Troy University Athletics
Trojans Fall to East Division Leaders
2/4/2010 3:00:00 AM | Basketball (W)
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Brittnie Davis led a pair of players in double figures, but it wasn't enough as the Troy Trojans fell to East Division-leading Middle Tennessee 84-51 on the road in Sun Belt Conference action Wednesday night.
Davis led the Trojans with 15 points, while sophomore Sarah McAppion was the only other Trojan in double figures with 10 on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor. Junior forward Donette McNair added nine points and a game-high 16 rebounds for Troy (11-10, 4-8 Sun Belt), missing her eighth double-double of the season by just one point.
“I thought Brittnie did all she could possibly do tonight,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “We didn't give her a lot of help tonight, and she played like a warrior like she does every night out. I thought Sarah had a decent second half, but we just have to be more consistent and have better balance if we going to compete with a team like Middle Tennessee.”
The Trojans shot 41.2 (21-of-51) percent from the floor and 37.5 (6-of-16) percent from beyond the arc in the loss.
Brandi Brown led all scorers, and paced four Middle Tennessee (16-5, 11-1 Sun Belt) players, with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Anne Marie Lanning chipped in 18, connecting on her first four 3-pointers of the night, while Sun Belt Conference leading scorer Alysha Clark added 15 (nine point below her season average) and Jackie Pickel 14 on the night.
Middle Tennessee shot 48.5 (32-of-66) percent from the floor and 40 (12-of-30) percent from beyond the arc. The Blue Raiders forced 26 Troy turnovers and turned them into 33 points, while outrebounding Troy 36-35 on the night.
“Middle showed us tonight why they are the class of the league,” Murphy said. “They can score from virtually every position on the floor, they have great balance, they are well-coached and they play hard. When you get all of those ingredients moving in the same direction, it can be tough and obviously it was tonight. We tip our hat to Middle on an excellent game.”
After Middle was able to pull ahead 49-21 at the half, the Trojans were able to push back into the contest in the second half. The Blue Raiders led by as many as 30 in the first half, but the Troy was able to trim the lead to as close as 23 in the second half before the Blue Raiders were able to pull away near the end of the contest. Troy pulled close at the beginning of the second half by using a 9-4 run keyed by a pair of 3-pointers by Davis.
The Blue Raiders were too much to handle down the stretch, only outscoring Troy 35-30 in the second stanza. The Trojans turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, holding Middle Tennessee to just 40 (12-of-30) percent shooting from the floor and 28.6 (4-of-14) percent shooting from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Troy shot 47.8 (11-of-23) percent from the floor and 50 (5-of-10) percent from beyond the arc to pull close in the second half.
Troy returns to action Saturday afternoon on the road against WKU at E.A. Diddle Arena. The game tips at 4 pm, with the pregame show at 3:45 pm on WTBF-94.7 FM.
For information on how to follow the Troy basketball teams to the conference tournament in Hot Springs, Arkansas contact the Troy University Athletics Ticket Office at 1-877-878-WINS (9467).
Davis led the Trojans with 15 points, while sophomore Sarah McAppion was the only other Trojan in double figures with 10 on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor. Junior forward Donette McNair added nine points and a game-high 16 rebounds for Troy (11-10, 4-8 Sun Belt), missing her eighth double-double of the season by just one point.
“I thought Brittnie did all she could possibly do tonight,” Troy head coach Michael Murphy said. “We didn't give her a lot of help tonight, and she played like a warrior like she does every night out. I thought Sarah had a decent second half, but we just have to be more consistent and have better balance if we going to compete with a team like Middle Tennessee.”
The Trojans shot 41.2 (21-of-51) percent from the floor and 37.5 (6-of-16) percent from beyond the arc in the loss.
Brandi Brown led all scorers, and paced four Middle Tennessee (16-5, 11-1 Sun Belt) players, with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Anne Marie Lanning chipped in 18, connecting on her first four 3-pointers of the night, while Sun Belt Conference leading scorer Alysha Clark added 15 (nine point below her season average) and Jackie Pickel 14 on the night.
Middle Tennessee shot 48.5 (32-of-66) percent from the floor and 40 (12-of-30) percent from beyond the arc. The Blue Raiders forced 26 Troy turnovers and turned them into 33 points, while outrebounding Troy 36-35 on the night.
“Middle showed us tonight why they are the class of the league,” Murphy said. “They can score from virtually every position on the floor, they have great balance, they are well-coached and they play hard. When you get all of those ingredients moving in the same direction, it can be tough and obviously it was tonight. We tip our hat to Middle on an excellent game.”
After Middle was able to pull ahead 49-21 at the half, the Trojans were able to push back into the contest in the second half. The Blue Raiders led by as many as 30 in the first half, but the Troy was able to trim the lead to as close as 23 in the second half before the Blue Raiders were able to pull away near the end of the contest. Troy pulled close at the beginning of the second half by using a 9-4 run keyed by a pair of 3-pointers by Davis.
The Blue Raiders were too much to handle down the stretch, only outscoring Troy 35-30 in the second stanza. The Trojans turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, holding Middle Tennessee to just 40 (12-of-30) percent shooting from the floor and 28.6 (4-of-14) percent shooting from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Troy shot 47.8 (11-of-23) percent from the floor and 50 (5-of-10) percent from beyond the arc to pull close in the second half.
Troy returns to action Saturday afternoon on the road against WKU at E.A. Diddle Arena. The game tips at 4 pm, with the pregame show at 3:45 pm on WTBF-94.7 FM.
For information on how to follow the Troy basketball teams to the conference tournament in Hot Springs, Arkansas contact the Troy University Athletics Ticket Office at 1-877-878-WINS (9467).
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