After a long Holiday break that found the Skyhawks’ going 2-5, the women’s team hoped to snap their losing streak at the first home game of the semester against Murray State. Headed into Saturday night’s game, UTM actually boasted a better record overall, with MSU fairing better in the OVC.

Despite having four different Skyhawks finish with point totals in double digits, Murray used impressive perimeter shooting to pick up the 83-64 victory.

The first few minutes of the game were close, with the Skyhawks being down by just one point, 20-19 with 10 minutes left in the half. The Lady Racers then went on a 10-30 point run, finishing the half with a 50-29 lead.

The second half found the Skyhawks rallying back to as close as to within 12 with a little under five minutes left in the game.

The Lady Racers held UTM to just four points in the last four minutes, stopping any late game comeback the Skyhawks might have been trying to mount.

Overall the Skyhawks shot an even 50 and 25 percent from the field and 3-point range respectively and 9-19 from the free throw line.

The Lady Racers were a notable 11-21 from behind the arc, the most shots posted against the Skyhawks all year.

The leading scorer for the Skyhawks was sophomore Crystal Fuller who finished the game with 19 points and eight rebounds, also a game high. Behind Fuller was Andreika Jackson with 17 and six rebounds. Junior Deina Willingham and senior Keva Robinson each added 10 points to the effort.

UTM is now 5-11 on the year with a 3-6 record in the OVC. The Skyhawk women are currently ranked ninth in the conference standings behind Eastern Kentucky. Only the top six teams make the tournament each season.

The Skyhawks will attempt to break the losing streak on the road, where they haven’t had much success, this week when they travel to Ala.

They first face the Bulldogs of Samford, who are currently in first place in the OVC, at 5 p.m. on Thursday in Birmingham. Next they will go take on the Gamecocks of Jacksonville State at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 28.