Troy falls to MTSU on WBCA ‘Think Pink’ night

Published 10:53 pm Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Trojan Arena was filled with pink Tuesday night, but the scoreboard was all blue. Blue Raiders, that is.

Middle Tennessee defeated Troy 106-84 on the annual WBCA Pink Zone Initiative Night in a game that was never really in question.

“We’re disappointed with the loss, but I’m very grateful for the effort our girls showed,” said Troy head coach Michael Murphy. “You just have to give Middle Tennessee credit. They’re a class program, and they’re well-coached. They just have great players who play great.”

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MTSU took a 3-0 lead early in the game on a Brandi Brown 3-pointer, and never trailed in the game.

Senior forward Alysha Clark was absolutely dominant for MTSU, as she scored 36 points and pulled down 19 rebounds.

“When they needed a basket, they knew where to go, and that was downtown to Alysha Clark,” Murphy said. “She’s the best player in this league. She’s going to be an All-American, and there’s a reason why she’s going to be an All-American.”

MTSU’s lead ballooned to as high as 33 points behind double-digit scoring efforts from five different Blue Raiders.

In addition to Clark, Chelsia Lymon scored 25 points, Jackie Pickel had 15, Brown added 13 and Anne Marie Lanning scored 12 points.

“We just got beat by a better basketball team tonight,” Murphy said. “It wasn’t anything we didn’t do, they’re just an outstanding team.”

Brittnie Davis led Troy with 25 points, while Tenia Manuel scored 17 off the bench and Alyce Shearing added 17.

The 84 points for Troy were two away from tying a season-high for Troy and were enough to tie for the most points given up by the Blue Raiders this season.

“Eighty-four points is a lot of points,” Murphy said. “We executed pretty much the way we wanted against their press, and when we did that, we got high-percentage shots.”

Troy will be back in action for senior night Saturday against Florida Atlantic.