MARTIN, Tenn. – UT Martin's DaiJia Ruffin made two free throws with four-tenths of a second left to lift the Skyhawk women's basketball team to a 52-50 win over Samford Saturday afternoon at the Elam Center.
 
With the loss, Samford falls to 6-3 on the season. UT Martin improves to 4-4 with the win.
 
Samford head coach Mike Morris praised his team's defensive effort following the contest.
 
"UT Martin averages about 70 points a game and we held them to 52 on their court, so we're doing a lot of good things," Morris said. "We're really defending and we're sharing the ball. We have to eliminate two or three bad turnovers, but we got 10 offensive rebounds. We have to be able to make some shots and that's where we're struggling."
 
With Samford trailing, 50-47, sophomore guard Kassidy Blevins hit a three-pointer to knot the score at 50-50 with just eight seconds to go. On UTM's final possession, a foul was called on Samford's Taylor Reece with just four-tenths of a second to go, sending Ruffin to the line for the game-winning free throws.
 
For Samford in the game, sophomore forward Destiney Elliott scored 13 points and tied a school record with 18 rebounds. The 18 rebounds ties the record set by Cortney Moore against College of Charleston in 1998. The performance also marked Elliott's second double-double of the season and third of her career.
 
Junior Brittany Stevens and Blevins scored nine points each for Samford. Senior Amara Mayers scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Bulldogs. Freshman Cassidy Williams added six points for Samford.
 
UT Martin was led by Haley Howard with 16 points and six rebounds. Ruffin scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Katie Schubert added 12 points, while Chelsea Roberts grabbed 11 rebounds.  
 
The teams traded baskets early in the first quarter until, with UT Martin leading, 8-6, the Skyhawks scored the next five in a row to take a 13-6 lead with 4:57 to go in the period. Samford scored the next six points in a row to cut the lead to 13-12 with 1:15 left in the quarter following a basket by Mayers. A three-point play by UTM's Howard gave the Skyhawks a 16-12 lead after one quarter.
 
In the second quarter, UT Martin pushed its lead out to eight at 23-15 with 4:02 to play in the quarter. The Skyhawks led by as many as 10 points in the quarter at 30-20. UT Martin took a 30-23 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Samford opened the third quarter with an 11-0 run to take a 34-30 lead with 5:55 left in the quarter following a layup by Elliott. UT Martin, however closed the quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 36-34 lead into the final period.
 
After Samford tied the score at 36-36 early in the fourth quarter, UT Martin went on a 9-3 run to take a 45-39 lead with 4:50 to go after a jumper by Jessy Ward. Samford scored the next eight points to take a 47-45 lead with 1:57 to go after a layup by Stevens.
 
A three-pointer by Ruffin gave the Skyhawks a 48-47 lead with 1:36 to go. Ruffin then made a jumper with 59 seconds to go to make the score 50-47. A Samford turnover, followed by a UT Martin turnover gave the Bulldogs the ball with 19 ticks left on the clock. Blevins' three-pointer with eight seconds left tied the score at 50-50, setting the stage for Ruffin's game-winning free throws.
 
As a team, Samford outrebounded UT Martin, 37-31, including a 10-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. Samford made 36.4 percent of its shots, compared to 37.3 percent from UT Martin.
 
Samford will return to action on Friday, Dec. 11, when the Bulldogs play at Indiana. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Bloomington, Ind.