After last week’s narrow overtime victory at Troy, the MTSU women’s basketball team wanted to get back on track Saturday in front of the home fans against Louisiana-Lafayette.
By the time the game ended, the Lady Raiders had proven once again why they have been by far the best team in the Sun Belt Conference since legendary head coach Rick Insell took over the program before the 2005-06 season. The team’s record against its conference rivals is an amazing 90-12 during that time period.
Saturday was no different as MTSU was unstoppable against a Ragin’ Cajun team that lost its top two players a few days earlier.
Of course, it would have not mattered.
The Lady Raiders hit the 100-point mark for the first time this season, and the 13th time under Insell. The players and coaches agreed it was a great way to put the Troy game behind them. Then again, eating steaks at Insell’s house the night before also made a difference in terms of getting the players away from the court and bonding as a team.
“We really felt bad, the coaches and players, about how we played at Troy, and I felt like we came out and played pretty good today. We did not do a lot (Friday). We had to fill our tanks back up. I had the girls over the house and grilled some steaks. I could tell by their attitude, they sat around the tables and ate like it was Thanksgiving dinner,” Insell said, after Saturday 104-53 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.
In most conferences around the country, a team will unexpectedly have close games against opponents who on paper should have no shot of pulling off an upset. That is why coaches and players tell us that every conference game is important, regardless of the opponent’s record coming in.
It especially goes for the Lady Raiders, because of their dominance in the Sun Belt in recent years. The other teams treat its game against MTSU each season as its game of the year.
However, like mentioned above, the Lady Raiders have knocked down every challenge inside the SBC. Two questions come to mind: Why have they been so good? How do they continue the success against teams in the league?
Their nonconference schedule each season is one of the toughest in women’s basketball. But the Lady Raiders have pulled off some upsets, most notably their win over the Kentucky Wildcats. Playing against quality competition seems to get them ready for the grind of the conference schedule and for the postseason conference tournament in March.
In the past couple of seasons, the Sun Belt has put two teams in the NCAA tournament, but most years only the conference champion advances to the Big Dance.
“Our out-of-conference schedule is tough,” Insell explained. “When we get into the SBC schedule. We have been in a pressure cooker.”
Currently, MTSU is 4-0 in the conference, but it heads to the Sunshine state this week to face Florida International and Florida Atlantic.
The Panthers come in with one of the top players in the Sun Belt with sophomore guard Jerica Coley. She leads FIU in four statistical categories, including points, rebounds, assists and blocks. She was just named SBC Player of the Week because of her 36-point performance Jan. 2 against fellow conference member Louisiana-Monroe.
Insell knows doing well on the road helps the team have a chance for another conference title.
“That’s is where you win championships is away from home. Because when you play in the NCAA tournament, you have to go on the road,” he said.
It will not get any easier for the Lady Raiders, as they prepare for March. But then they’ve been down this road before. They know what it takes to be the best. |
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