The 10-1 sixth ranked Louisville Cardinals women’s basketball team wraps up the four game road stretch tonight down in Martin, TN to close out the 2019-2020 non-conference schedule. Once again the U of L program demonstrates its dedication not only to on the court success, but also the advancement of the women’s game in general. The Skyhawks of UT-Martin will have faced four ranked opponents by the time they enter conference play in the OVC and currently hold a 4-5 record. While they’ve never in their history defeated a ranked opponent, it’s a guarantee that spirits will be flying high in the Elam Center tonight.

Game Info:

DATE: Thurs 19 Dec 2019
TIME: 7:00 p.m. EST / 6:00 p.m. CST
SITE: Elam Center (Martin, TN)
WATCH: ESPN+ (subscription required)
LISTEN: 790 AM WKRD

With apologies, we’ll forego the usual in-depth breakdown of the opponent in favor of some quick hits. “Why?” might you ask? We’re running a bit short on time because The Crunch Zone is heading out soon in order to be live on site in Martin, TN bringing you live coverage tonight. Catch the game on ESPN+ (subscription required) or listen in to Nick and Adrienne on 790 AM WKRD, and stay tuned to The Crunch Zone on Instagram and Twitter for updates.

  • Head coach Kevin McMillan is in his 11th season as the leader of the Skyhawks and has performed ably with a slew of OVC titles and NCAA tournament appearances. UT-Martin most recently made a WNIT appearance in the 2017-2018 season.
  • They love them some women’s basketball in Tennessee. UT-Martin boasts the second-best WBB attendance record in the OVC with a 1,600+ average per game last season. That’s above the national average.
  • The Cards’ defense will rightly be focused on 6’2″ junior forward Chelsey Perry. Her 42 point, 10 rebound double-double performance against Lipscomb was impressive to say the least and placed her third in the NCAA for a single game points total this season.
  • While 42 points for Perry was an extreme example, she is leading the Skyhawks offense with close to 20 points per game. Offensively the production drops off precipitously with only fellow forward Damiah Griffin just barely joining Perry in double-digit average scoring.
  • While the Skyhawks’ offense is focused on the paint with their powerful forwards, neither Griffin nor Perry are afraid to step out for the three ball. The Cardinals are likely to spend a lot of time in zone to hold the middle but if the UT-Martin shooting gets hot they may have to adjust.
  • Defensively the Skyhawks love to apply pressure off of made baskets, and so a key for the Cards will be a strong defensive performance of their own. Once UT-Martin has their pressure set it’s nothing if not frenetic, aggressive, and quite capable of forcing turnovers. And if you do manage to get the ball up the court, Chelsey Perry holds the paint as a blocking machine.
  • The Cards and Skyhawks have one common opponent this season in UT-Chattanooga who UT-Martin defeated 78-51 at home.
  • For the Cardinals:
    • Kylee Shook can tie the all-time blocks record with one more block
    • Dana Evans is truly coming into her own as the dual threat. Her assists total continues to impress.
    • It was great to see Yacine Diop provide a critical performance against UK. It will be good if she can get a good chunk of minutes tonight.

Game Info:

DATE: Thurs 19 Dec 2019
TIME: 7:00 p.m. EST / 6:00 p.m. CST
SITE: Elam Center (Martin, TN)
WATCH: ESPN+ (subscription required)
LISTEN: 790 AM WKRD

PROBABLE STARTERS:

#6 Louisville (10-1)
G #1 Evans
G #4 Balogun
G #23 Jones
F #33 Dunham
F #21 Shook

Tennessee Martin (4-5)
G #31 Grant
G #2 Hudson
F #20 Perry
F #22 Griffin
F #21 Waldrop

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Occasional podcast producer, occasional videographer, talentless hanger-on.

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