Women’s Basketball’s Upends UT Martin; Robinson Breaks Record

Saturday, January 5

Martin, Tenn.

4 p.m.

Murray State

8-4 (1-1OVC)

UT Martin

6-10 (1-1OVC)

Murray St.

UT Martin

Photo by: Tab Brockman

Women’s Basketball’s Upends UT Martin; Robinson Breaks Record

1/5/2013 9:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

| Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats (PDF)

It had been three years and one day since the Murray State women's basketball team had last beaten UT Martin and exactly four years since they had done so on the road, on Saturday both droughts came to an end, as the Racers topped the Skyhawks, 82-72, at the Elam Center in Martin.

The other highlight of the game came from senior Mariah Robinson, as she became Murray State's all time leader in 3-pointers made with her third made three of the game. Robinson now has 212 for her career, breaking former teammate Amber Guffey's record of 2010, set in 2009.

The game was tight was from the get go, as neither team led by more than seven in the first half. Each team led for large chunks of the opening frame, but it was the Racers (8-5, 1-1) who took a 39-38 lead into the locker room thanks to layup with under a minute remaining from Keiona Kirby.

The Racers were led in the opening frame by freshman Bianca Babic. Babic provided much needed momentum by notching a career-high 10 points in the first half.

In the second half, the Skyhawks (6-10, 1-1) came out and immediately re-took the lead with a jumper from Heather Butler, who finished with 19 points. Robinson and Butler traded the next two scores, leaving UT Martin with a one-point advantage. With 18:15 left in the game, freshman Erika Sisk hit a 3-pointer to give the Racers a two-point lead, one which they never relinquished.

With 7:13 left in the game, a basket from UT Martin's Shelby Crawford cut the lead to just two. From there, the Racers went on a 12-1 run that put them up 13 and virtually sealed the win; as they went on to win by 10.

The Racers outshot the Skyhawks from the floor in the game, 41.4 percent to 39.7, and out rebounded them, 44-41. While MSU did commit one more turnover than UT Martin, 15-14, the Racers took better advantage of their opponent's miscues, outscoring the Skyhawks, 20-12, on turnovers.

Robinson led Murray State on the night with a game-high 26 points, to go along with six rebounds, six assists and five steals. Sisk followed behind with 16, while Kirby notched her second-consecutive double-digit performance with 12. Tessa Elkins has 11 and Babic had 10, to round out a season-high five Racers with 10-plus points.

Freshman Kelsey Dirks pulled down a game-high nine boards to go along with seven points, while Jessica Winfrey had eight rebounds of her own.

Jasmine Newsome finished with a team-high 25 points for UT Martin and also led the Skyhawks in rebounds and assists with eight and seven, respectively.

Murray State will now continue its three-game road swing, when it travels to Southeast Missouri on Monday. Tip-off at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau is set for 6:30 p.m.