HUNTSVILLE – The first neutral site women’s college basketball game at the Von Braun Center’s Propst Arena was a hit in the eyes of organizers and at least one of the teams playing.
Huntsville Sports Commission and the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau representatives termed the event a success.
Meanwhile, the outcome was certainly a boom for the Middle Tennessee State University Lady Raiders.
MTSU defeated the blue-blood Tennessee Lady Vols 73-62 in front of an enthusiastic crowd. There was more blue than orange in the arena – it was actually a home game for MTSU who agreed to move the game to Huntsville in anticipation of the regular season-ending Conference USA Tournament in March.
The win was the Blue Raiders’ first ever over their in-state rival in 23 attempts. The victory will no doubt provide a NET rankings boost as the squad eyes a return to the NCAA Tournament. MTSU, by the way, brought cheerleaders, the dance team and a pep band.
The competitive back-and-forth action also made for good drama for the HSC and CVB as well as the crowd. The game was part of the agreement the city made with CUSA.
Lady Vols head coach Kellie Harper once played for MTSU head coach Rick Insell, which didn’t hurt in getting UT to agree to come in the first of what is a four-game series scheduled between the two programs.
“We got a chance to bring in two of the top women’s basketball programs in the country. You can’t pass on that,” said Joel Lamp of the Visitors Bureau. “It was phenomenal. Had a great crowd, a great atmosphere. It was really electric. The building really looked good. It popped on TV. I think everybody had a great experience here.
“There’s some things we gotta work on, but all in all, it was a really great night.”
Both organizations and the VBC will hit the repeat button next Wednesday for a men’s game when Auburn takes on UNC Asheville in the Rocket City Classic. That game is sold out.
After the women’s game, Mark Russell, executive director of the HSC, said, “It was absolutely a huge success. Two great teams had a really close competitive game, and it was a lot of fun.”
Insell congratulated his fans for turning out, and added that they will not only return for the CUSA Tournament but, with the men also playing here in March, an even larger following should be expected.
“More than anything (this game) showed our fan base what y’all have got,” Insell said. “You can put this game on (assistant coach) Matt Insel and (athletic director) Chris Massaro. Chris, he felt like we needed to bring a game down so we could get our fan base down here to see what Huntsville was all about and we got the best of both worlds. We brought a big-time opponent and Matt was responsible for bringing the Lady Vols down thanks to Kellie (Harper) and (UT administrators). And then our fan base came down and they saw what was going on.
“So, you know, when we get here in March, you can see this is what it’s gonna be like. You’re gonna see that many fans here in March. Also, the only difference is you’re gonna have our men’s program with us too. And when you do that, you can add another 1,500, 2,000.”
Harper was obviously disappointed in the loss for the once-ranked Lady Vols, saying there needs to be more “ownership” in the locker room after they dropped to 4-5 with four losses against Top 20 teams.
But she was gracious about the trip.
“It was a really good experience,” she said. “Everybody treated us great, and it was a fun atmosphere to play in.”
Any future neutral site games at the VBC are TBD.
“It’s all about the matchup,” Lamp said.
“I think we value and appreciate women’s sports,” Russell said. “We’ve hosted SEC gymnastics, we’re gonna have Conference USA men’s and women’s. I think we’re a great city for big time women’s sports and we’ll attract them.
“This is just a step of what can come and what can happen. It’s a good showing for Conference USA basketball in March.”
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