MTSU Sidelines

Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: Sports

If there was any doubt who the defending Sun Belt Conference champion was before Saturday night then it was put to rest. The Blue Raiders used a 23-2 run in the second half to erase a five-point deficit en route to defeating Troy, 74-51, in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Championships Saturday at Mitchell Center. The win moves Middle Tennessee into a semifinal matchup against UALR at 3 p.m. today.

The Blue Raiders (20-10) used a 23-8 run to break open a close game just seven days ago in Murfreesboro against the same Trojans. In Saturday's contest, Kylie Morrissy hit a 3-pointer and Laura Lee Holman had a breakaway layup to put Troy ahead 40-35 with 14:25 remaining in the contest.

The Blue Raiders then put together their 23-3 spurt, with Holt starting the run with a bucket before Brandi Brown scored and then Latoya Barclay hit two straight baskets. Holt had another before a Jackie Pickel 3-pointer from the corner put Middle Tennessee ahead, 56-42.

Holt scored twice more and Chelsia Lymon hit a 3-pointer and another basket to end the run.

Holt led all scorers with 33 points, including 22 in the second half, while Lymon scored 11 and Barclay had 10. Brown netted nine and Emily Queen posted eight, as the Blue Raiders shot 52 percent from the field, including 58 percent in the second half.

Holt and Queen both grabbed nine rebounds and Brown tied her career-high with six. Queen added four assists, feeding Holt in the low post, while Barclay added five assists in 28 minutes of action.

Middle Tennessee also forced Troy into 13 second-half turnovers and turned those into 14 points, and limited the Trojans to 36 percent shooting and 21 points after intermission.

The first 20 minutes was a half of runs, including a 15-4 spurt that put the Blue Raiders ahead 29-17 with 4:55 remaining in the half. Troy did not score for more than three minutes during the stretch until Brittnie Davis hit a baseline jumper with 5:12 left before the break.

Barclay hit a pair of 3-pointers and Queen had two buckets during the run, which included more than four minutes with Holt on the bench.

But Middle Tennessee went cold for the rest of the half, scoring just once, on a Brown layup with 34 seconds remaining. Troy outscored the Blue Raiders 13-2 over the final 4:38 of the half.

Amy Lewis scored seven of her 15 first-half points and Morrissy added two buckets during the run. Larelle Roper hit an 18-footer just before the halftime buzzer, cutting the Blue Raider lead to 31-30 at the break.

Continued...

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