MARTIN, Tenn. – Today’s University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball contest against mid-major powerhouse South Dakota State was a one-possession game at the halftime break but the visiting Jackrabbits pulled away in the second half as the Skyhawks fell by a 55-38 margin.
UT Martin held the high-powered South Dakota State offense to just four points on 14.3 percent shooting (1-of-7) in the second quarter, making the score 21-18 at the intermission. However, the Jackrabbits shot an even 50 percent (11-for-22) in the final 20 minutes to create some separation.
After a pair of in-game injuries and the absence of another full-time starter, the Skyhawks relied heavily on their youth today as five freshmen/redshirt freshmen/sophomores each logged 30-plus minutes apiece. UT Martin didn’t back down from the challenge of facing the top-ranked team in the CollegeInsider.com Women’s Mid-Major Top-25 poll, matching South Dakota State on the glass (32-all) while winning the turnover battle by a 14-11 margin. In the end, the Skyhawks could not overcome a 21.2 percent (11-for-52) shooting effort.
Kenley McCarn topped UT Martin (0-4) in scoring for the second time this season, tying a game-high with 14 points. The redshirt freshman out of Melbourne, Ark. was the only Skyhawk in double figures scoring as Anaya Brown (eight points, team-best seven rebounds), Norah Clark (seven points) and Morgan Borgstadt (seven points) followed closely behind.
The Jackrabbits (2-1) were led by 14 points off the bench from Mesa Byom. She was the lone South Dakota State scorer in double digits as the frontcourt tandem of Brooklyn Meyer (nine points, 10 rebounds, four blocks) and Tori Nelson (eight points, five blocks, four rebounds, four assists) also stuffed the statsheet.
“South Dakota State kind of imposed their will in the third quarter and that’s what an experienced team with juniors and seniors is going to do,” UT Martin head coach Kevin McMillan said. “I’m not upset with our team’s effort – we just held a very good basketball team to 55 points. I thought in the first half and the fourth quarter, we battled but we’re young and we’re not where we need to be offensively right now.”
Clark opened the game’s scoring with a driving layup at the 7:44 mark of the first quarter. The Jackrabbits responded with a 10-0 run before a pair of Skyhawk three-pointers (Clark and Brown) cut UT Martin’s deficit to 12-10.
The first quarter ended with South Dakota State claiming a 17-11 advantage but the Jackrabbits’ only field goal of the second period occurred with 6:08 to go before the halftime break. McCarn tossed in five points in the second quarter alone to help the Skyhawks get within striking distance at the half.
South Dakota State accounted for the first 11 points of the third quarter as part of a 17-3 run. McCarn buried a three-pointer with under 10 seconds to go in the period to make the score 41-26 in favor of the Jackrabbits headed into the final quarter.
South Dakota State began the fourth quarter with eight unanswered points. A McCarn trifecta immediately spurred an 8-0 UT Martin run but ultimately the Skyhawks wouldn’t get any closer than 15 points the rest of the way.
UT Martin goes back on the road for its next two outings, starting with a Tuesday, Nov. 21 visit to North Alabama. Tipoff time from Florence is set for 6 p.m.
