Middle Tennessee held a three-point halftime lead but could not hold on, dropping a 58-47 decision to visiting Georgia Tech in non-conference women’s basketball action inside the historic Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
The Blue Raiders built their edge at the intermission by grabbing a five-rebound advantage against the taller Yellow Jackets. The end result on the boards was a 41-41 tie, but Middle Tennessee hauled in 18 offensive caroms to just 14 by Georgia Tech.
Sophomore Ebony Rowe led a trio of Blue Raiders in double-figure scoring with 16 points. Joining her were a pair with career highs, as freshman Shanice Cason tallied 13 points and sophomore Laken Leonard added 12 points to go along with her career-best seven rebounds.
Sasha Goodlett paced the Yellow Jackets with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Mo Bennett posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyaunna Marshall also chipped in 10 points for Georgia Tech (6-3).
Leonard’s first triple gave Middle Tennessee an early 7-4 lead two minutes into the game; however, the Yellow Jackets quickly responded with a 7-0 spurt behind a pair of Metra Walthour treys to claim an 11-7 lead with 15:50 to play.
Rowe forced another deadlock at 11-11 and neither team was able to go ahead by more than three during the next seven minutes. Then, Leonard buried her second 3-pointer and Cason capped the 9-0 run by making the second of two foul shots resulting from a Georgia Tech technical and added a layup on the ensuing possession to push the Blue Raider advantage to nine, 26-17, with 5:36 left in the opening period.
The Middle Tennessee (6-5) offense then went cold down the stretch, as an 8-0 Yellow Jacket surge closed the gap to one before Leonard sank a pair of free throws with 55 seconds left to give MT a 28-25 halftime cushion.
The two teams traded baskets to start the second frame and Cason’s jumper at 16:23 provided the Blue Raiders with a 36-31 lead. Marshall ignited a 10-0 run during the next four minutes as Georgia Tech reclaimed the advantage on a pair of short-range jumpers from Chelsea Regins and Bennett for a 41-36 margin with 11:59 to play.
After Cason brought Middle Tennessee back within two on a 3-pointer, Goodlett scored four of the next points to extend GT’s lead back to eight, 47-39. Rowe would add four points of her own in a six-point Blue Raider stretch, helping her team trim the deficit to two, 47-45, with 6:11 remaining.
Marshall drained a corner triple just before the shot clock expired on the next Yellow Jacket possession as Georgia Tech would close the game with an 11-2 run, as the Blue Raiders were forced to foul. The Yellow Jackets made four of the eight attempts at the charity stripe to put the game away.
Middle Tennessee will take the next week off for fall semester final exams. The Blue Raiders return to action in one week, next Sunday at 2 p.m., by playing host to former Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee State. |
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