MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin women’s basketball team is ranked No. 10 in espnW’s Mid-Major Top 10 which was released Friday morning.
The Mid-Major Poll includes teams in all conferences other than the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC.
The Mid-Major Top 10 includes:
UT Martin has won back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Tournaments and advanced to the NCAA Tournament the past years. Head coach Kevin McMillan is in his fourth season at the helm of the Skyhawks and will have three starters among five players returning from last year's championship team. Among the top returnees is the duo of Heather Butler (Medina, Tenn.) and Jasmine Newsome (Millington, Tenn.).
Butler, a junior guard, was selected as the league's Preseason Player of the Year after leading the league and ranking fourth in the nation with 23.8 points per game. Butler was third in the NCAA with a conference-best 42.3 three-point field goal percentage. She is one of 25 players nationally to be named to the Preseason Wade Trophy Watch List.
Newsome, a junior guard, was named the 2011-12 OVC Player of the Year. She led the league with 6.0 assists and 2.7 steals per game while ranking second with 19.6 points each time out. Butler and Newsome combined for 1,386 of UT Martin's 2,563 points last season.
The Skyhawks open their 2012-13 season tonight at the Welsch-Ryan Arena against Northwestern from the Big Ten Conference. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.