Troy University Athletics
Trojans Hot In First Half, Fall To MTSU
3/1/2008 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
After Saturday afternoon's 61-50 victory by Middle
Tennessee, the Blue Raiders are the tournament's third seed and gain a bye in
the opening round. Meanwhile,
“I am really pleased with our effort today,”
The Trojans held a 38-34 lead midway through the second half, but watched as Amber Holt brought Middle Tennessee back into the game and ignited a 12-4 run to give MTSU a 48-42 lead with 5:53 remaining in the contest.
”We shut down Holt for 30 minutes,” Murphy said. “Late in the second half, she took over for them. You can't stop her, you can only hope to contain her. We double-teamed her most of the night, and she was only to score one time out of it; but she is just the type of player you can't stop, you just have to hope to contain.”
Trailing the entire second half, Holt scored on back-to-back possessions to give MTSU a 44-42 lead with under eight minutes to play. That lead was extended the lead to six on baskets by Latoya Barclay and Emily Queen.
After back-to-back baskets by MTSU, the Trojans kept clawing at the lead. Trailing 52-44 with just 4:31 remaining in the half, Morrissy stepped to the line for the Trojans and drained two free throws to trim the deficit to six; 52-46.
Unfortunately for
The Trojans shot an unbelievable 76.5 (13-of-17) percent from the floor in the first half against Middle Tennessee, setting a new school record for shooting in a half. Meanwhile, the Blue Raiders were held to just 32.3 (10-of-31) percent in the opening 20 minutes. The Trojans also shot 40 (2-of-5) percent from behind the arc in the opening half.
“I thought in the first half we played really well,” Murphy said. “We did a good job of handling the pressure, and executing our offensive and defensive game plans. We were very patient on the offense, working the ball around and finding the open shot.”
The one constant that allowed Middle Tennessee to stay in the game in the first half were 16 turnovers forced by their pressing defense. They were able to convert those turnovers into 19 first half points. The Blue Raiders were also held to just nine total rebounds in the first half, but eight of those came on the offensive end, allowing the Blue Raiders to stay even in the first half.
For the third consecutive game, the Trojans went inside early to Audrey Muse. The senior post player immediately drew a foul on Middle Tennessee's Emily Queen in the first 30 seconds of the game, converting on the back end of the free throw to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead early.
From there the Trojans attacked with patience in the first
three possessions, with Morrissy finding
an opening and connecting on a 15-footer just 30 seconds later for a 3-0
After taking an early 3-0 lead in the opening minutes of the contest, the Trojans watched as Middle Tennessee went on an 18-6 run, to take an 18-9 lead midway through the opening half.
However, the Trojans battled back for the remaining ten minutes to get back into the game. Morrissy started the comeback with a lay-up, followed by a Donette McNair jumper with 8:36 remaining ? trimming the lead to 18-13. Muse trimmed the lead even further with a lay-up over two defenders with just 7:46 remaining.
From there, the two teams traded baskets until the Trojans took a 24-23 lead with 3:05 remaining on a Morrissy baseline jump shot. The Blue Raiders answered courtesy of Holt and a loose ball with just 2:41 remaining, giving MTSU a 24-23 lead in the opening half.
From that point, the two teams traded baskets again in the final moments of the first half. The Trojans had a chance to take a lead at the half, but Morrissy's 3-pointer was short at the buzzer and the two teams headed to the locker room tied at 29.
The Trojans held the nation's leading scorer, Holt, scoreless for 8:30 in the opening half until she connected on a jumper over Muse.
Holt paced Middle Tennessee (19-10, 14-4 Sun Belt) with 23 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the floor, while Lymon added 10 points for the Blue Raiders.
Morrissy paced
