MARTIN, Tenn. - SIUE's first Ohio Vallley Conference loss came on the road Saturday as the Cougars were defeated 91-59 at UT Martin.

The Skyhawks jumped out to a 17-2 lead to open the game and did not hold back. UT Martin, 9-6 overall and 3-0 in the OVC, bombarded SIUE with 14 three-pointers and shot 53.7 percent (36-67) from the field.

"They did exactly what we thought they would do. We didn't do a good job of responding to their runs like we normally do. We usually have an answer," said SIUE Head Coach Amanda Levens.

Michaela Herrod was SIUE's lone scorer in double figures with 13 points. Raven Berry grabbed 10 rebounds for the Cougars.

Jasmin Newsome and Heather Butler, the two top scorers in the OVC heading into today's game, had another strong outing from the field. Newsome was the game's leading scorer with 26 points after shooting 10 of 13 from the field. She scored 20 of her 26 points in the first half. Butler shot 8 of 17 with a team-leading four three-pointers and finished with 22 points.

SIUE, now 8-6 overall and 2-1 in the OVC, couldn't recover from a 48-28 deficit at halftime. The game also was halted at the 11:56 mark of the second half when a power outage crippled UT Martin's Elam Center for more than 10 minutes.

Levens said she was disappointed in SIUE's 22 turnovers. The Skyhawks outscored SIUE 36-7 off turnovers. "We didn't do enough in any area today," Levens added.

SIUE now turns its attention to Monday's matchup with Eastern Illinois. The Cougars and the Panthers square off with a 7 p.m. tip-off at the Vadalabene Center.

"If we want to be a great team, we need to be consistent. We need to go back to the drawing board in that regard," Levens said.

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