Feb. 24, 2007

Final Stats

Murfreesboro, TN - Three Owls scored in double-digits on Saturday afternoon, but Middle Tennessee State used a second half surge to pull away from Florida Atlantic University, 76-63, on Senior Day at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, TN.

"Other than a bad little stretch in the second half, we played the game solid against one of the toughest opponents on our schedule," said Head Coach Chancellor Dugan. "We have to keep our heads up high and try to make some noise in the tournament come Wednesday."

For the second straight game, it was three seniors leading the way in scoring for Florida Atlantic. Mistoria Brown finished the day with 14 points and six rebounds. Cristal Randolph had 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting from long range. Demina Anderson did solid in the post, putting in 10 points with seven rebounds.

In the first half, the Owls fell behind 23-13 at the 10:18 mark, but refused to quit and used a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 25-22 with 2:42 remaining. Heading into half-time FAU trailed only 32-26 and held MTSU to 26.1 percent shooting from the field in the opening stanza.

As the second frame began, it was FAU trimming the score to 32-30 in favor of the Blue Raiders on a Mistoria Brown lay-in. They would keep their deficit within five at the 15:30 mark, but over the next five minutes MTSU caused seven turnovers and went on a 14-0 run to capture a game high 59-38 lead. From that point on Florida Atlantic would not get the score back to single digits, but they ended the game on a positive note with a 9-3 run to get the final losing margin to 13.

MTSU (26-3, 18-0 SBC) was led by the tandem of senior's Chrissy Givens and Krystle Horton. Givens put in 31 points with five rebounds on 10-of-25 shooting. Horton had a double-double with 27 points and 10 boards. MTSU attempted 29 more shots than the Owls, but only put in 34.2 percent from the field.

FAU (6-24, 2-16 SBC) shot 46 percent from the field, but was plagued by 31 turnovers. The Owls were also out rebounded 24-11 on the offensive glass.

The Owls end the regular season as a no. 13 seed in the conference tournament. They will face the no. 4 seed Denver in Denver, CO at 9 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, February 28.