Murfreesboro, Tenn. – The Owls (8-13, 3-7) made their final stop of a challenging road stretch in the Murphy Center as they faced the conference-leading Blue Raiders (17-6, 9-1), falling 76-43. 

Keyerah Berry led the offense with 15 points, while Carly Hooks added seven points, contributing to the offensive effort. Despite the tough competition, the Owls battled in the second half, outscoring the Blue Raiders in the final quarter. 

First half: 
The conference leaders showed why they are at the top on Conference USA as MTSU took control early, quickly establishing a lead in the first quarter. Senior Keyarah Berry put up the first four points for the Owls and sophomore Kailyn Fields sunk two free throws to pace the Owls in the first stanza. The Owls created a handful of turnovers but MTSU's defense made it difficult to maintain consistent scoring.

After a tough scoring drought in the first half, Prencis Harden finally broke through with a bucket in the first quarter. MTSU's offense kept the pressure on, putting up 42 points in the first half, MTSU went into the break with a 42-11 advantage.

Second half:
The Owls second half scoring began with Hooks and Berry scoring five points combined while Berry added two more. Morgan Dillard came off the bench to score four points in quick succession. Berry led the team with 10 points in the second half while collecting nine boards on the night. The Owls improved their field goal percentage and kept pace with the Blue Raiders as KSU made 13 more field goals in the second half than the first. Final score from Murfreesboro, Tenn. was 76-43.

"We got down fast and we had a tough time covering Boldyreva as we did a much better job of defending them at home than we did here," coach Blue said. "When Hooks, Harden and Griffin combine for 4-31 from the field, you aren't going to win many games. We just didn't show up today."

UP NEXT
The Owls are back at home to face-off versus the La. Tech Lady Techsters in Kennesaw, Ga. Feb. 13.