Star Staff Reports
Alumni Night was held on the campus of The University of Tennessee at Martin this past Saturday.
Among the festivities on the day was three jersey retirements including Millington Central High School alumni Jasmine Newsome. The three new jerseys hanging from the rafters of the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center belong to Newsome, her teammate Heather Butler and Skyhawk Jared Newson. The recognition was the main event of the Skyhawk women’s and men’s basketball doubleheader.
Former UT Martin greats Heather Butler (2010-14), Jasmine Newsome (2010-14) and Jared Newson (2003-06) will see their jerseys immortalized in Skyhawk history on Saturday. Butler’s No. 11 and Newsome’s No. 12 will join Tara Tansil (No. 24, 1991-95), Mary Kate Long (No. 25, 1985-89) and Pat Head Summitt (No. 55, 1970-74) on the women’s side. Newson’s No. 1 will be displayed alongside Mitch Stentiford (No. 23, 1981-84), Marcus Glass (No. 43, 1984-86) and Mike Meschede (No. 13, 1984-88) on the men’s side.
A four-time All-Ohio Valley Conference first teamer and 2014 OVC Player of the Year, Butler scored in double-digits in each of her 129 career games – which is the second-longest streak in NCAA history. Her 2,865 points are the most in OVC history and ranked 16th on the NCAA’s all-time scoring list. The Medina native tied an NCAA record with 392 made three-pointers during a career where she helped the Skyhawks to 87 wins and the program’s first four NCAA Tournament appearances.
Joining Butler at the forefront of UT Martin’s success was Newsome, who was also a four-time All-OVC first team selection. The Millington product was named OVC Player of the Year twice and also earned OVC Defensive Player of the Year on three separate occasions. Her 2,566 career points rank second in OVC history (behind only Butler) while she shattered the program record with 681 career assists. She became the Skyhawks’ first Associated Press All-American as UT Martin made its first four NCAA Tournament appearances in school history.
Newsome had her No. 22 jersey retired at MCHS back in 2015. She is the all-time leading scorer in basketball for the Trojans. Newsome was also inducted in the Millington Athletic Hall of Fame for helping the Lady Trojans reach four-straight Sub-States.
A Belleville, Ill. native, Newson graduated from UT Martin as the program’s third all-time leading scorer (1,347 points) despite playing just three seasons. He was a two-time All-OVC performer, including a spot on the 2005-06 first team when his 18.8 points per contest ranked second in the league during his senior campaign. To this day, the high-flyer still ranks in the top-10 in school history in field goals made (452), free throws made (378), rebounds (535) and steals (128).
