first 20 minutes.
McCarn came out blazing to begin the second half, pouring in seven consecutive Skyhawk points in a span of 1:19 as UT Martin stretched its lead out to 13 points (42-29). The Skyhawk lead never dipped under eight points in the final nine-plus minutes of the third period as McCarn scored the final four points of the quarter to give UT Martin a 52-42 advantage.
A strong take to the hoop by Clark at the 7:19 mark of the fourth quarter resulted in a 58-46 Skyhawk advantage. Little Rock would cut its deficit to six with 2:23 to go but Clark answered with a clutch stepback jumper in the paint on the ensuing possession. Love Mays converted a tough layup to boost UT Martin’s lead back out to 10 points with 42 seconds remaining on the way to the victory.
The Skyhawks head to Macomb, Ill. to visit OVC newcomer Western Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 10, wrapping up their four-game road trip. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
