Middle Tennessee returns home Wednesday

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee women's basketball team will return to the friendly confines of the Murphy Center for a 7 p.m. Wednesday tip against ULM to begin a stretch in which three of its next four games will be played at home.

The Blue Raiders enter the contest with a three-game lead in the Sun Belt's East Division over South Alabama and Western Kentucky. MT is 8-1 in league action and 17-5 overall entering Wednesday's contest, having posted a 1-1 record last week in a two-game swing in south Florida.

Middle Tennessee is 8-1 at home this season with the lone setback coming at the hands of No. 4/5 Xavier in early December. The Blue Raiders are 4-0 in league games inside the Murphy Center, improving to a combined 49-1 under head coach Rick Insell during conference action.

Freshman Ebony Rowe paces the squad with averages of 17.0 points and 10.3 rebounds after adding two more double-doubles last week, raising her season total to a dozen. She ranks second and first, respectively, in the Sun Belt in the two categories and is also among the league's leaders with a 61.4 field goal percentage.

The balanced MT offensive attack in which seven players average at least 5.6 points per game, also includes senior Anne Marie Lanning in double figures with 12.1 ppg. Her 53 3-pointers lead four players with at least 27.

ULM brings a 12-10 overall and 6-3 league record into Wednesday's meeting. The Warhawks, under the direction of 16th-year head coach Mona Martin, are second in the Sun Belt's West Division with a current four-game winning streak.

< p>Two players average double digits, including Larrie Williams with a team-high 10.9 ppg. Kassie Courtney is just behind her with 10.7, as the five primary starters all average at least 7.5 points. Sannisha Williams paces the squad with 7.4 rebounds per outing.

Wednesday's tilt will be the sixth in the series with the Blue Raiders winning all five previous matchups. Middle Tennessee will be looking for its third win in as many tries against ULM inside the Murphy Center.

Dick Palmer and Duane Hickey will call 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).

Tickets are also available for the upcoming Sun Belt Tournament, to be held March 5-8 in Hot Springs, Ark., for the third-straight season. Tournament booklets are $83 and can be purchased by calling the Middle Tennessee ticket office at 1-888-YES-MTSU or stopping by the ticket office at Gate 1A of Floyd Stadium.

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