After falling to national title contender No. 5 Louisville 85-67, the Skyhawks picked up their first win of the 2020-21 season after beating the struggling Samford Bulldogs (0-4) on Dec. 8.
Leading the Skyhawks’ offense was senior forward Chelsey Perry, who put up a game-high 31 points in her 10th career game with 30 or more points. Following Perry was sophomore guard Seygan Robins, whose 16 points was also more than the Bulldogs’ leading scorer Annie Ramil (13 points).
In addition to being the engine for the Skyhawks’ offense, Perry also led the team in steals (3) and blocks (2). Robins and senior forward Maddie Waldrop excelled at dishing the ball, as both players put up six and five assists, respectively.
UTM put a modest .438 three-throw percentage and a solid .564 field goal percentage. The Skyhawks struggled with free throws after halftime, only making one of four in the third quarter and three of five in the fourth quarter.
Despite slightly edging out the Bulldogs in the battle of turnovers (UTM 19 – Samford 17), both teams scored 19 points off turnovers. However, the Skyhawks took command in the paint, outscoring the Bulldogs 38-24 in that area. On the fast break, UTM dominated with 12 points to Samford’s four.
Samford countered the Skyhawks’ talent advantage with a balanced offense. Perry and Robins accounted for over half of UTM’s points and were the only two to score in double-digits for the Skyhawks.
On the other hand, Samford boasted four double-digit scorers, with only two of them being on the starting lineup. The Bulldogs’ bench rotation doubled the amount of points scored by the Skyhawks’ bench 30-15.
The Skyhawks got on the board first on their first possession, resulting in a jumper from Perry to establish a 2-0 lead. This lead grew to 8-4 after a three-pointer from Robins midway through the first. However, the Bulldogs took a one-point lead shortly after and extended that lead to 20-16 at the end of the first.
A second-chance jumper by Waldrop got the Skyhawks within two to start the second quarter. Turnovers by the Skyhawks allowed the Bulldogs to grow their lead to 31-22. A 7-0 run by UTM closed the gap some and put the Skyhawks within two, but two consecutive three-pointers by Samford pushed UTM’s deficit to 9 again. At halftime, the Skyhawks trailed 37-42.
Robins buried two back-to-back three-pointers to kick off the third and give UTM the lead once more. The Bulldogs struggled to score throughout the start of the third, missing nine straight field goals and bricking two free throws before finally scoring again. UTM would go on to hold a commanding 59-46 lead, which was chipped down to 63-55 going into the fourth.
The game was all but over in the fourth, as the Bulldogs failed to close that eight point gap going into the final minutes, and the Skyhawks finished with a 75-67 victory.
UTM’s next contest will be an Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Championship Finals rematch against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks on Dec. 19 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Photo Credit / Sports Information
