MOBILE, Ala. — Middle Tennessee hit nine of its first 13 3-point attempts and handed the South Alabama Lady Jaguars their first home loss of the season, 80-57, at the Mitchell Center.
The loss dropped South Alabama to 11-4 overall and 2-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Blue Raiders Start Hot
South Alabama scored the game’s first basket, but that was its only lead. Middle Tennessee made its first seven shots, including three 3-pointers, two of them by Brandi Brown, and went on a 25-8 run over the next seven minutes. South Alabama made 2 of 9 shots during that stretch and trailed 25-11 when the run ended.
Chelsia Lymon added two 3-pointers in the closing minutes of the half, the second at the buzzer, to send the Blue Raiders to the locker room with a 40-21 lead. Lymon’s shot at the horn was Middle Tennessee’s ninth 3-pointer of the half on 13 attempts.
Second-Half Push Falls Short
The Lady Jaguars cut the deficit to 15 points at 50-35 about five minutes into the second half. Middle Tennessee pulled away again and built a 30-point lead before South Alabama trimmed the final margin to 23.
South Alabama coach Rick Pietri made several substitutions and adjusted his defense during the second half.
Individual Leaders
Alysha Clark led Middle Tennessee with 23 points and 18 rebounds for a double-double. She made 8 of 19 shots from the field and 7 of 9 free throws.
Brown scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, and had five rebounds. Jackie Pickel added 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, going 4-of-7 from long range. Lymon finished with 11 points, making 4 of 6 shots and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Middle Tennessee went 12-of-22 from 3-point range for the game.
Jessica Starling led South Alabama with 18 points. She was 5-of-14 from the field, 3-of-7 from 3-point range and 5-of-5 at the free-throw line. Seidah Banks scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting, including her only 3-point attempt. Karina Sproal had eight points, six of them on two 3-pointers early in the first half, and added two late free throws.
By the Numbers
Middle Tennessee shot 45 percent from the field to South Alabama’s 27 percent, including 51 percent to 28 percent in the first half. The Blue Raiders shot 55 percent from 3-point range to the Lady Jaguars’ 28 percent.
Middle Tennessee also held edges of 24-14 in points in the paint and 19-10 in points off turnovers. South Alabama outscored the Blue Raiders 24-14 in second-chance points and 4-0 in fast-break points, and the Lady Jaguars’ bench outscored Middle Tennessee’s 19-7.
Up Next
South Alabama travels to Monroe, La., to face Louisiana-Monroe on Wednesday, with tipoff set for 7:05 p.m.
