The UTM Skyhawks used a 17-2 run and cashed in on 20-of-23 free throws in the second half to even their Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball record at 3-3 with a 70-63 victory over Tennessee State Thursday night.

Clinging to a one-point advantage at the half, the Skyhawk women opened the second half with a 17-2 run to build a 44-28 lead with 14:32 left in the game. The 16-point cushion included six free throws and five layups.

Tennessee State fought back from three-point range and with 49 seconds left trailed 66-63. The Lady Tigers canned four three-pointers in the second half and banked on 10 second-half points from Odessa Kelly and 11 second-half points from Kisha Stewart.

Senior Tiffany Brundige, from South Fulton, Tenn., sealed the Skyhawks' win with four consecutive free throws in the final 1:02 of the contest, while senior Julie Young put the finishing touches on the victory with a layup with five seconds to play. Young, from Clarksville, Tenn., led all scorers with 19 points. She was 6-for-13 from the field and seven-for-eight from the free throw line. Young also had a team-high nine rebounds.

Freshman Andreika Jackson tossed in 14 points and had seven rebounds, while Deina Willingham, also a freshman, had 10 points and five rebounds.

Kelly led TSU with 17 points, while Stewart added 15 points. LaKisha Clay finished up with 13 points to round out TSU's double-digit scorers.

The Skyhawks hit 26-of-32 free throws in the game and 20-of-23 from the line in the second half. Translated the Skyhawks hit 87 percent of their free throws.

With the win the Skyhawks improve to 6-10 overall and 3-3 in the OVC. Tennessee State fell to 1-14 overall and 0-5 in the league.

The victory was the one hundredth for Tennessee-Martin co-head coaches Gary and Kim Van Atta. The Van Attas are only the second head coaches in Tennessee-Martin history to win 100 games at the university.

Nadine Gearin, who coached from 1969-1978, is the other coach. Gearin compiled a 104-86 worksheet.

For the Skyhawks, the win was their second road win of the season and their third in Nashville at TSU's Gentry Center under the direction of the Van Attas. The last time the Skyhawks defeated TSU on its home court was Feb. 20, 1999.