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Middle Tenn women cruise in opening round

Mar 18, 2007 - 4:16 AM STANFORD, California (Ticker) -- The Middle Tennessee State defense was at its best in its 27th straight victory.

Chrissy Givens scored 24 points and Amber Holt added 23 on 10-of-14 shooting to lead the fifth-seeded Blue Raiders to an 85-46 triumph over No. 12 Gonzaga in an opening-round game of the NCAA Tournament's Dayton Region.

Middle Tennessee State (30-3) next will face the winner of the Ohio State-Marist matchup in the second round on Monday.

Givens shot 9-of-20 from the floor and collected five steals for the Raiders, who forced 37 turnovers, leading to 43 points.

Krystle Horton had 14 points and seven rebounds and Starr Orr scored 10 for Middle Tennessee, which shot 48 percent (34-of-71) from the field.

The Bulldogs trailed 17-10 with 12:43 remaining in the first half before the Blue Raiders went on a 21-3 run over the next 7 1/2 minutes. MTSU took a 44-20 lead into the break.

Michelle Elliot scored 17 points and Katy Ridenour added 10 for Gonzaga, which shot 41 percent (16-of-39).