The Middle Tennessee State University women’s basketball team won the 2009 Sun Belt Conference Tournament by knocking off Arkansas-Little Rock 74-54 on March 10 in Hot Springs, Ark.

The victory reserved a spot for the Blue Raiders in the 64-team NCAA Tournament where they will take on the Michigan State Spartans on Sunday, March 21.

Junior Alysha Clark played a key role in returning MTSU back to the NCAA Tournament, after the Blue Raiders missed out last season.

During the regular season, Clark led the nation in scoring by averaging 27 points per game. She was named Sun Belt Player of the Week a record six times. At the end of the season, Clark earned Sun Belt Player and Newcomer of the Year.

Sun Belt Coach of the Year Rick Insell, however, says Clark worries more about helping her teammates than polishing her stats.

“She is a special individual,” Insell said. “She is a team player and a team person. She is not concerned about points or rebounds. She is concerned about her teammates, and what she has to do for her team to win. You don’t get many of those players in your lifetime.”

One example of Clark’s thoughtfulness came in the regular season finale March 1 during an 87-61 win over rival Western Kentucky. In that game, Clark broke a Murphy Center record with 45 points, but late in the game, Clark committed a foul and told Insell to put in freshman Molly McFadden.

“I just wanted (Molly) to be able to play against Western Kentucky, to have that experience being in front of 5,300 people and playing against your rival.”

Clark, who transferred from Belmont two seasons ago, credits her teammates for her success.

“None of my individual accolades that I’ve received would have been possible if my teammates weren’t there with me,” Clark said.

Some of those teammates received awards of their own at the end of the season. Junior Chelsia Lymon was named Defensive Player of the Year and third-team All-Sun Belt. Fellow junior Brandi Brown joined Lymon on that team.

Clark added the team would like to “make some noise” in the upcoming NCAA tournament.