After being named Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks, UTM women’s basketball junior forward Chelsey Perry posted another dazzling performance with 42 points and 10 rebounds to lift the Skyhawks to an 83-67 victory over Lipscomb.
With the win, UTM head coach Kevin McMillan notched his 200th career milestone victory. McMillan joined select company, becoming just the sixth head coach in OVC history – men’s or women’s – to tally 200 wins in their respective career alongside Larry Joe Inman (545), Dave Loos (420), Bill Worrell (408), Cal Luther (319) and E.A. Diddle (296).
The Skyhawks (4-5) treated its near capacity crowd of over 4,000 students from area schools to a strong victory behind a dominating performance by Perry and the supporting cast. UTM shot 46.3% from the field while scoring 24 points off 22 turnovers. The Skyhawks would tally 16 assists on the team’s 31 field goals while winning the battle of the boards by five.
Perry led all scorers with 42 points while tallying her first double-double of the season and fifth of her career. Her scoring output ranked as the highest total in the OVC this season while ranking third nationally. Her only shortcoming on the afternoon was falling just two points shy of the program’s single-game scoring record of 44 points.
A total of three different players scored in double figures for Skyhawks with Sade’ Hudson (14 points) and Kyannah Grant (13 points) joining Perry in the boxscore. Meanwhile, junior forward Maddie Waldrop tallied six points and 11 rebounds in the contest.
Lipscomb (2-9) kept the game tight throughout the contest, holding a lead as large as five midway through the second quarter. The Lady Bisons would stay in the game by knocking down 12 three-pointers on the afternoon while shooting 47.6 percent from the floor. Blythe Pearson led the team with 20 points off the bench behind five three-pointers while Jalyn Holcomb tallied 16 points to round out the Lady Bisons in double figures.
UTM will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 19 when capping off its three-game homestand with a matchup against nationally ranked No. 7 Louisville. Tipoff from the Elam Center is scheduled for 6 p.m.
