MARTIN, Tenn. – UT Martin outscored SIUE women's basketball 27-7 in the third period and handed the Cougars a 79-45 defeat Saturday at the Elam Center.

"When you are playing one of the top teams or any team for that matter, you have to play 40 minutes," said SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher.

SIUE dropped to 5-11 overall and 2-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference. UT Martin continues to lead the OVC with a 10-3 record and a 9-1 mark in league play.

"We battled for the first two quarters," said Buscher. "We just have to maintain our focus and our energy for the full 40 minutes."

Mikayla Kinnard led the Cougars' offense with 10 points.

"Mikayla Kinnard has been playing aggressive on the offensive end, which is a positive for us," said Buscher.

Hayley Harrison led the Skyhawks with 14 points off the bench. UT Martin had 42 points off the bench overall. UT Martin starter Paige Pipkin added 11 points for the Skyhawks.

UT Martin shot 32 of 38 overall from the field (55.2 percent) and connected on 10 of 17 from three-point range. SIUE finished the game shooting 16 of 56 from the field (28.6 percent).

SIUE had its rescheduled Tuesday game against Jacksonville State postponed once again due to OVC COVID-19 protocol. The two teams are looking for another date.

That means next up for the Cougars is Tennessee State on Thursday at First Community Arena.

"It will be great to put together some back-to-back days of practice," added Buscher.