Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 21
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
2:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
11-7, 6-1
87
vs
69
Florida Atlantic (beIN)
4-14, 0-7
1
2
3
4
F
Florida Atlantic
20
14
23
12
69
Middle Tennessee
23
22
24
18
87
Team Stats
FAU
MT
FG%
.411
.492
3FG%
.320
.500
FT%
.750
.750
RB
31
36
TO
21
15
STL
3
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
37
FGM
13
3FGM
1
FTM
10
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballJohnson pours in career-high 37 in Lady Raider win
1/21/2017 6:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT tops Florida Atlantic, 87-69
<strong>MURFREESBORO, Tenn.</strong> – Middle Tennessee's dominance over Florida Atlantic continued as the Blue Raiders walked away with an 87-69 win at the Murphy Center Saturday.<br />
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The victory makes MT (10-7, 6-1) 19-1 all-time against the Owls (4-14, 0-7) and 10-0 at home. It was the Raiders' 14<sup>th</sup> victory in a row in the series and gave them their 10<sup>th</sup> win in a row at home in Conference USA play.<br />
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"They didn't look like a winless team in our conference," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "That just goes to show you how tough Conference USA is."<br />
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The Blue Raiders' two leading scorers starred, especially early. Senior Ty Petty and sophomore Alex Johnson combined for 58 points on 20-of-38 shooting, and the duo scored 21 of MT's 23 points in the first quarter.<br />
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Johnson, the second-leading scorer in C-USA at 18.4 points per game, set a new career high and scored the most points in a game for MT since Alysha Clark's 48 in 2010 with 37 on 13-of-24 shooting and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. Petty finished with 21 points, hitting 7-of-14 shots from the field, and also had six rebounds, six steals and five assists.<br />
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"It was a very physical game," Johnson said. "I have to give props to my teammates. They kept feeding me the ball knowing I was going to be able to put it against the glass … it wasn't just me, it was a team effort."<br />
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Junior Gabby Lyon also had a strong night in the scoring column. She had 12 points off the bench on 5-of-9 shooting and hit 2-of-2 from 3-point range. She was just two-for-three in her career from long distance before Saturday and had not attempted a three this season.<br />
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"I'm just trying to expand my game more to help the team out," Lyon said. "But, [Johnson], I was feeding her the ball even when they weren't guarding me. She kept scoring, so that's what we stuck to."<br />
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Despite the double-digit win, Middle Tennessee had troubles putting the Owls away until late. Florida Atlantic was in striking distance with five minutes left in the third quarter, trailing 55-48, but the Blue Raiders outscored FAU by 11 the rest of the way to seal the victory.<br />
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The run was fueled by MT's strongest weapon: its play in the post. The Raiders outscored the Owls 38-18 in the paint, and their work down low also opened up scoring chances from distance. They knocked down nine of their 18 attempts from 3-point range, and their post players also got in on the outside action. Johnson, Lyon and fellow post Rebecca Reuter combined to shoot five-of-six from distance.<br />
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"Coach talked in the locker room about when people expand their games, that helps our team out," Petty said. "Now when teams scout us, they have to help on Gabby and they can't double on [Johnson]."<br />
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Other Raiders in the scoring column included Reuter with 10 and Abbey Sissom with six, and freshman Kyla Allison added a point.<br />
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Middle Tennessee will next see Florida Atlantic in the regular season finale March 4 in Boca Raton.<br />
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"We finish up down there the last game of the year, and this game tells you no matter where we're at, we're not going to have a gimme. We're going to have to go play," Insell said.<br />
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The Blue Raiders hit the road next week with games at Southern Miss on Jan. 26 and at LA Tech Jan. 28. They are scheduled for 6 p.m. and 1 p.m. tipoffs, respectively.<br />
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
