Blue Raiders look to continue road success at Ohio

ATHENS, Ohio – Middle Tennessee will look to continue its winning ways on the road when it faces Ohio in the final non-conference game of the regular season Tuesday. Tipoff at the Convocation Center is 6 p.m. The Blue Raiders (6-4) have won three straight on the road and are seeking their 100^th road win under veteran Head Coach Rick Insell, whose teams are 99-50 away from home in his 10-plus seasons. Ohio (7-3) is the defending MAC regular season and tournament champions.

GAME INFORMATION
FULL GAME NOTES

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Date: Tuesday, Dec. 29
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Teams: Middle Tennessee (6-4) vs. Ohio (7-3)
Location: Athens, Ohio
Arena: Convocation Center (13,080)
Radio: WMOT-FM (89.5), WGN (1450 AM/100.5 FM/101.9 FM)
Play-by-Play: Dick Palmer

Live Audio | Live Streaming | Live Stats

About the Game

• MT and Ohio meet for the first time.
• The Blue Raiders conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule against Ohio.

On the Road

• MT has won three straight road games.
• MT will be gunning for its 100th road win under HC Rick Insell vs. Ohio. The Blue Raiders are 99-50 on the road under Insell.

Scouting Ohio

• Ohio is 7-3 overall.
• The Bobcats are playing just their third home game of the 2015-16 campaign. They are 2-0 at home.
• Kiyanna Black leads Ohio in scoring with 18.1 ppg. The Bobcats average 67.9 points as a team.
• Ohio's losses came at Illinois (62-53), at Vanderbilt (62-59), and at Duquesne (64-47).

On the Rebound

• MT HC Rick Insell stresses rebounding and the numbers support his emphasis on that facet.
• MT is 6-1 when outrebounding the opposition this season, and 166-16 overall when winning the battle of the boards under Insell.
• The only game MT has lost win winning the rebounding battle this season is vs. No. 8 Kentucky (40-32).
• MT ranks 51st nationally in total rebounds (43.0 rpg).

Hitting the Offensive Boards

• MT ranks ninth nationally in offensive rebounds per game with 18.0 per outing. Ironically, Ole Miss, under the direction of Rick Insell's son, Matt, leads the nation in that category with 23.0 per game.
• Brea Edwards and Rebecca Reuter lead the squad in offensive rebounds per game with 2.9 and 2.5, respectively. Edwards is sixth in C-USA, while Reuter is ninth, for offensive rebounds per game.

70 Is Magic Number

• When MT scores 70 or more under HC Rick Insell it is a staggering 175-12 for a 94 percent winning clip.
• Give the Blue Raiders 80 points or more and they are nearly unbeatable under Rick Insell. MT has won 93 of the 95 games it has scored 80 or more in Insell's 10-plus seasons. The Blue Raiders are 35-0 when scoring 90 or more points under Insell.

MT Attendance in Nation's Top 10

• Through five home dates, MT is eighth nationally in attendance with 6,749 per game. The Blue Raiders have drawn 5,000-plus for all but one game.
• MT has ranked among the Top 25 nationally in attendance in each of the last three seasons.
• The Blue Raiders have been ranked in the Top 30 nationally in attendance in eight of Insell's 10 seasons at the helm.
• The top 25 crowds in program history all have occurred during Insell's tenure.

From Way Downtown!

• It should come as no surprise Middle Tennessee has one of the nation's leaders in 3-point field goals per game, and 3-point field goal percentage in Brea Edwards.
• MT has demonstrated greater prowess shooting the 3-pointer under HC Rick Insell than any coach in program history.
• MT has hit 200 or more 3-pointers as a team eight times in program history and seven of those have taken place in Insell's first 10 seasons.
• The top five single-season totals for 3-point field goals have come under Insell's watch, including a record 313 treys in 2009-10. In fact, nine of the top 10 single-season totals are under Insell.
• This year's team is on pace to surpass 200 3-point field goals. It has 71 through 10 dates.

Edwards C-USA Player of Week X2

• Senior guard Brea Edwards has been named C-USA Player of the Week twice.
• Edwards was named Player of the Week, Dec. 21, after leading the Blue Raiders to wins vs. Missouri State and Tennessee Tech. Edwards averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, shot 52 percent from the field, includng 42 percent from 3-point range, and 90 percent from the free-throw line in the two wins.
• Edwards earned her first C-USA Player of the Week honor, Dec. 7, after helping lead the Blue Raiders to road wins at Austin Peay & Xavier. Edwards averaged 21 points, 5.0 rebounds and shot 56 percent from the field in the two wins.

Edwards Recognized by NCAA.com

• Edwards was recognized by NCAA.com when she was highlighted in its weekly Starting Five feature Wednesday (Dec. 9).
Every week, NCAA.com's Starting Five features five of the top women's basketball players in the country. It was the first such honor for Edwards.

