EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Vanessa Shafford scored 15 points to lead Southern Indiana to the Ohio Valley Conference championship on Saturday, but Tennessee-Martin is headed to the NCAA Tournament despite losing 81-53.
The Screaming Eagles are in the second year of their four-year reclassification to Division I and are not eligible to play in the NCAA tournament. They will carry a 10-game winning streak into the WNIT.
Triniti Ralston and Chloe Gannon each scored 14 points for Southern Indiana (24-6), which won the OVC by six games at 17-1 after going 6-12 in its first season. Meredith Raley added 13 points.
In coach Rick Stein's 25 years, the Screaming Eagles made eight appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament, reaching the Elite Eight in 2001.
“I'm very proud, very happy. We work so hard, it's fun to see the smiles on their faces,” Stein said. “And to be able to celebrate in front of our home crowd. Incredible.”
UT Martin (16-16) will go to the Big Dance for the first time since a four-year run through 2014 despite falling to 4-9 in OVC title games. Shorthanded all year, coach Kevin McMillan decided to rest four starters and give minutes to his other six players, including two freshmen who didn't score all season.
One of those freshmen, Amari Bonds, playing in just her seventh game, scored 26 points in 31 minutes as the Skyhawks' only non-starter. Mah Minthe scored 12 points. Sophie Singleton scored the first four points of her career in her 15th game.
Love Mays was the only regular starter for the third-seeded Skyhawks, who advanced to the title game and the NCAA Tournament by beating second-seeded Little Rock 54-48 in the semifinals.
Southern Indiana took advantage of an early 9-0 run and led 17-8 after one quarter. A 7-0 run in the second quarter helped push the lead to 36-23.
Ali Saunders and Addy Blackwell hit 3-pointers as the Screaming Eagles opened the game by scoring the first 10 points of the second half for a 46-23 lead.
