Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, November 11
Charlottesville, VA
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
0-1
51
at
63
Virginia
1-0
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tennessee
14
7
16
14
51
Virginia
11
22
18
12
63
Team Stats
MT
VA
FG%
.345
.362
3FG%
.182
.333
FT%
.700
.680
RB
39
43
TO
24
23
STL
6
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballLady Raiders come up short at Virginia
11/11/2016 9:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Fall 63-51 in opener
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Middle Tennessee dug itself a first-half deficit and it proved detrimental in the Lady Raiders' 63-51 setback against Virginia at John Paul Jones Arena here Friday night.
The Blue Raiders (0-1) played Virginia even in the second half with the two teams battling to a 30-30 finish in the final two quarters but a 12-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome in the season opener for both teams.
Sophomore standout Alex Johnson led Middle Tennessee with 13 points and shared the team high with five rebounds. Senior Ty Petty finished with 11 points. They were the only Lady Raiders in double figures.
Gabby Lyon tallied seven points and a team-high six rebounds. Abbey Sissom and Katie Collier tallied five each, followed by Rebecca Reuter with four each.
"We were our worst enemy," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We had a bad second quarter and that really proved to be the difference. They outscored us 22-7 in the second quarter. I'm disappointed that we didn't take coaching the way we should have, but I am proud that we didn't quit and we kept battling."
Middle Tennessee had to feel good about its chances even though it trailed 33-21 at the half as the Lady Raiders were in the game despite turning the ball over 14 times and going 0-for-10 from beyond the 3-point line in the first 20 minutes. The Cavaliers (1-0) scored nine points off of those turnovers.
"We led 14-11 after the first quarter even though we really didn't have a good quarter, but that second quarter was tough," Insell said. "We were outscored 22-7 in the second quarter. Of course, we had a lot of our younger players in the game due to foul trouble and they didn't pick up some rotations. They will grow from this and be better for getting the experience.
"We still felt we were in the game at the half as long as we eliminated mistakes, shot better, stuck with our rules and play better defense."
The Lady Raiders, indeed, did put together a better second half. In the end, Virginia (21) hit one more field goal than Middle Tennessee (20) and each team hit four 3-pointers.
The biggest difference in the game occurred at the free-throw line, where Virginia outscored Middle Tennessee, 25-15. The Cavaliers were 17-for-25 from the stripe, while the Lady Raiders were 7-for-10. The differential was most disadvantageous in the first half, particularly the first quarter.
Middle Tennessee was called for 25 personal fouls to Virginia's 15, but 17 of the Lady Raiders' fouls were whistled in the first half. In fact, Middle Tennessee had five players with three fouls each at the intermission while Virginia had five players with six combined fouls. Two of the Lady Raiders three starting guards, Collier and Sissom – had three fouls in the first five minutes of the first quarter.
The Lady Raiders will face another ACC foe when it welcomes No. 5-ranked Louisville for the Middle Tennessee home opener Wednesday. Tipoff is 6:30 p.m.
The Blue Raiders (0-1) played Virginia even in the second half with the two teams battling to a 30-30 finish in the final two quarters but a 12-point halftime deficit proved too much to overcome in the season opener for both teams.
Sophomore standout Alex Johnson led Middle Tennessee with 13 points and shared the team high with five rebounds. Senior Ty Petty finished with 11 points. They were the only Lady Raiders in double figures.
Gabby Lyon tallied seven points and a team-high six rebounds. Abbey Sissom and Katie Collier tallied five each, followed by Rebecca Reuter with four each.
"We were our worst enemy," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We had a bad second quarter and that really proved to be the difference. They outscored us 22-7 in the second quarter. I'm disappointed that we didn't take coaching the way we should have, but I am proud that we didn't quit and we kept battling."
Middle Tennessee had to feel good about its chances even though it trailed 33-21 at the half as the Lady Raiders were in the game despite turning the ball over 14 times and going 0-for-10 from beyond the 3-point line in the first 20 minutes. The Cavaliers (1-0) scored nine points off of those turnovers.
"We led 14-11 after the first quarter even though we really didn't have a good quarter, but that second quarter was tough," Insell said. "We were outscored 22-7 in the second quarter. Of course, we had a lot of our younger players in the game due to foul trouble and they didn't pick up some rotations. They will grow from this and be better for getting the experience.
"We still felt we were in the game at the half as long as we eliminated mistakes, shot better, stuck with our rules and play better defense."
The Lady Raiders, indeed, did put together a better second half. In the end, Virginia (21) hit one more field goal than Middle Tennessee (20) and each team hit four 3-pointers.
The biggest difference in the game occurred at the free-throw line, where Virginia outscored Middle Tennessee, 25-15. The Cavaliers were 17-for-25 from the stripe, while the Lady Raiders were 7-for-10. The differential was most disadvantageous in the first half, particularly the first quarter.
Middle Tennessee was called for 25 personal fouls to Virginia's 15, but 17 of the Lady Raiders' fouls were whistled in the first half. In fact, Middle Tennessee had five players with three fouls each at the intermission while Virginia had five players with six combined fouls. Two of the Lady Raiders three starting guards, Collier and Sissom – had three fouls in the first five minutes of the first quarter.
The Lady Raiders will face another ACC foe when it welcomes No. 5-ranked Louisville for the Middle Tennessee home opener Wednesday. Tipoff is 6:30 p.m.
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
Rick Insell Conference USA Hall of Fame Announcement
Wednesday, July 09
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Women's Basketball Coach Rick Insell interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
