FLORENCE, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team showed grit on the road by scratching back from a double-digit deficit, but ultimately ran out of steam down the stretch, falling to North Alabama 70-63.
The Skyhawks (0-5) struggled in the first quarter and faced a deficit as large as 11 points in the final seconds of the period. Down but not out, the young squad scratched an clawed before taking their first lead of the game three minutes into the third quarter while rattling off an 11-0 run. From there the lead swayed back and forth with six lead changes and a trifecta of ties down the stretch.
The fourth quarter alone saw the lead change hands five times but North Alabama pulled away down the stretch and outscored UT Martin by 13 points to secure the home victory.
UT Martin’s top two scorers came in the form of freshmen Norah Clark and Morgan Borgstadt. Clark led the team with 15 points while adding six rebounds in her second career start. Borgstadt came off the bench and scored 13 points while adding four rebounds and three steals. The squad was rounded out in double figures by Anaya Brown who posted the second double-double of her career with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
North Alabama (2-3) was led by Martin native Alexis Callins who paced all scorers with 27 points – knocking down 10-of-19 shot attempts. Emily Jones also reached double figures for the Lions, adding 15 points off the bench in a winning effort.
The Skyhawks will take off a few days for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to action on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at Murray State.
