No. 4 seeded Tennessee-Martin knocked off No. 5 seeded Morehead State 80-75 to advance to the Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament semifinals Friday, March 7.

The Skyhawks will play No. 1 seeded Austin Peay at noon, Friday, March 7, at Nashville’s Gaylord Entertainment Center. The tournament championship is set for 11 a.m., Saturday, March 8.

Seniors Amy Watson, LaShanta Morrow and Randi Morgan combined for 39 of the Skyhawks’ 80 points.

“Our seniors made this happen tonight,” said Gary Van Atta, Skyhawk co-head coach. “They came out and were determined not to end this season with a loss on their home court.”

Morehead State led 40-33 at the intermission and led by 13 points with 18:06 to play in the game. The Skyhawks tied the game at 61-61 with a pair of free throws with 8:57 to go. The game was also tied at 63-all, 69-all and 70-all. Sophomore Danielle Page tied the game and put the Skyhawks up 71-70 with a pair of free throws with 3:50 to play.

The Skyhawks never looked back from that point. Page hit four more free throws to seal the victory for the Skyhawks. The sophomore from Bradford, Tenn., hit all eight of her free throw attempts in the contest. However, she was 0-for-8 from the field.

“I struggled from the field tonight, but at least I could hit my free throws,” Page told co-head coaches Gary and Kim Van Atta.

Page has not missed a free throw in nine games and she has made 35 consecutive shots from the stripe. She is shooting 85 percent from the line and ranks among the OVC’s top free throw shooters. Ironically, the last time Page missed a free throw was Jan. 25 in Skyhawk Arena against Morehead State.

Watson led the Skyhawks with 25 points and 12 rebounds. She recorded her first double double of her collegiate career.

Junior Julie Young tossed in 13 points, while Morgan hit five-of eight from the field and finished with a dozen points. Junior Tiffany Brundige also added double digits to the Skyhawks’ tally with 10 points.

Morehead State was led by Travece Turner with 25 points, DeVonda Williams with 12 points and Tasha Gales with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

With the win, the Skyhawks improve to 8-1 against OVC teams on their home court and 13 15 overall. Morehead State ends the season with a 16-12 worksheet.

The first round OVC game between the Skyhawks and the Lady Eagles marks the third time the two teams have played this season.

The Skyhawks won both meetings on their home court and lost at Morehead. Last year, the two teams also played three times, but Morehead State won all three games and advanced to the OVC tournament semifinals where it lost to Tennessee Tech.

The Skyhawks are making their sixth consecutive appearance in the OVC tournament and their fourth appearance in the OVC semifinals. The team played in the tournament finals in 1998 and 1999. They lost in 1998 to Middle Tennessee by one point and in 1999 to Tennessee Tech by three points.

OVC Tournament at the Gaylord Entertainment Center