MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Experience in a Lady Raider uniform is hard to come by for Middle Tennessee's women's basketball team, forcing one sophomore into a leadership role usually reserved for a senior.
The Lady Raiders only had two upperclassmen on their roster in the season-opening win against East Carolina, and one of those, Virginia graduate transfer Shakyna Payne, is in her first year in Murfreesboro. The other, Charity Savage, made just her fourth career start against the Pirates.
That lack of upperclassman experience makes Taylor Sutton, last year's Conference USA Freshman of the Year, the team's resident experienced leader.