MARTIN, Tenn. - UT Martin freshman Heather Butler banked in a running layup with five seconds remaining in the contest to send the Skyhawks past the visiting Indiana State Sycamores on Sunday afternoon, 68-66, in front of 2,328 fans inside Elam Center in Martin, Tenn.

Indiana State junior Shannon Thomas recorded career highs in points and rebounds during the contest, totaling 28 points and 21 rebounds during the game. Thomas was just one rebound short of tying the ISU record of 22 rebounds set by Amy Hile against Northern Iowa in 1984 and matched in 1995 by Georgia Bottoms against Wichita State, and is just the third player in ISU history to record a 20-rebound game.

The Sycamores (5-5) shot out of the gates on Sunday, amassing a 12-point lead after nine minutes of play. Junior Brittany Schoen hit a 3-pointer at the 11:15 mark of the first half to cap ISU's strong start, as ISU led 19-7 after Schoen's basket.

The Skyhawks (6-5) went on their own run after Schoen's triple, however, as UTM scored 18 of the game's next 20 points over the following six minutes of play, taking a 25-21 lead on a pair of free-throws from freshman Jasmine Newsome with 5:24 left until the halftime break.

UT Martin took a five-point lead in the break, at 34-29. Thomas nearly recorded a double-double in the opening 20 minutes of play, finishing the first half with 10 points and nine rebounds. Fellow junior Deja Mattox added nine first-half points while Schoen knocked down a pair of 3-pointers.

Indiana State once again started a half with strong play, using a 6-0 run on a pair of free-throws from Schoen, a jumper from senior Kelsie Cooley and a fastbreak layup from sophomore Taylor  Whitley to take a 35-34 lead with 16:23 remaining in the game.

That started a back-and-forth second half of action that saw ISU and UTM trade leads six separate times and sitting at a level score on eight occasions.

Butler gave UTM their largest lead of the game with 7:03 left with a 3-pointer to give the Skyhawks a 54-47 lead. The Sycamores would not go away, however, as ISU went on a 14-4 run to take a two-point lead of their own, at 61-59 with 2:07 left, on a jumper by Cooley.

UTM's Alecia Weatherly and Schoen would trade 3-pointers inside of two minutes remaining, as the lead would change hands two more times, before UTM's Rickiesha Bryant tied the score at 64-64 on a jumper with 1:14 left.

Over the closing minute of the game, free-throws came up large for the teams. Thomas missed a pair of shots from the line with 58 seconds remaining, before Mattox was whistled for a loose-ball foul that sent freshman Jaclissa Haislip to the line. Haislip knocked down both to give the Skyhawks the lead, but ISU marched down the court and tied the score for the final time, at 66-66, on a layup by Thomas with 34 seconds remaining.

UTM chose not to call a timeout after the Sycamore basket, as Butler worked a pick-and-roll with Bryant to get a look at the basket. Butler's runner on the right side of the lane fell through to give the Skyhawks the lead with five seconds remaining on the clock.

After a Sycamore timeout, Whitley received the inbounds pass from Cooley and sprinted down the court. Whitley continued into the lane and passed to Thomas on the left block, but Thomas could not handle the pass and the junior center could not get off her reverse layup attempt before the clock expired.

Thomas finished the game with 28 points and 21 rebounds, both career-highs for the junior center from Springboro, Ohio. Mattox (13 points) and Schoen (11 points) joined her in double-figures, with Whitley adding six points and nine assists.

As a team, the Sycamores knocked down 24-of-66 from the field (36.4%), but could not find their shot from beyond the arc, going just 4-for-23 (17.4%) from three-point range. ISU entered the contest averaging 18.9 points per game from the bench, but ISU's only points from their non-starters came on a layup by redshirt freshman Andrea Rademacher in the first half.

The Sycamores return to Hulman Center for their next four games, wrapping up their non-conference schedule on Wednesday, Dec. 22, when the SIU Edwardsville Cougars come to Terre Haute at 7:05 p.m. After that, Indiana State opens up Missouri Valley Conference play with games against Northern Iowa (Thursday, Dec. 30), Bradley (Saturday, Jan. 1) and Illinois State (Saturday, Jan. 8).