Thomatis Bangs in 21 Points to Lead Lady Raiders over Arkansas State

JONESBORO, Ark. - Senior forward Jamie Thomatis scored 17 points in the second half to lead the Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders (10-9, 3-4 SBC) over Arkansas State (7-12, 2-5 SBC) 80-68 Thursday at the Convocation Center.

Due to early foul trouble at the start of the second-half, Thomatis sat almost 11 minutes before she came back in the game. She promptly scored eight straight points, which included a stint of six for six at the charity stripe.

While Thomatis was slow to get going, the underclassmen stepped it up. Sophomore Jennifer Justice scored 14 points, had three blocked shots and four steals. Freshman Patrice Holmes was second in scoring for the Lady Raiders with 19 points and was two for three from the three-point line.

"This was a key win for us tonight," said Middle Tennessee head coach Stephany Smith. "We have been struggling as of late and this was a quality win."

Middle Tennessee will try to make it two Sun Belt Conference wins in a row when the team visits Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

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