The UTM women’s basketball team opened the season with an uphill battle against No. 5 ranked Louisville on Sunday afternoon and held its own before ultimately dropping the road matchup 85-67.
The Skyhawks (0-0) had to wait nearly 10 days longer than most teams in the country but finally got its chance to hit the hardwood with a season-opening contest in the KFC Yum! Center on Sunday afternoon. UTM battled for three of the four quarters of the contest while it was the second period which ultimately proved to be the difference as Louisville pulled away by outscoring the visitors by 12.
The game would change hands 10 times in the contest while featuring a pair of ties in the first two quarters. From there the Cardinals would use a 12-point run in the second quarter to never look back.
Three different Skyhawks scored in double figures, led by the play of All-American Chelsey Perry with 26 points, four rebounds, four blocks and two assists. Sophomore Dasia Young tallied 12 points and five rebounds while redshirt-freshman Hayley Harrison tossed in 10 points in her collegiate debut. In a homecoming of sorts, former Louisville guard Seygan Robins scored six points while dishing out four assists in her Skyhawk debut.
“I think today you saw glimpses of the type of team we could be,” UTM head coach Kevin McMillan said. “At times we played well defensively, made shots and moved the ball. I thought that our kids did as good of a job as you can do, considering that we have had no scrimmages, no exhibitions and hardly ever had 10 players to really run up and down the floor. I think we did as good as expected considering all of those things and the girls had a tough opener against the fifth ranked team in the nation. I’m interested now to see how they rebound and recover with another game in 48 hours.”
Louisville (4-0) continued to roll through its non-conference slate with a strong, balanced performance. All-American Dana Evans led tallied 26 points to lead the Cardinals while the pair of Hailey Van Lith and Kianna Smith scored 10 points each.
UTM will return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 8 with another road matchup at Samford. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
