Top 10 MT Women's Basketball Tidbits For The NCAA Tourney

1. Chrissy Givens has been listed by ESPN.com's Graham Hays as the next Katie Feenstra, who led her Liberty team last year to a Sweet 16 appearance. Hays said: "And although she doesn't fit Feenstra's physical mold, Middle Tennessee State guard Chrissy Givens might be the player most capable of lifting a small school to first-round glory. The nation's eighth-leading scorer, wedged between Pondexter and Wiggins on that list, Givens paces a team that knows something about springing upsets in the NCAA Tournament (beating No. 4 seed North Carolina in 2004 and No. 5 seed NC State in 2005). She posted 24 points and nine rebounds in a loss to Georgia this season and had three double-doubles. Against a Utah team with somewhat dubious credentials for a No. 5 seed, Givens and the Blue Raiders could be giant killers once again."

2. Middle Tennessee's first round match-up with Utah will be televised on ESPN2 at 12 p.m. Central. It will be wrap-around coverage which means that not all of the game could be televised. However, full coverage can be found on ESPNU.

3. Middle Tennessee is one of only four NCAA Tournament teams to have three or more 1,000 point scorers on its squad. Chrissy Givens, Krystle Horton and Tia Stovall have each reached that milestone for the Blue Raiders and are the only players in program history to reach 1,000 points and play on the same squad. The University of Georgia has four players with 1,000 or more points and North Carolina and UCLA have three.

4. Junior guard Chrissy Givens is one of only two players in the NCAA Tournament field of 64 to have won the trifecta of regular season and postseason honors. Givens was named Sun Belt Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Sun Belt Tournament MVP and joins Temple's Candice Dupree who also won those honors in the Atlantic 10.

5. Beth Mullins talks about Middle Tennessee in her ESPN.com 64-team wrap-up. She said, "Don't underestimate Middle Tennessee and first-year coach Rick Insell. Two years ago, the Blue Raiders upset fourth-seeded North Carolina in the first round, only to shock fifth-seeded NC State just as early in last season's tournament."

6. Middle Tennessee faces Utah for the second time in school history. The Blue Raiders are 0-1 against the Utes. The two teams last met on December 14, 1978 with Utah winning 82-74.

7. Senior Tia Stovall, who has now played in four straight SBC Championship games, has been named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament team all four years for the Blue Raiders.

8. Middle Tennessee's current record of 20-10 assures the Blue Raiders a 20-win season for the third straight year. It is the first time Middle Tennessee has had a 20-win season three years in a row and the 13th time in the Blue Raiders 30-year history Middle Tennessee has had a 20 plus win season.

9. Middle Tennessee's trip to Tucson, Arizona for the first round of the NCAA Tournament is the farthest the Blue Raiders have had to travel for an NCAA tournament game.

10. Chrissy Givens has scored 30 or more points seven times this season which ranks her second in the Blue Raider record books for most 30-point games in the season. She set a Sun Belt Tournament record for points with 36, against Louisiana-Lafayette in the quarterfinal round, and tied the record for most field goals with 14. Givens has scored 642 points this season which makes her just the fifth player in Middle Tennessee's 30-year history to score 600 or more points in a season. She is currently ranked second for most points in a season and needs just 30 points to take over the top spot for points in a season. Currently the record is held by Tawayna Mucker who has 671.

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

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