Senior Anne-Marie Lanning led a young Middle Tennessee team onto the court Sunday afternoon against the South Florida Bulls for a 71-59 victory.

Early in the game it looked as though the story of the day for the Raiders would be the amount of times the team turned the ball over as they trailed USF for much of the first half.

“We had eight possessions with six turnovers,” Lanning said after the game. “That’s not acceptable.”

MTSU won the tipoff to start the game but gave the ball up on a shot clock violation. USF scored the game’s first basket after USF guard Andrell Smith stole the ball form MTSU’s Tina Stewart and ran the court for the layup.

The Raiders were five minutes into the game, trailing seven to nothing when Lanning opened up Middle Tennessee scoring with a three-point field goal. The shot was set up by steal from Freshman Ebony Rowe, and Jamila Ajanaku assisted on the play.

Lanning scored another three for the team on her next shot, pulling the Raiders within one. Tina Stewart gave the Raiders their first lead with 12:49 left in the first half, but USF was able to take the lead back almost immediately.

Rowe took over in the paint midway through the first half and helped Middle Tennessee take a three point halftime lead over their opponent.

At the half Rowe led all players with nine rebounds, scoring 8 points, stealing twice and assisting twice as well. Lanning led all scorers at the half with 10, shooting three of four behind the arc.

"I think I was pretty tense, but coach always says when I mess up in practice 'you're playing like a freshman,'" Rowe said. "He made me have the mentality of not being a freshman."

Blue Raider head coach Rick Insell gave his defense credit for his team’s first half lead. “We took some charges and that took some of their penetration away,” Insell said.

MTSU came out energized in the second half, jumping out to a 37-27 lead, but USF began to pressure the Raiders full court, causing even more Raider turnovers and tying the game up at 40 with 12:56 left in the game.

Rowe continued to be a presence down low for Middle Tennessee, grabbing rebounds and blocking shots and willing the Raiders back into the lead at 9:42 on a made free throw.

Leading by two, Lanning was able to steal the ball from USF’s Kaneisha Saunders. Freshman Jordyn Luffman drew the foul from the Bulls’ Tiffany Conner, knocking down two shots for her first points of the game.

Rowe blocked a shot by USF’s Jasmine Wynne, and MTSU’s Kortni Jones was able to knock down a three on the other end of the court, putting MTSU in control with 6:54 remaining.

Middle Tennessee kept the lead the remainder of the game. Rowe finished as the game’s leading scorer and rebounder with 25 points and 16 boards, adding three blocks and two steals as well.

“I thought Ebony Rowe played tremendous basketball today,” Insell said. “She’s been having those types of practices.”

“We just kept getting her the ball and she produced,” Lanning said of her teammate.

Lanning was the Raider’s other double-digit scorer with 18 on four of seven shooting, hitting three of her five three-point tries and assisting six times.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a game where we had 30 turnovers and won it,” Insell said. “They’ve got a good team, I would like to hope that we can build on this. This win could mean something for us.”

“I think it’s good,” Lanning answered when about the team fighting back from a deficit. “We didn’t ever give up on it.”

The Raider’s will play their next two games on the road, with their first coming against Austin Peay on November 16.

 “If you’re going to win championships, you’ve got to win on the road,” Insell said. “I’ve gone to Austin Peay with some of the great teams I’ve had and lost.”