Scout.com > Middle Tennessee BlueRaiderZone in Cajun Land – Day One Story URL: http://middletennessee.scout.com/2/623705.html John Hyland & Dusty Gray BlueRaiderZone.com Mar 4, 2007 BlueRaiderZone.com's John Hyland and Dusty Gray cover the Sun Belt tournament live from Lafayette, LA. Here's a look at their blog from Day 1 of the tournament. BlueRaiderZone in Cajun Land – Day One A big win for Middle Tennessee, and a devastating loss for Western Kentucky capped off the first day of the Sun Belt Tournament in Lafayette. We rolled into Acadiana at 4 a.m., got a couple hours of sleep, and then ate lunch at Raisin' Canes, one of the best chicken tender joints we've ever eaten. Then we headed over to the Cajundome to watch one of the best basketball teams we've ever seen, the Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders, take on South Alabama. Domination was the word of the day, as the Lady Raiders outmatched, outcoached, and outclassed the Jaguars. The scoreboard was the evidence as the Raiders jumped out to a 32-4 lead early and cruised through the rest of the game. Those shooting drills apparently worked pretty well. The scariest moment of the day came when Amber Holt went down as a Jaguar player fell hard on her ankle. Holt walked off under her own power and eventually returned. The end of the game saw most Raider fans leave the Cajundome happy, while others stuck around to watch the Little Rock/Denver game. This game turned out to be one of the best games of the tournament so far, as Little Rock fell 62-60 to the Pioneers after leading by double digits with only minutes remaining. Around that same time Duke fell to Kay Yow's Wolfpack, giving Insell's Lady Raiders the longest winning streak in the nation. After the first session we headed back to the hotel to rest up for the late games, and saw the Middle Tennessee men's team checking in. Coach Davis had his team rested, ready, and focused for their 12:30 game tomorrow. After taking a short nap we headed back to the Cajundome, but not before making a detour. We searched for a good half hour before finally spotting the Blue Raider Welcome billboard, sponsored in part by BlueRaiderZone.com. I am sure the Western fans were not pleased. Louisiana's Lady Cajuns eliminated Lasma Jekabsone and the Lady Panthers, and the final game of the evening put the #3 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers against the #6 Arkansas State Lady Indians. We joined other Raider fans in the Arkansas State section, and proceeded to watch a very exciting quarterfinal matchup. Western gained an early advantage with some disputed calls and the foul trouble of State's Adrianne Davie. The game ended up becoming a see-saw affair, with Arkansas State finally putting Western away in the final minutes. Western Kentucky's Crystal Kelly, who some Raider fans believe to be the most overrated player in Sun Belt history, could not deliver her team a victory. The final buzzer sounded, and several MTSU fans were seen sending the Lady Tops off to the NIT. We left the Cajundome after a long but eventful women's first round. As directed by friendly Cajun fans, we grabbed shrimp po-boys at a local restaurant and headed back to the hotel. We pulled in and saw a Western Kentucky fan's car with “Go Western. Win the Sun Belt.” written on the back, which made for a good laugh after witnessing the collapse of Mary Taylor Cowles' Lady Tops. Now its 1:00, and we've got to get some sleep for the men's game tomorrow. If the games against FAU and Troy are any indication, then in the words of Team Iceland's Wolf “The Dentist” Stansen, “Team USA is going down. That's where they're going.” Days like these make you never want to forget to 'Be Loud, Proud, and Blue.' Copyright © Scout.com and BlueRaiderZone.com