Everything was going Xavier's way in the first half. A high, hard pass from Amber Gray deflected off the fingertips of freshman Liz Stratman and ended up in the basket, helping Xavier to a 12-point lead over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
It would seem Xavier had the momentum but it was not so, MTSU fought back to take a 30-29 halftime lead and poured it on the young Musketeers.
Junior Kortni Jones hit a series of 3-point shots, four in the second half, as the Blue Raiders outscored the shocked Xavier team 35-20 after the break.
"We got off to a great start. We played together and moved the ball," first year coach Amy Waugh said of the first 15 minutes of the contest.
From the time of the fluke basket, MTSU got every loose ball and hit seemingly every shot the rest of the game.
"We have a lot of players, who haven't played a lot in college," Waugh said. "We're not used to playing with a 12-point lead. We started to get relaxed and lazy. We're not a very good team when we do that. If we learned anything today, is that we can't turn the switch on and off."
Xavier was coming off two good wins over Cincinnati Sunday and Morehead State Tuesday. Then flopped on Friday.
Lynnette led Xavier with 15 points. Amber Gray scored 12 but only two in the second half. Stratman led the Musketeers on the glass gathering eight rebounds.
Jones had 18 points, all on 3's for MTSU and Sophmore, Ebony Jones, from Lexington, KY Dunbar played all 40 minutes and led all scorers with 24 points.
Cincinnati Sports News and Commentary
About Me
- Gary Schatz
- I am a freelance writer. I've covered the Cincinnati Reds, Bengals and others since 1992. I have a background in sales as well. I've sold consumer electronics, advertising and consumer package goods for companies ranging from the now defunct Circuit City to Procter&Gamble. I have worked as a stats operator for Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati, the College of Mount St. Joe and Colerain High School.
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