Edwards Amongst Nation's Best

• Senior guard Brea Edwards is among national leaders in four categories. Edwards is second in NCAA Division I WBB for 3-point FG per game (4.0), second in 3-point FG made (40), 21st in 3-point FG% (.471) and 15th in scoring (21.7).
• Edwards led the nation in scoring with a 21.8 average at Central Arizona Community College in 2012-13.
• Edwards has scored 24 or more five times, including a career-high 30 against Virginia in the season opener.
• Edwards is among C-USA leaders in scoring (1st, 21.9), 3-pt FG per game (1st, 4.0), minutes (1st, 35.8), 3-pt FG% (4th, .471), offensive rebounds (6th, 2.9), and rebounding (10th, 7.1)

Edwards Uncanny Beyond Arc

• Senior Brea Edwards has been sizzling from beyond the arc. She has connected on 47 percent of her 85 3-point attempts.
• Edwards was 6-of-8 from beyond the arc vs. Nevada, and followed that performance with a 5-for-6 effort against Austin Peay.
• Edwards has hit at least one 3-pointer in all games and has connected for four or more six times.
• Edwards has hit at least one trey in 24 straight games dating to last season.

Jones Joins 1,000-Point Club

• With 15 points against Austin Peay, junior Olivia Jones became the 29th member of the program's 1,000-point club.
• Rick Insell has coached 12 of the 29 players in MT's 1,000-point club, including four of the Top 10 scorers in program history.
• Jones is the fifth player from Rutherford County, and the third from Riverdale HS, to join the club. Other members of the 1,000-point club who prepped in Rutherford County include: Kim Webb (Smyrna HS), Krystle Horton (Riverdale HS), Anne Marie Lanning (Riverdale HS), and Carlita Elder (Oakland HS).

Johnson Freshman of Week X2

• Forward Alex Johnson was named C-USA Freshman of the Week for the second time in as many weeks Monday (Dec. 7). Johnson was also voted Freshman of the Week (Nov. 30).
• Johnson averaged 13.5 points and 4.0 rebounds, while shooting 68 percent from the field against Alabama and Nevada during the Nugget Classic in Reno, Nev., to earn her first honor. Johnson was named to the Nugget Classic All-Tournament team.

Petty Strong Distributor

• MT junior point guard Ty Petty dished out a career-high 11 assists in the win vs. Missouri State. It was her second double-figure assist game of the season.
• Became first player with two double-figure assists games in same season since Sherry Smith in 1979-80.
• Petty had 10 assists in MT's win vs. Ole Miss.
• Her 10 assists vs. Ole Miss marked the first time a Blue Raider has had double-figure assists since Kortni Jones had 12 against Troy (1/25/12).
• Petty is third in C-USA with 5.0 assists per game.
• Petty has seven or more assists in four games, including her career high of 11 against Missouri St..

Trio Part of Rare Feat

• MT players Brea Edwards, Olivia Jones and Ty Petty each had a double double in Middle Tennessee's win vs. Ole Miss.
• It marks only the third time it has happened in program history and the first time it had been accomplished since
Feb. 20, 1995.

Three Double-Doubles in Same Game at MT
Player              Opponent         Result                Date
Brea Edwards Ole Miss       24 pts., 12 rebs.        11/22/15
Olivia Jones Ole Miss       17 pts., 13 rebs.        11/22/15
Ty Petty Ole Miss 12 pts.,10 asts.         11/22/15

Jessica Beaty Austin Peay   15 pts., 12 rebs. 2/20/95
Heather Prater Austin Peay    15 pts., 11 asts 2/20/95
Sherry Tucker Austin Peay    20 pts., 10 rebs 2/20/95

Jessica Beaty Morehead     23 pts., 13 rebs. 1/23/95
Heather Prater Morehead     21 pts., 10 rebs. 1/23/95
Sherry Tucker Morehead     16 pts., 12 rebs 1/23/95

Developing Post Presence

• Coach Rick Insell has been stressing the need for a stronger post presence and his players have responded.
• The Blue Raiders have outscored their foes in the paint in five of the last six games, and the team is 5-1 in those games. MT has averaged 35.2 points per game in the paint, while allowing 23.5 during this stretch.

Send In the Reserves

• MT's reserves are paying dividends. The Blue Raiders' bench has outscored the opposition's reserves four times this season.
• MT's reserves have provided 20-plus points five times. The team is 4-1 in those games.
• The Blue Raider reserves are averaging 15.0 points per game. Sophomore Abbey Sissom leads the reserves with 5.8 points per contest.

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Players Mentioned

Brea Edwards

Alex Johnson

Olivia Jones

Ty Petty

Rebecca Reuter

Abbey Sissom

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics