By Rickey Fuquay, Jr.//Contributing Writer
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee (13-5, 7-1 C-USA) used a dominating run down the stretch to rout the University of Texas-San Antonio by a final score of 73-53.
It was a tight ball game in the beginning, as the Blue Raiders and the Roadrunners (9-11, 4-4 C-USA) were tied at seven with 15:36 left in the first half.
However, the Blue Raiders used a 17-6 run to take a 24-13 lead with 7:44 left in the first half. UTSA would hang around though, and managed to cut the deficit to 30-23 at the half following a 10-6 run.
It was a tight contest for most of the second half. The Blue Raiders went up 40-32 with 11:59 left in the second half, despite the fact that both teams had scored 16 points.
MTSU used a 25-10 run to stretch their lead to as many as 23 points with 4:10 left in the second half en route to the 73-53 win.
Once again, senior forward Cheyenne Parker played a crucial part of the win tonight, scoring 25 points to lead all scorers. She also grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked eight shots in another near triple-double game.
“I did alright,” Parker said of her performance. “There were a couple of chip shots I could have finished that coach brought up, so there’s always room for improvement.”
Also in double figures was sophomore Olivia Jones, who tallied 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds.
Sophomores Ty Petty and China Dow also reached double figures for the Blue Raiders. Petty scored 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field and grabbed three rebounds.
Dow put up 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and added five rebounds on the night.
For the Roadrunners, Niaga Cole-Mitchell led the team with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added four rebounds.
The Blue Raiders will look to continue their winning streak at home Saturday against the University of Texas-El Paso. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT.
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