Brown, BlueRaiderZone.com's player of the game, tallied 19 points to lead the
women in blue, while senior All-American candidate Chrissy Givens chipped in 13
before going down with a knee injury midway through the second half. Givens
inched her way up the list on the career-scoring ladder at MTSU, passing Sherry
Tucker (92-95) for 9th place. She needs just 11 points to pass Sharon McClanahan
(76-79) and Stephanie Capley (88-91) in order to move to the 7th-place slot.
The BlueRaiderZone has learned that following a MRI Saturday night the
prognosis is very good for Givens. She will most likely sit out of practice
Sunday and Monday, but look for her to play against Florida International.
Freshman Jackie Pickel also tossed in 13 points, Amber Holt had 10, Abney 9,
Krystle Horton 8, Starr Orr 6, Lymon 6, and Lakira Boyd 6 to round out the
scoring. Latoya Barclay saw action but did not score.
Troy sophomore Kylie Morrissy of Geelong, Australia, had a whale of a
game, leading all scorers with 22 points, hitting on 9-of-10 from the field. Amy
Lewis, of Hamilton, Australia, added 10 points. The Lady Trojans shot
70% from the field in the second stanza and 61% for the game, but hit just
10-of-20 from the charity stripe. Unfortunately for Troy, they committed a
season-high 35 turnovers compared to MT's 13. Prior to the contest, Troy, at
8-5, was off to its best start since the 95-96 season.
Middle Tennessee's high-octane half-court press dismantled the
Trojans. Starr Orr shined on the defensive front, garnering three
steals, while Givens cleaned 11 boards before 3.780 rowdy fans. The
Lady Raiders are ranked #25 in the nation in attendance. MT's bench outscored
Troy 44-17.
MTSU has currently won 24 straight conference games at home, and head coach
Rick Insell is a perfect 13-0 versus Sun Belt competition in Murphy Center. The
Blue Raiders last lost an SBC home game on 2/5/2004 in double-overtime to
Western Kentucky's Lady Hilltoppers.
USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll #25 MT looks to move to their highest
ranking ever in the national polls (AP & Coaches) this week. Several teams
above the Lady Raiders lost over the weekend, including #17/17 Texas A&M, #19/18 Michigan State, #20/23 Arkansas, #21/21 California, #22/22
Pittsburgh, #23/24 Depaul, and #25/NR New Mexico.
The Sun Belt is currently the 7th-best women's basketball conference in the
nation, according to RealTimeRPI.com.
Middle Tennessee is sixth in the nation in 3-pointers made per game
(as of 12/31/06) and will be embarking on a 3-game conference road swing,
starting with Tuesday's encounter at Florida International (9-5,3-1). FIU
defeated MTSU 73-57 in last season's final regular season contest. Troy will
return home to face in-state rival South Alabama on Thursday.