Senior Tiffany Brundige and freshman Andreika Jackson combined for 39 points, but it wasn't enough to hold off a strong second-half Murray State rally Tuesday night in the Regional Special Events Center (The RSEC).

The host Lady Racers claimed a 70-67 Ohio Valley Conference win over the Skyhawks.

With the loss the Skyhawks fall to 2-3 in the OVC race and 5-10 overall. Murray State improves to 2-3 and 6-10 overall under the direction of first-year head coach Joi Williams.

The Skyhawks built a 35-25 lead at the break. West Tennessee products, Danielle Page (Bradford) and Brundige (South Fulton) paced the Skyhawks with the hot hand. The two combined to hit all five of their attempted field goals. Four of those five shots were from three-point range.

Jackson, the OVC's Rookie of the Week, tossed in six first-half points and collected five rebounds. The Skyhawk women shot 53.8 percent from the field in the first half and hit a blistering 71.4 percent from the arch.

In the second half, Murray came out with the hot hand. The Lady Racers shot 53 percent from the field and hit four treys in the 20-minute period.

Murray State tied the game at 46-all when Lori Trumblee hit a jumper in the paint with 11:02 to play. The game was tied again at 50-all with 9:26 to play, but Murray State put up seven unanswered points to build a seven-point cushion.

The Skyhawks cut the lead to one when Brundige hit a three-ball with six seconds to go.

The Skyhawks had a shot to force an overtime period, but Brundige's desperation shot drew iron and Murray State grabbed the 70-67 win.

Murray State senior guard Megan Fuqua led the Lady Racers with 15 points and four assists. Senior guard Stacy Holmes added 14 points and a team-high six rebounds, while sophomore center Lori Trumblee had 13 points and a co-game-high three steals.

Tennessee-Martin was paced by a season-high 23 points and six assists from Brundige. Jackson added 16 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

UTM vs. Murray State

UTM freshman Andreika Jackson hit two free throws with 10 seconds left to give the host Skyhawk women a 54-52 win over Samford Saturday afternoon in Skyhawk Arena.

The victory was the Skyhawks second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference win and their eighth consecutive win in Skyhawk Arena.

The Skyhawk women improve to 2-2 in the OVC race and 5-9 overall. Samford falls to 1-3 in the league and 7-7 overall.

The win leaves Skyhawk co-head coaches Gary and Kim Van Atta one win away from 100 wins at Tennessee-Martin. The Van Attas can become only the second head coaches in Tennessee-Martin women's basketball history to win 100 or more games.

Nadine Gearin is the only other women's head coach to win 100 games. Gearin's career record is 104-86.

The Skyhawks return to action Tuesday, Jan. 20, when they travel to Murray State for another Ohio Valley Conference showdown. Tipoff is set for 5:15 p.m.

Samford forged ahead in the first half 30-21 as Chelsee Insell and freshman phenom Alex Munday combined for 22 of those 30 points.

Insell had 12 first half points and hit four of her five attempted three-pointers.

"In the first half we made a lot of sloppy errors and missed opportunities," said Skyhawk co-head coach Kim Van Atta. Senior Julie Young tied the game, 48-48, for the Skyhawks with a three-pointer with 5:49 to play. Jackson hit a jumper with 4:10 to go and the Skyhawks enjoyed a four-point lead, 52-48.

Samford knotted the game at 52-all when Lindsey Harris converted the steal by Munday for a layup with 1:49 to play. LaBrena Friend fouled Jackson with 10 seconds left and the Skyhawk freshman sensation netted both free throws.

With less than two seconds to play Friend fired a desperation shot for Samford, but it drew iron and Jackson came away with the rebound and the Skyhawks grabbed the victory.

Jackson led all scorers with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The double-digit points and rebounds was Jackson's third consecutive double-double of the season and her fourth career.

Insell was limited to three second half points and finished the game with 15 points to lead all Samford scorers. Munday, held to four points in the second half, finished the contest with 14 points. The Skyhawks will next host OVC rival Morehead State on Jan. 29, at 5:30 p.m.