Troy University Athletics
Troy falls to Middle Tennessee
2/11/2009 6:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
TROY, Ala. - Trojan Arena was full of pink Wednesday night, and the 1329 fans in attendance were treated to, according to Troy coach Michael Murphy, a great college basketball game.
"You saw a good basketball game tonight," Murphy said. "Not just a good women's basketball game but a good college basketball game."
Troy had Middle Tennessee on the ropes in the first half, trailing by just three at halftime. However, the Blue Raiders went to their All-American hopeful in Alysha Clark down the stretch helping Middle Tennessee pull away for a 75-60 victory Wednesday night.
The 15-point margin was the closest margin that Middle Tennessee has faced since a seven-point overtime victory (67-62) over UALR back on January 17. The Blue Raiders have only been challenged one other time, against WKU on January 14 (68-56) in conference play.
Clark finished the night with 50 points for Middle Tennessee (21-4, 13-0 Sun Belt), a team ranked 26th in the latest AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll this week. Clark tied the Sun Belt Conference record for points in game Wednesday night, and was joined in double figures by Brandi Brown with 10 points.
"She is a great player," Murphy said. "Our plan was to not double her, when you do they put four 3-point shooters on the floor and we wanted to take away that part of the game. We did, they made one three in the first half, we were down by three. I realize Clark scored 50 points, but the game plan was working. We gave ourselves a chance. Some people may find that funny, but we were down eight late in the game so the game plan worked. We just didn't make enough plays at the end of the game to make it close."
Brittnie Davis led Troy with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor. She was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, recorded three rebounds and four steals. She also forced three jump balls on the night by hitting the floor after loose balls.
"Brittnie is a warrior," Murphy said. " Her story is one of courage, preserverance and determination. She did not play a single minute her freshman year, then earned a scholarship in late August - didn't know she was going to get it. Right now she is my go-to-player. I couldn't be more proud of her over the last few games than I am now. Big time players make big time plays in big games, and this was one of those games."
Kylie Morrissy finished the night with 14 points for the Trojans on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, recording her 1,400th career point in the loss. Senior guard Larelle Roper moved in the Sun Belt Conference Top 25 all-time in assists with four tonight, giving her 399 for her career.
Troy (11-13, 6-8 Sun Belt) led after the first basket of the contest and trailed by just three at halftime.
Trailing by seven early, the Trojans went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 13 with 12:39 to play in the half. The two teams traded baskets for the next four minutes until Middle Tennessee took a 28-22 lead with 7:04 to play in the game. Troy kept battling in the first half, even with three post players on the bench in foul trouble. Troy trimmed the lead to 28-24 before Middle Tennessee opened a seven point lead, 33-28 with just 2:48 to play in the first half. The Trojans scored the final four points of the half on a pair of free throws and a jumper by Danielle Realph with just two minutes left. Troy had three shots at the basket in the final five seconds but couldn't get them to fall.
The Trojans shot 48.8 (21-of-43) percent in a losing effort, and 25 (3-of-12) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 93.8 (15-of-16) percent from the free throw line and forced 17 Middle Tennessee turnovers.
Middle Tennessee shot 49.1 (28-of-57) percent from the floor and just 23.5 (4-of-17) percent from beyond the arc.
Troy returns to action Saturday evening, hosting WKU on Senior Night at 5 pm. Before the contest, the Trojans will honor seniors Brittnie Davis, Staci Mitchell, Kylie Morrissy, Danielle Realph and Larelle Roper. The game will be broadcast on WTBF-94.7 FM.
