Two-game homestand opens Wednesday

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee women's basketball team will return to the Murphy Center for a pair of games this week, starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday when it plays host to Troy.

The Blue Raiders have played less than one-half of their games this season at home but have registered a 6-1 mark in such contests with the lone setback coming to No. 4/5 Xavier in early December. Middle Tennessee owns the Sun Belt's top overall and league records to-date with 14-4 and 5-0 ledgers, respectively.

The squad is coming off a hard-fought, 57-52 triumph at Arkansas State Sunday in which four players reached double-figure scoring. Sophomore Kortni Jones set the pace with 13 points, followed by freshmen Ebony Rowe and Jordyn Luffman with 11 apiece and senior Anne Marie Lanning pouring in 10. Rowe hauled in a team-high 10 boards for her ninth double-double of the campaign.

Lanning moved within 20 points of reaching the 1,000-point plateau. She also currently ranks fourth in school history with 211 career 3-pointers entering this week's action.

Troy currently sits in fifth place in the East Division race with its 1-4 Sun Belt mark and 4-14 overall record. Head coach Michael Murphy's team is led by DeAngela Sword's 14.3 ppg. She is joined in double figures by Donette McNair (13.3 ppg), who sets the tone on the glass for the Trojans with a team-best 9.2 caroms per outing.

< p>Troy has dropped its last three games coming into Wednesday's action after beginning league play with a 64-57 home victory against Florida Atlantic Jan. 2.

Dick Palmer and Duane Hickey will have all the action on the Blue Raider Network: WGNS (100.5 FM, 101.9 FM, 1450 AM), WMOT (89.5 FM) and WBRY (96.7 FM, 1540 AM).

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