Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, December 3
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
3:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
2-3
62
vs
59
Tulane
5-2
1
2
3
4
F
Tulane
8
15
16
20
59
Middle Tennessee
17
17
17
11
62
Team Stats
TUL
MT
FG%
.438
.417
3FG%
.444
.417
FT%
.500
.800
RB
22
38
TO
14
21
STL
5
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballLady Raiders snag huge home win against Tulane
12/3/2016 5:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Sissom's shooting helps key team win
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee grabbed its first home victory of the season Saturday in dramatic fashion, beating the Green Wave of Tulane, 62-59, to end their four-game win streak.
The game was characterized by runs from both sides. Middle Tennessee (2-3) exploded for a 16-4 run to take a 34-23 lead into the half and held a double-digit advantage for most of the second half before the Green Wave went on an 18-6 fourth-quarter run to cut the lead to 60-59 with a minute and a half left.
The Raiders were able to hold the lead thanks to terrific free-throw shooting and timely rebounds. They knocked down 12 of their 15 attempts from the charity stripe.
"They're a winning basketball program, and we knew they were going to make a run," Head Coach Rick Insell said. "More than anything, I'm proud of our kids for coming out and showing a little heart. We should have never let them back in the game, we did, but we had enough intestinal fortitude to go out there and just play hard and get some clutch rebounds."
A good shooting performance guided the Blue Raiders. The Green Wave went into the game allowing opponents to shoot just 27.8 percent from 3-point range, but the Blue Raiders weren't scared to chuck it from deep. They hit 10 of their season-high 24 attempts.
Middle Tennessee's success from 3-point range was a stark contrast to its game at home just three days earlier against Ohio. Against the Bobcats, the Blue Raiders hit just one of their four shots from behind the arc, both single-game lows for the program.
"What I'm happy with is we shot it 24 times," Insell said. "We live with the 3-point shot."
Guard Abbey Sissom led the way from distance. The junior, who went into the game ranked third in Conference USA with a 46.2 3-point shooting percentage, hit a career-high five of her seven looks from outside and ended with a new career best 21 points.
"I've kind of been sick to my stomach since Wednesday [against Ohio], because I really felt like I let my team down that day," Sissom said. "I just knew I had to get this done for my team, and that's what I did today."
Middle Tennessee was also able to limit the Green Wave to one shot on most possessions. The Raiders won the rebounding battle 38 to 22, and they grabbed 15 boards on their offensive end.
Sophomore Alex Johnson led the way with 12 rebounds (seven offensive) to go along with 12 points in her first career double-double.
"I think the emphasis coming into tonight was rebounding," Johnson said. "I knew coming into this game that was the one thing I was going to work on … we knew we could beat them if we stepped up to the plate and rebounded."
Senior Ty Petty also finished in double figures with 10 points and she added eight assists. She has scored in double digits every game so far this season.
The Blue Raiders are off until Dec. 9, when they will travel to take on 15th ranked Kentucky in Lexington. They will be back to the Murphy Center following that game on Dec. 13 against 18th ranked Arizona State.
The game was characterized by runs from both sides. Middle Tennessee (2-3) exploded for a 16-4 run to take a 34-23 lead into the half and held a double-digit advantage for most of the second half before the Green Wave went on an 18-6 fourth-quarter run to cut the lead to 60-59 with a minute and a half left.
The Raiders were able to hold the lead thanks to terrific free-throw shooting and timely rebounds. They knocked down 12 of their 15 attempts from the charity stripe.
"They're a winning basketball program, and we knew they were going to make a run," Head Coach Rick Insell said. "More than anything, I'm proud of our kids for coming out and showing a little heart. We should have never let them back in the game, we did, but we had enough intestinal fortitude to go out there and just play hard and get some clutch rebounds."
A good shooting performance guided the Blue Raiders. The Green Wave went into the game allowing opponents to shoot just 27.8 percent from 3-point range, but the Blue Raiders weren't scared to chuck it from deep. They hit 10 of their season-high 24 attempts.
Middle Tennessee's success from 3-point range was a stark contrast to its game at home just three days earlier against Ohio. Against the Bobcats, the Blue Raiders hit just one of their four shots from behind the arc, both single-game lows for the program.
"What I'm happy with is we shot it 24 times," Insell said. "We live with the 3-point shot."
Guard Abbey Sissom led the way from distance. The junior, who went into the game ranked third in Conference USA with a 46.2 3-point shooting percentage, hit a career-high five of her seven looks from outside and ended with a new career best 21 points.
"I've kind of been sick to my stomach since Wednesday [against Ohio], because I really felt like I let my team down that day," Sissom said. "I just knew I had to get this done for my team, and that's what I did today."
Middle Tennessee was also able to limit the Green Wave to one shot on most possessions. The Raiders won the rebounding battle 38 to 22, and they grabbed 15 boards on their offensive end.
Sophomore Alex Johnson led the way with 12 rebounds (seven offensive) to go along with 12 points in her first career double-double.
"I think the emphasis coming into tonight was rebounding," Johnson said. "I knew coming into this game that was the one thing I was going to work on … we knew we could beat them if we stepped up to the plate and rebounded."
Senior Ty Petty also finished in double figures with 10 points and she added eight assists. She has scored in double digits every game so far this season.
The Blue Raiders are off until Dec. 9, when they will travel to take on 15th ranked Kentucky in Lexington. They will be back to the Murphy Center following that game on Dec. 13 against 18th ranked Arizona State.
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
