Possibly the greatest UT Martin Women's basketball player of all time notches one final accolade for the orange and blue. Thursday night, Skyhawks forward Chelsey Perry became the first UT Martin player to be drafted to the WNBA when the Indiana Fever selected the Middleton, Tennessee native in the 3rd round. Perry also becomes the highest selected player from the Ohio Valley Conference which was previously Austin Peay's Brooke Armistead who was selected as the 40th overall pick in the 2003 draft.
To say that the two-time OVC Player of the Year earned this moment is an understatement. Perry helped UT Martin Head Coach Kevin McMillan win back-to-back OVC regular-season titles while earning 13 OVC Player of the Week honors. Just recently, the senior led her team to not one, but two victories in the WNIT which marked the first time any OVC school had toppled two opponents in that tournament.
Perry's number 20 is sure to be the next jersey up in the rafters to join the likes of Summit's 55, Newsome's 12, Butler's 11, Long's 25, and Tansil's 24. Along with a lifetime of memories provided to the Skyhawk faithful, Perry exits as the programs all-time leader in blocks with 228; third all-time scorer with 1,963 points; fourth in both field goals made (733) and rebounds (768); fifth in free throws made (368); and eighth in three-pointers made by knocking down 129 shots from beyond the arch.
The Fever need any help they can get; last season they finished with a 6-16 record and missed out on the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. A major issue for Indiana last season was an inability to develop consistency; they'll get just what they need to fix that with Perry who started her 2020-21 campaign with 20 or more points through the first 11 games of the season.