The UTM Skyhawks women’s basketball team picked up a win at home over Southern Illinois Edwardsville Cougars to remain undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play.
The Skyhawks (15-6, 8-0 OVC) led throughout most of the game and had double-digit performances from six players and were only three points shy of tying the school record for points in a game.
“Anytime you have six players in double-digits, you got to feel good about that,”said UTM head coach Kevin McMillian.
The Skyhawks and the Cougars exchanged the lead several times as Shai Warfield-Cross had two big 3-pointers to tie the game at 15 with 10:50 left to go in the first half. It wasn’t until the eight minute mark of the first half that the Skyhawks started to pull away.
The Skyhawks defense stepped up, forcing 12 turnovers in the first half and the Skyhawks took advantage of those with 17 points off of turnovers. UTM went into the locker room at halftime with a 57-32 advantage as Warfield-Cross had nine points, eight rebounds and both Heather Butler and Elizabeth Masengil each had 10 points.
In the second half, SIUE could not slow down the Skyhawks, who led by as many as 44 points and finished the game with a 111-72 victory over the Cougars.
SIUE leading scorers were Micah Jones with 20 points and CoCo Moore with 12 points.
Leading the way for UTM, Ashia Jones finished with 19 points and Elizabeth Masengil totaled 17 points.
The Skyhawks had 35 points off of 27 SIUE turnovers and the Skyhawks bench came up big with 50 points.
“I think our defense is getting better and it’s getting more consistent … I think that’s whats going to have to happen for us down the stretch if we’re going to be able to beat some teams in the [OVC Tournament],” said McMillian.
The last time the Skyhawks lost a game against a conference opponent was Feb. 9, 2013, against the SIUE Cougars.
The Skyhawks will return to action on Monday, Jan. 27 when they will host Eastern Illinois. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Elam Center.
To see photos from the game, visit: http://www.thepacer.net/utm-womens-baskeball-vs-siue/
