Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky led by 10 at halftime and looked to be on its way to clinching the fourth seed and a first round home game in next week’s Ohio Valley Conference tournament, but Tennessee-Martin staged a second half comeback to pull out a 62-54 win on Thursday at McBrayer Arena.

The Skyhawks (10-17, 8-9 OVC) scored the first 11 points of the second half and took the lead for good with 6:41 left in the game.

The Lady Colonels (12-15, 8-9 OVC) out-rebounded UTM by nine, made four more field goals and three more three-pointers, but were out-scored at the free throw line 26-7.

Darnisha Lyles posted a double-double for UT Martin, finishing with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Alecia Weatherly made just 1-of-11 field goal attempts but went 10-for-11 at the free throw line and finished with 12 points to go along with nine rebounds and three assists.

Freshman Shakeyia Colyer led EKU with 12 points.

After taking an 8-4 lead with 12:42 left in the opening half, UT Martin went cold. The Skyhawks made just one field goal and one free throw over the next nine and a half minutes. A 17-3 run by EKU allowed the Lady Colonels to turn a four-point deficit into a 10-point lead. Colyer knocked down a pair of three-pointers. A lay-up by Nadia Mossong followed by a long jumper from Ashley Pritchett with 3:32 on the clock pushed Eastern in front 21-11.

Eastern Kentucky took a 27-17 lead into the locker room at the break. UTM shot 22 percent (5-for-23) in the first half and missed on all nine three-point attempts.

Tennessee-Martin opened the second half by scoring 11 straight points, including the team’s first two three-pointers, to erase the Lady Colonel lead. The Skyhawks made their first four shot attempts to begin the second stanza. Colette Cole’s three-pointer from the left wing with 15:46 on the clock finally got Eastern on the board in the second half.

A free throw by Lyles gave UTM a five-point lead, 41-36, with 7:59 left in the game. However, a long three-pointer by Brittany Coles as the shot clock expired, and a baseline jumper by Pritchett tied the game again. UT Martin answered by scoring seven straight and led the rest of the way. Lyles scored five of the seven.

After shooting 21.7 percent in the first half, Tennessee-Martin made 45.8 percent of its shots in the second half. The Skyhawks went 19-for-26 at the free throw line in the second half, while Eastern Kentucky went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe.

The Lady Colonels will close out their regular season schedule on Saturday against Murray State. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. Senior Day ceremonies honoring Colette Cole and Sarah Fraser-Jones will be held prior to the start of the game.

Notes
For the first time this season, Eastern Kentucky had more assists (16) than turnovers (12) in a game.

In the first meeting of the season between the two teams, Eastern Kentucky finished with 26 turnovers. On Thursday, the Lady Colonels had a season-low 12 turnovers.

EKU has held 14 of its last 21 opponents to 60 points or less. Eastern has held 20 of its 27 opponents this season to 65 points or less. The Lady Colonels entered tonight’s game first in the OVC and 71st in the nation in scoring defense (59.5 ppg).

Eastern Kentucky has out-rebounded 17 of its 27 opponents this season.

EKU leads the all-time series with UT Martin 30-11. The Lady Colonels had won seven straight in the series. Eastern is now 16-3 against the Skyhawks in Richmond.