Middle Tennessee used a 12-2 run early in the first half to pull away and never look back, as it claimed a 74-55 victory over Tennessee Tech in non-conference women’s basketball action Wednesday night inside the historic Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The win marked the Blue Raiders’ seventh straight in the long-time series, which was played for the 74th time Wednesday.
Preseason co-Sun Belt Player of the Year Ebony Rowe paced the Middle Tennessee (3-2) offensive output with a game-high 20 points, including 8-of-10 field goals. She added a team-best eight rebounds, three blocked shots, two assists and two steals.
Junior Kortni Jones was the only other Blue Raider to reach double figures, pouring in 15 points, 12 of which came from behind the 3-point arc, to go along with her game-best five assists and seven steals.
Middle Tennessee forced 33 Golden Eagle turnovers, including a dozen by Tacarra Hayes despite her double-double effort of 14 points and 10 rebounds to top the visitors.
Hayes opened the game with the first points just six seconds after Tennessee Tech (2-3) secured the tip and then added a pair of free throws 30 seconds later to give TTU an early 4-0 edge. The Blue Raiders would then rally to score six of the next eight points, capped by a Rowe layup at 17:39 to force the game’s only tie.
The Golden Eagles responded with a pair of Kylie Cook free throws for an 8-6 advantage, but Jones countered with her first 3-pointer on the next Middle Tennessee possession to put her team on top, 9-8. The trey ignited the 12-2 run, which featured a steal by freshman Shanice Cason and her converting an uncontested layup at the other end with 14:31 left.
Another Jones triple made it an 18-10 contest before back-to-back Rowe layups increased the margin to double digits for the first time at 22-12 with 9:44 remaining. Rowe’s old-fashioned three-point play at 8:07 push the edge to 14, 29-15, and Tennessee Tech remained down by at least 10 the remainder of the period.
Sophomore Laken Leonard, who earned her first start of her collegiate career, drained her second of two first-half 3-pointers at the 1:07 mark to increase the cushion to 14, 41-27, before the teams alternated hitting free throws down the stretch and MT took a 44-29 lead into the break.
Hayes again scored quickly to begin the second half, needing only nine seconds, but a pair of Leonard free throws kept it a 15-point difference with 19:07 to play. Hayes then tallied six of her team’s next eight points in an 8-0 run to bring the Golden Eagles within seven, 46-39, at the 12:37 mark.
Middle Tennessee, however, did not wilt and used a 9-0 spurt, including a pair of buckets from sophomore KeKe Stewart to push the lead back to 16, 55-39, with just under 10 minutes on the clock. After Candace Parson stopped the drought, another Stewart jumper with exactly three minutes to play capped an 11-2 surge and putting the Blue Raiders ahead, 69-46.
Sophomore Janay Brinkley knocked down a corner 3-pointer with 1:51 left then turned up the intensity defensively with a steal and subsequent layup 30 seconds later to give Middle Tennessee its largest lead of the evening at 26, 74-48.
Tennessee Tech scored the final seven points, five of which came at the foul line, to decide the final outcome.
Leonard tied her career-best output with eight points, while grabbing a career-high three caroms, making two 3-pointers and dishing three assists in a career-best 35 minutes.
Redshirt freshman Stephanie Myers made her collegiate debut for the Blue Raiders, playing the final minute.
The game also marked the 200th in the collegiate career for MT head coach Rick Insell, who increased his win total to 151 with the triumph.
Middle Tennessee hits the road for its next two contests, starting at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Johnson City, Tenn., against ETSU. The Blue Raiders then travel to Knoxville, Tenn., for a 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting with No. 6/7 Tennessee live on SportSouth (Comcast channel 26 local).
Both games will be carried on the Blue Raider Network (WMOT, 89.5; WGNS, 1450 AM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM) with Dick Palmer handling play-by-play.
