Story by Gage Johnson
Sports Editor
Following a 7-3 record to finish the season to claim the No. 6 seed in the OVC Tournament, the Racers were unable to carry their momentum into the postseason and fell to UT Martin 77-56.
It was clear that both teams had some initial jitters to open the first-round matchup. However, once they were cleared to the two teams went back and forth in the first quarter. Thanks to a combined 13 points from sophomore forward Chelsey Perry and senior guard Emanye Robertson—including a buzzer-beating layup— the Skyhawks took an 18-16 lead going into the second quarter.
After UT Martin gained the 18-16 lead, Murray State women’s basketball wasn’t able to regain the lead for the rest of the game.
UT Martin opened the second quarter with a 10-2 run, jumping out to a 28-18 lead with 4:46 left in the first half. The Racers continued to struggle offensively throughout the quarter, shooting 20 percent from the field. Add on the Skyhawks’ 16-3 rebounding advantage in the second and Murray State found themselves trailing 37-23 going into the locker room.
“We just got outworked,” Head Coach Rechelle Turner said. “Half of the shots they missed they got second chances [on]. We knew that rebounding was going to be a team effort. We just didn’t get a body on them as much as we should’ve.”
The Racers eventually found their stride offensively, shooting 44 percent from the field in the second half. However, UT Martin’s advantage on the boards continued to grow and so did its success offensively.
After going 16-for-34 in the first half, the Skyhawks made it seem like they were throwing the ball in the ocean, shooting 54 percent from the field in the second half.
In the end, UT Martin advanced themselves to the next round, winning 77-56 with Perry (20), Robertson (19) and sophomore guard Zaire Hicks (19) all notching double figures.
The loss wraps up Murray State’s season, giving them a 13-17 (9-9) overall record. The team was not expected to reach this point in the season as they were voted to finish 12th in the conference in pre-season polls.
Despite it not being the outcome they wanted, junior forward Evelyn Adebayo believes they took a step in the right direction for the future of the program.
“Even though it’s a sad moment right now, it’s still something we should be proud of,” Adebayo said. “Obviously it’s not the outcome we wanted or expected, but we should be proud of how far we came and the progress we made this season.”
Following the loss, Turner is excited for what’s in store and is ready to go right back to work to make a longer postseason run next season.
“I think we did some great things this year,” Turner said. “We have everyone back but our one senior Michaela, so hopefully we can use this as fuel and work in the offseason to get back here and advance in the future.”
