MURFREESBORO-- Middle Tennessee (21-3, 13-0) jumped out to a 10-0 lead over
South Alabama (11-12, 5-8) and never looked back, defeating the
Lady Jaguars 86-58. USA cut the lead below 10 points only once during the
contest at Murphy Center, as MTSU won their 18th consecutive game, the 3rd
longest win streak in the nation.
www.BlueRaiderZone.com Player of
the Game Amber Holt (aptly nicknamed "The Truth") hit 11-of-16 shots to lead the
Lady Raiders with 27 points. She added 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and
a block.
"I hadn't played up to my capabilities the last couple of weeks,"
said Holt, "but that's over now."
Chrissy Givens tallied 16 points, as the senior All-America candidate took an
extended breather in the first half. She added 5 steals, 6 assists, 5 rebounds,
and a blocked shot.
"I took Chrissy and Krystle Horton out of the game to see if our younger
players could maintain the lead," said head coach Rick Insell. "We had a
couple of defensive breakdowns, but we will work with our young players and
correct that."
"Coach Insell screamed and hollered at halftime a little, and pumped us up to
play harder," said Holt.
Speake's (AL) Star Orr shined brightly once again, scoring in double
digits for the second game in a row with 11 points. Jackie Pickel nailed 3
treys to collect 9 points, while Chelsia Lymon, Johnna Abney, and Brandi Brown
all combined for 4 trifectas to aid the Lady Raider cause.
South Alabama senior and Memphis native Whitney Woodard, who came into the
game leading the Jaguars in scoring at 15.1 PPG, was held to just 2
points in the Glass House. Woodard was a member of the Preseason
All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team. Freshman Shakira Nettles led USA
with 18 points, while Monique Jones tossed in 14.
Middle Tennessee led by as many as 30 points (80-50) before Insell cleared
his bench. For the game, the Lady Jag bench outscored MT 29-23.
"We want to get up there with the Duke's and Tennessee's," said Holt. "People
don't think that we can do it, but we can."
The Lady Raiders travel to senior Chrissy Givens' hometown of Monroe (LA) to
take on ULM (14-9, 4-8) at 7pm on Wednesday, February 7th. This will be Givens'
first time to play in Monroe since her prep days at Ouachita High School.
South Alabama hosts Western Kentucky (16-5, 10-2) at the Mitchell Center on
Wednesday.
Don't forget the Rick Insell Live Radio Show on Monday at 6pm at Bluesboro
(on the Murfreesboro Square).
"We need to see a bunch of folks over at Bluesboro for the show on Monday,"
said Insell.