Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Hall of Fame: Prater enters as MT's assist queen
10/30/2020 1:31:00 PM | General, Women's Basketball
First in a series
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Some of Middle Tennessee's best women's basketball teams while in the Ohio Valley Conference might not have come to fruition if it wasn't for point guard Heather Prater (Warren).
Prater was the maestro of OVC co-championship teams in 1995 and 1996. While she wasn't necessarily the dynamic scorer a few of her teammates were, she provided plenty of essential qualities that were necessary to their success: dependability, toughness and a sharp eye.
The point guard from Waynesboro, Tennessee was recognized this year as a member of the 2020 Blue Raider Hall of Fame Class. This year's class will be enshrined during a virtual induction that airs Thursday at 7 p.m. on the Middle Tennessee athletics Twitter, Facebook and YouTube outlets.
"I had some success playing mainly because I had good players around me," Prater said. "It's nice to be recognized for something like assists, which are sometimes overlooked."
Coming out of Wayne County High School, Prater wasn't heavily recruited despite being the Tennessee Class A Miss Basketball and an honorable mention All-American by USA Today. She only considered attending two schools, and chose MT because of its head coach, Lewis Bivens.
"I honestly only considered UT Martin and MTSU," Prater said. "I was not heavily recruited, and I had a serious boyfriend, whom I later married, so I knew I wanted to stay close to home.
"When I met Coach Bivens, it was a no brainer. Two hours from home, a chance to immediately play … and just a lot of things fell into line to make it an easy choice.
The Lady Raiders sure were lucky she decided to come to Murfreesboro.
Prater is the best passer the program has ever seen. She still holds Middle Tennessee's assists record, dishing out 605 in her career while holding a 1.66 assist-to-turnover ratio. She's 65 assists above the next closest player, Ty Petty.
She was more than just a talented passer, though. She is a member of the program's 1,000-point club (1,360) and ranks first all-time in 3-point field goal percentage (.446) and second in free throw percentage (.803). She led the nation in 1994-95 when she shot 51% from beyond the arc.
Prater played in 113 games in her career, and in her four years MT posted an 85-29 record, 49-15 in OVC play. She and fellow 1,000-point scorers Priscilla Robinson (2,009), Sherry Tucker (1,452) and Jessica Beaty (1,056) helped lead the team to an unforgettable couple of co-conference titles in 1994-95 and 1995-96, and Prater was named all-OVC both seasons.
Through all of that success, Prater and her teammates grew a bond that is stronger now than ever.
Prater helped organize a birthday party in Murfreesboro recently for Bivens, who turned 75 this year. The head coach still means a lot to his former point guard.
"He's just one of those old-school coaches and people that don't come along very often," Prater said. "He wasn't in coaching for himself, like a lot of coaches are. He was truly concerned for his players. … Our success in basketball was almost secondary to everything else happening."
Since graduating from MTSU, Prater has dedicated herself to working with kids. She still lives in Waynesboro and has worn many hats in her career, including teacher, counselor, principal and career and technical education director.
"I just truly love working with kids," she said.
She's one of two former Lady Raiders entering the hall of fame this year along with Alysha Clark.
"Somebody who's the caliber of player that Alysha is, it's just an honor to go in with her," Prater said. "It's amazing how far our program has come."
This is the first article in a series about this year's Blue Raiders Hall of Fame class.
Prater was the maestro of OVC co-championship teams in 1995 and 1996. While she wasn't necessarily the dynamic scorer a few of her teammates were, she provided plenty of essential qualities that were necessary to their success: dependability, toughness and a sharp eye.
The point guard from Waynesboro, Tennessee was recognized this year as a member of the 2020 Blue Raider Hall of Fame Class. This year's class will be enshrined during a virtual induction that airs Thursday at 7 p.m. on the Middle Tennessee athletics Twitter, Facebook and YouTube outlets.
"I had some success playing mainly because I had good players around me," Prater said. "It's nice to be recognized for something like assists, which are sometimes overlooked."
Coming out of Wayne County High School, Prater wasn't heavily recruited despite being the Tennessee Class A Miss Basketball and an honorable mention All-American by USA Today. She only considered attending two schools, and chose MT because of its head coach, Lewis Bivens.
"I honestly only considered UT Martin and MTSU," Prater said. "I was not heavily recruited, and I had a serious boyfriend, whom I later married, so I knew I wanted to stay close to home.
"When I met Coach Bivens, it was a no brainer. Two hours from home, a chance to immediately play … and just a lot of things fell into line to make it an easy choice.
The Lady Raiders sure were lucky she decided to come to Murfreesboro.
Prater is the best passer the program has ever seen. She still holds Middle Tennessee's assists record, dishing out 605 in her career while holding a 1.66 assist-to-turnover ratio. She's 65 assists above the next closest player, Ty Petty.
She was more than just a talented passer, though. She is a member of the program's 1,000-point club (1,360) and ranks first all-time in 3-point field goal percentage (.446) and second in free throw percentage (.803). She led the nation in 1994-95 when she shot 51% from beyond the arc.
Prater played in 113 games in her career, and in her four years MT posted an 85-29 record, 49-15 in OVC play. She and fellow 1,000-point scorers Priscilla Robinson (2,009), Sherry Tucker (1,452) and Jessica Beaty (1,056) helped lead the team to an unforgettable couple of co-conference titles in 1994-95 and 1995-96, and Prater was named all-OVC both seasons.
Through all of that success, Prater and her teammates grew a bond that is stronger now than ever.
Prater helped organize a birthday party in Murfreesboro recently for Bivens, who turned 75 this year. The head coach still means a lot to his former point guard.
"He's just one of those old-school coaches and people that don't come along very often," Prater said. "He wasn't in coaching for himself, like a lot of coaches are. He was truly concerned for his players. … Our success in basketball was almost secondary to everything else happening."
Since graduating from MTSU, Prater has dedicated herself to working with kids. She still lives in Waynesboro and has worn many hats in her career, including teacher, counselor, principal and career and technical education director.
"I just truly love working with kids," she said.
She's one of two former Lady Raiders entering the hall of fame this year along with Alysha Clark.
"Somebody who's the caliber of player that Alysha is, it's just an honor to go in with her," Prater said. "It's amazing how far our program has come."
This is the first article in a series about this year's Blue Raiders Hall of Fame class.
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