Two days removed from their 82-53 victory over Belmont, the UTM Skyhawks defeated the Southeast Missouri Redhawks 100-71.
With the victory, UTM improved to 5-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play, their best conference start in program history.
Two UTM fouls in the first 45 seconds of play gave the Redhawks (5-12, 1-2 OVC) an early 1-0 advantage, but UTM’s Ashia Jones would shoot from within the paint would give UTM the early 2-1 lead.
SEMO’s Jordan Hunter regained the lead for Southeast Missouri with a layup at the 18:07 mark, but that was the last time the Redhawks lead UTM in the contest.
Heather Butler hit one-of-two shots from the charity stripe to tie the game with 17:49 left in the first half. A three-pointer from Jasmine Newsome gave the Skyhawks the lead and they never let go.
In the second half, the Skyhawks continued to pile points on Southeast Missouri.
“I thought the first five minutes of the second half was the statement that we’ve been looking for from our kids,” said head coach Kevin McMillan. “To come out after the first half and make that statement and really be relentless and dominate the game … [I’m] unbelievably pleased.”
“The intensity and the effort in those first five minutes is exactly what we’re trying to instill in our kids … We just have to keep that intensity up for forty minutes.”
Butler finished with a game-high 23 points and a team-high six assists for the Skyhawks. Newsome finished with 16 points. Jones recorded 15 points on the night while Chelsea Roberts recorded a team-high 10 rebounds, all defensive.
For the Redhawks, Brianna Mitchell totaled 20 points followed by Jordan Hunter’s 16 points. Patricia Mack finished with a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Skyhawks will hit the road to take on Morehead State on Saturday, January 18. Meanwhile, Southeast Missouri will head home to prepare for their matchup against Morehead State scheduled for Monday, January 20.
