Olivia Jones, Ebony Rowe, KeKe Stewart and the Lady Raiders took the C-USA tourney title.

In the Conference USA women’s basketball tournament championship game, Middle Tennessee’s explosive offense helped the Blue Raiders prevail 84-55 over Southern Miss, giving the Blue Raiders their first Conference USA Championship title.

The win gave MTSU its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

2014 Conference USA Player of the Year, Ebony Rowe, poured in 23 points and the Raiders forced 20 turnovers to slow down the high-powered attack of Southern Miss. Rowe was additionally named the 2014 C-USA Tournament MVP. Conference Freshman of the Year, Olivia Jones, contributed 18 points and 14 rebounds in the contest.

Knowing they had secured an automatic bid to the big dance, MTSU learned the following week they would travel to Seattle to face Oregon State in the NCAA tournament.

There, the Beavers of Oregon State were too much for MTSU, as they won that contest 55-36, putting an end to the Lady Raiders’ season and tournament hopes. Oregon State never trailed in the contest, as MTSU managed to make only 14 shots from the field.

Senior Ebony Rowe led the Blue Raiders in scoring in the game, and posted her 26th double-double of the season. Though her career as a Blue Raider is now over, she sits atop the MTSU women’s basketball record books as the all-time top scorer.

Shawn Jones Named Conference Player of the Year

The MTSU men also put together a solid 2013-14 campaign but could not make it past the C-USA tournament semi-finals. Losing to Tulsa 76-69, the team would not get the opportunity to see what it could do in the big dance.

In a bright spot for the team, MTSU senior Shawn Jones was named the Conference USA Player of the Year. He averaged over eight rebounds per game for the season and tallied 63 blocked shots for the year.

Jones was also named to the 2013-14 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District First Team.

Football Season Tickets on Sale

The MTSU athletic department knows August is right around the corner, and has already made 2014 football season tickets available to Blue Raider fans.

This coming season, the Blue Raiders will host Savannah State, Western Kentucky, Southern Miss, Alabama-Birmingham, Brigham Young University and Florida Atlantic at Floyd Stadium.

For more on MTSU athletics, visit goblueraiders.com.