Somebody Get Me A Kleenex!

I'm going to cry on Sunday. And I won't be the only one.

Why you ask?

Simply put, it's Senior Day for the Lady Raiders and it is the last time Alysha Clark, Chelsia Lymon, Brandi Brown, Jackie Pickel and Dana Garrett will ever put on an MTSU uniform at the Murphy Center.

The numbers this group have put up are astonishing.

Going into Wednesday's game against Troy, in 11,290 minutes, they have scored 4,667 points on 44.4% shooting, including 35.2% from behind the arc and 75% from the free throw line.

Think about that.

One of every three 3-point shots one of those five seniors has put up over four years, has gone in, as well as three of every four free throws.

They've also taken down 1,584 rebounds and dished out 871 assists, while committing only 810 turnovers.  For a player to go 4 years and have a positive assist to turnover ratio is impressive, for 5 players to do it is unreal.

Overall they have won 98 games while only losing 27, and in conference they have won an unreal 91.2% of their games.  62-6, with only one of those losses (in four years!) coming at the Murphy Center.

They've won two Sun Belt regular season and conference tournament titles, winning both in 2007 and 2009, and have two top 10 wins, defeating Number 8 Georgia in 2006 and Number 8 LSU in 2007, not to mention playing number 1 and defending national champion Maryland to a 4 point game to open the 2006 season.

And as impressive as all these numbers are, they could have been even more impressive if Alysha Clark had been here all 4 years instead of spending her first two at Belmont.

Speaking of Clark, she leads the list of accolades for the Senior class.  She is the only player in NCAA basketball history (men’s or women’s) to be named the Player of the Year in two different conferences (Atlantic Sun with Belmont in 2006-07 and Sun Belt last year with MTSU). 

She is both school's 1,000 point club and her list of accomplishments continues to include a 50 point game at Troy (‘09), the Murphy Center record of 45 points last year versus Western Kentucky, over forty double doubles in a Middle Tennessee uniform, and a third-team All-America selection by the Associated Press as she lead the nation in scoring last season.

Clark's best friend, running mate, and partner in crime, Chelsia Lymon also isn't hurting in the trophy case.  After taking over the starting point guard job midway through her sophomore year, Lymon has blossomed into a coach on the floor for Rick Insell, and is the reigning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year.  She also reigned in a Third-Team All-Conference honor.

Simply put, Lymon is a warrior. She is everything a coach could dream of in a leader. On top of teaching, running the team, and being the vocal leader, Lymon has shown her toughness all season by playing through a severe shoulder injury that will require surgery at season's end.

If Lymon doesn't lose her Defensive Player of the Year crown to Jackie Pickel at the end of the year everyone should start seriously worrying about the whole "2012 apocalypse" dealio.  Pickel leads the conference and is fifth nationally in steals and has given elite players such as LSU's Allison Hightower and Tennessee's Angie Bjorklund fits.

On the offensive end Pickel is no slouch either.  With an effortless stroke, she racks up 3 point baskets at a higher rate than anyone in the conference.  She has also re-vamped her game, adding a mid-range game and the ability to get to the hoop after being known as a shooter her first three years.

Like Lymon, Pickel has the warrior mentality.  She had played in every game of each of her 4 seasons (120 straight) until a knee injury kept her out against New Orleans (although she didn’t sit willingly, and could have played if the Raiders needed her).  Over the past two years has played nearly every minute of those games, leading the team in minutes since the beginning of her junior year.

If not for Brandi Brown, Jackie might be headed for some of the school's 3 point shooting records, however MTSU’s newest member of the 1,000 point club is also the school’s all-time leading 3 point shooter.  On top of her sweet outside stroke, Brown is a polished post player, making her a match-up nightmare for opposing coaches.

Just how good of a shooter is Brown? Through the first 6 games of the season she was shooting a putrid 23%.  Now her number is up to 43%.  That means since the Raiders came home from Cincinnatti following the loss to Xavier, Brandi Brown has shot 51% from behind the 3 point line. 

Yet for all these numbers, statistics, wins, and accolades, the defining aspect of this Senior class is who they are as people, and that’s why there won’t be a dry eye in the glass house Sunday.

They are the “big sisters” on the tightest team any of them say they have ever been on.

Particularly on a women’s athletic team, drama can be a real issue.  This team has none.  They truly love and care for each other.

In the community the girls are beloved as well.  They can commonly be found at the men’s games, taking in the action with their young fans.  They can be found after games talking to fans and signing autographs.

It starts at the top with Coach Insell, who, like his players, greets everyone with a warm smile and takes a genuine interest in how the people around him are doing.

That trickles down to his star player in Clark, who as humble a person that walks on planet earth. 

Last year after the WKU game, when she set the Murphy Center record with 45 points, she had no idea what she had done. When MTTV sideline reporter Raye McDonald told her in a post-game interview, Clark’s eyes popped and her jaw dropped.

And when I asked Clark what makes her so successful before the season started, she gave all the credit to her coaches and teammates.

Absolutely no mention of her own work ethic which is second to none. 

And when I asked Clark if she could trade any of her personal accolades for a single win in the NCAA tournament, not a championship, just a single win, she looked at me like I was absolutely insane. The answer was clearly yes.

Lymon, Pickel, and Brown are the same way. Humble beyond belief, all about the team, all driven to one goal: win.  They’ve passed this down to the younger players and as Insell’s first recruiting class graduates and moves on to the next phase of their lives, the future of Middle Tennessee basketball is bright.

However before we move on there is business to take care of.  There is a third conference title to win.  There is the first NCAA tournament win for this group to harness, and there is the ultimate goal of San Antonio and the Final Four.

But before all of that there is Sunday. Senior day. There will be more emotions than anyone can describe, however no matter what you feel, soak it in. The girls certainly are.

After a recent game Pickel told me, “After the UALR loss, we kinda realized, this is it. We only have so many games left and so much time left with each other.  We really started to soak everything in and enjoy it.”

Sunday will be no different. Because after the tears, a ball will be tossed in the air and a game will be played.  And at least 5 girls will be having the times of their lives.