The high scoring contest went down to the wire as Tennessee State (12-11, 8-4 OVC) cut an eight point Murray State (14-6, 9-1 OVC) lead down to just two points within a matter of 20 seconds with less than a minute left to play.

With Murray State holding a slight 95-93 advantage, Ashley Hayes knocked down two free-throws with five seconds left on the clock to seal the win.

Tennessee State moves to 12-11 (8-4 OVC) while Murray State improves to 14-6 (9-1 OVC).

Kendra Appling and Tiffany Jackson led TSU with 24 points apiece while Jasmine Smith picked up her third consecutive double-double with a career-high 18 points and 12 rebounds.

Tennessee State didn’t have an answer for Ashley Hayes as she tallied a career-high 46 points in addition to 10 rebounds for a double-double.  Amber Guffey notched 26 points while Paige Guffey tallied 14.

Tennessee State shot an impressive 52.7% from the field, including 46.2 from beyond the arc. Murray State connected on 45.8 percent of its shots from the floor. After having no free-throw attempts in the first half from either team, TSU finished the game shooting an improved 81.8% from the charity stripe while MSU recorded a 90.3 free-throw shooting percentage.

The Lady Tigers only committed 12 turnovers to the Racers’ 17 but MSU out rebounded TSU 35-33.

The Lady Tigers return to action on Saturday when they host the Skyhawks of UT-Martin at 5:30 p.m. in the Gentry Center.