UTM claimed its first road win of the season Saturday afternoon with a 78-63 victory over Murray State.

The Skyhawks shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and forced Murray State to commit 15 first-half turnovers. With the win the Skyhawks improve to 5-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 8-12 overall. Murray State falls to 1-6 in the OVC and 5-13 overall.

Julie Young led the Skyhawks with 18 points, 10 of those came in the first half. Seniors Amy Watson and Randi Morgan chipped in 13 points each. Junior Tiffany Brundige, from South Fulton, Tenn., finished with nine points, eight of those came in the first half.

The Skyhawks opened the game with an 18-4 run and cruised to a 41-29 advantage at the break. The biggest difference in the first half was turnovers. The Skyhawks outscored the Lady Racers 20-6 off turnovers.

Morgan gave the Skyhawks a 19-point lead when she hit a layup via an assist from LaShanta Morrow. The Skyhawks stretched that lead to 24 points with a Torre Thomas three pointer with five minutes left in the game.

Murray State cut the turnover margin in the second half by outscoring the Skyhawks 12-3 off turnovers. Murray also outscored the Skyhawks on the break 7-0 and 201-12 off the bench. Beth Schnakenberg led Murray's effort with 23 points. The Skyhawks return to action Saturday, Feb. 8, when they travel to Cookeville to battle Tennessee Tech in a key OVC contest.