MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Playing in front of an announced crowd of 4,358 on "Senior Day", Middle Tennessee's Alysha Clark was too much as the University of South Alabama women's basketball team fell 100-78 Sunday afternoon to the Blue Raiders at the Murphy Center.  Clark finished with a game-high 47 points - three points shy of tying her career high - and was 22-for-32 from the field.

South Alabama (14-14, 9-8 SBC) will now return home to close out the regular season when the Jags host Denver on Wednesday.  Tip-off versus the Pioneers is set for 7:05 p.m. at t he Mitchell Center. 

Middle Tennessee extends its win streak to 11 and improves to 20-5 overall and 15-1 in the Sun Belt with the win.

Shakira Nettles led the Jags offensively with 19 points.  The senior guard was 6-of-8 from the floor and 5-for-7 from the foul line.  Christian Shetlter added 13 points and six rebounds, while Vanessa Simmons and Brittney Rutledge each had 10 points apiece.  The 10 points by Simmons was a career-high for the junior.

Junior guard Anne Marie Lanning had 18 points for MTSU, all coming from the three-point line (6-for-8), while seniors Chelsia Lymon and Jackie Pickel finished with 13 and 11 points, respectively.  Lymon also dished out 14 assists, pulled down seven rebounds and had six steals in her final home game.  Clark led the Blue Raiders on the glass with a game-high 13 rebounds to give her her 70th double-double of her career.

"We played (Middle Tennessee) a lot tougher today than we did at our place," South Alabama head coach Rick Pietri said.  "They are just a lot better than we are bottom line.   Hopefully, we can rebound and play better on Wednesday against Denver."

For the game, Middle Tennessee shot 51.9 percent (42-of-81) from the floor - including 14-for 32 from the arc.  Despite the loss, South Alabama also recorded one of its best shooting performances of the season hitting 29 of its 60 attempts for 48.3 percent, while also knocking down nine of its 18 attempts from long range.

Led by Clark's play in the post, MTSU held a 48-22 advantage in the paint, but the Jaguar reserves did manage to contribute 34 points off the bench.
 
USA held a five-point lead early on, but MTSU quickly regained control.  The Blue Raiders first went to Clark for two straight buckets and then Pickel and Lymon drained back-to-back treys to cap off a string of 10 unanswered points and give Middle a 13-7 advantage less than three minutes into the game. 

Middle Tennessee then went back inside to Clark four-straight possessions and over the next five minutes, the senior scored 10 of the Blue Raiders next 12 points.

Over the next several minutes, South Alabama didn't allow MTSU to lead more than 10 points and after seven-straight points from Shelter, the Jags trimmed the deficit to 34-29.  The junior cut the Blue Raider advantage to five with a 14-foot baseline jumper at the 5:12 mark.

From that point on, Middle Tennessee closed the first half strong, reeling off a 20-9 run over the final five minutes of the period and headed into the locker room with a 16-point lead - its largest advantage to that point.  During the Blue Raider run, Lanning drained three of her four first half triples and after getting four offensive rebound on its last possession of the half, Dana Garrett's put back beat the horn and gave MTSU a 54-38 halftime lead.

Clark led all scorers during the first 20 minutes of play, recording 22 of her 47 points and nine rebounds on 11-of-17 shooting.

Both clubs shot the ball well in the opening period of play, as the Blue Raiders were 23-of-42 (54.9 percent) from the field and the Jags were15-of-32 for 46.9 percent. 

In the second, South Alabama was able to cut the deficit to 14 (64-50) a little less than four minutes into the half, but over the next three minutes, Middle Tennessee broke the game open with a 13-2 spurt.  Clark got things going with a trey from the top of the key at the 15:50 mark.  Following a pair of free throws from Nettles, USA turned the ball over three of its next four possessions.  MTSU took advantage and reeled off 10-straight points to close the run and increased its lead to 77-52 on a layup from Clark with just under 13 minutes remaining.

MTSU took its largest lead of the game at 94-66 with just over five minutes to go, but USA kept fighting and got as close as 18 late, before the Blue Raiders eventually took the 22-point win.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

NOTES: The game versus Middle Tennessee marked the 1,000th in the program's history.  The 54 first half points by Middle Tennessee were the most given up by the Jags this season to an opponent - eclipsing the previous high of 49, also scored by the Blue Raiders in the first meeting this season.  USA's Vannessa Simmons set a new career-high with her 10 point outing.  Sunday's game was the fourth time in the last six games that MTSU has eclipsed the 100-point mark.  It is also the first time since the 1997-98 season that a South Alabama team has given up 100 points or more twice during a season.  The Jaguar team did so three times.  Chelsia Lymon became the third Blue Raider to eclipse the 1,000 point mark at MTSU and the 23rd overall to join the club.

-- USA --