The UT Martin women's basketball team connected on 16 three-pointers Saturday night (Jan. 10) and set several season highs as the Skyhawks defeated Morehead State 99-70 at the Elam Center.
The Skyhawks, who also set a school record with 31 assists, won their third straight game and improved to 7-9 overall and 3-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Morehead State dropped its sixth straight in the UTM series and slipped to 6-10 overall and 2-1 in the league.
"UT Martin came out very hot tonight," Head Coach Greg Todd said. "It was a tough matchup defensively. We just need to get better from this game. I thought we did do some good things tonight, but it's very tough to win giving up that many three-pointers and also having such a tough matchup inside as well."
UT Martin sophomore center Ashia Jones led all players with 30 points, her second straight game with 30+. Jessy Ward hit five three-pointers and scored 17, while Karisma Tyson registered 14 points. Katie Schubert netted 12 points and dished out nine assists.
The Skyhawks set season highs for points, points in a half (52), field goals (39), three-pointers and assists. The hosts led for more than 39 minutes as MSU's only advantages came at 2-0 and 4-3 in the first minute.
Sophomore forward Shay Steele led Morehead State with 19 points and four blocked shots to go along with seven rebounds. Junior guard Natalie Greenwell registered career highs of 17 points and eight rebounds in her 51st career contest. She was 8-of-10 from the free throw line, scoring 11 in the second half.
Freshman forward Eriel McKee contributed 13 points, her 12th double-figure effort in 13 appearances. Senior guard Almesha Jones handed out a game-best 10 assists. The OVC leader in assists now has four double-digit performances this season.
The Skyhawks were 35-of-89 (46 percent) from the field and 16-of-37 (43 percent) from three-point land. MSU was 26-of-62 (42 percent) overall. The Eagles out-rebounded the Skyhawks 47-43.
Morehead State returns home Thursday (Jan. 15) to battle SIU Edwardsville. The game, part of a doubleheader with the MSU men, begins at 5:15 p.m.
