Murray, Ky. --- The Tennessee State University women's basketball team dropped an 82-73 decision to Murray State on the road Thursday night in the Regional Special Events Center.

 

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Tennessee State (7-9, 3-2 OVC) while Murray State (8-6, 3-1 OVC) remained undefeated at home.

 

Kendra Appling led TSU with 24 points, six steals and five assists. Charisse Hicks was 4-of-7 from behind the arc and tallied 14 points in the contest. Jasmine Smith quietly picked-up her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

 

Amber Guffey paced Murray State with 24 points.

 

A lay-up by Charisse Hicks christened the first-half but Ashley Hayes answered with a triple to give Murray State a 3-2 lead. From there both teams battled throughout the rest of the half.

 

TSU built a 15-9 advantage at the 13:24 mark and maintained the lead over the next thirteen minutes of play.

 

With 1:29 left in the period, Murray reclaimed the lead (31-30) after nailing a trey from the corner. That shot sparked a 7-2 half-closing rally that saw the Racers carry a 35-32 lead into the break.

 

In the second frame, TSU quickly erased the halftime deficit behind an old fashioned three-point play from Tiffany Jackson. Both teams traded buckets over the next several minutes in a see-saw battle that featured eight ties.

 

With Murray State holding a slight 66-63 lead and a little over three minutes to play, Kendra Appling was charged with her fifth foul and had to go to the bench.  MSU capitalized on Appling’s absence and outscored TSU 16-10 in the final 3:53 of the game.

 

The Lady Tigers committed a season-low 10 turnovers in the contest but were charged with 27 fouls. The Racers connected on 23-of-28 from the charity stripe.

 

TSU returns to action on Saturday at UT-Martin.