Just days after wrapping up the program’s sixth OVC title, the UT Martin women’s basketball team was rewarded for its individual honors Tuesday as the junior pair of Chelsey Perry and Maddie Waldrop were named to the All-OVC first team. Perry added to her postseason accolades by garnering OVC Player of the Year for her outstanding season.
A native of Middleton, Perry has seen her career grow progressively after garnering OVC All-Newcomer honors as a freshman and All-OVC second team recognition as a sophomore. Her game has gone to another level as a junior and she has been rewarded accordingly by becoming just the fifth player in program history to earn OVC Player of the Year honors and 11th player to be named an All-OVC first team selection.
An OVC-record eight-time OVC Player of the Week, Perry ranks first nationally with 686 points on the season while sitting second overall with 23.7 points per game. She finished the season with 27 consecutive games in double figures while tallying 19 games exceeding 20 points, nine 30-point outings and a career-best 42-point performances against Lipscomb. In OVC play alone, she scored 479 points which ranks as the most points scored during league play in the conference’s past 20 years.
Along with her scoring prowess, the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year semifinalist ranks in the top-10 amongst OVC players in field goal percentage (50.4 percent, second), blocks (79, second), minutes played (34.1, second), three-point field goal percentage (40.5 percent, third), rebounds (8.0 rpg, fourth), free throw percentage (86.9 percent, fourth) and steals (50, 10th).
Hailing from Murray, Kentucky, Waldrop has overcome numerous injuries to not only become the team’s heart and soul, but also one of the league’s most dominant players. After garnering Preseason All-OVC honors, Waldrop took her game to another level on the offensive end and garnered All-OVC first team honors as a reward.
Waldrop contributed in every stat column for the Skyhawks by boasting averages of 12.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks per game. She tallied 17 games in double figures while eclipsing the 20-point plateau on three occasions. Adding to her seven double-doubles, she posted arguably her most dominant performance against Austin Peay when tallied 22 points and 13 rebounds in the road contest.
Waldrop’s numbers were even stronger in conference play where she ranked second in field goal percentage (54.7 percent), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.8), fourth in defensive rebounding (6.2), fifth in scoring (15.8 ppg), fifth in rebounds (8.4 rpg) and eighth in blocks (18).
The forward tandem will look to build upon the team’s regular season title as they open the OVC Basketball Championship Wednesday against No. 8 seeded Murray State.
Tipoff from the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana is scheduled for 1:00 with airtime at 12:30 on WCMT.
