Blue Raiders Set for Subway Classic

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee's women's basketball team and head coach Rick Insell look to rebound from a pair of opening losses with two games this weekend at the Subway Classic hosted by the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The Blue Raiders take on Maine Saturday at 1 p.m. CT at Williams Arena. Middle Tennessee opened the regular season on November 10 with a four-point loss to defending national champion and top-ranked Maryland, 80-76. Middle Tennessee set a new single-game record with a crowd of 10,010 for the season-opening contest. The attendance shattered the old mark of 4,813 set March 7, 2006, versus Western Kentucky in the championship game of the Sun Belt Tournament. Middle Tennessee averaged 2,699 for 16 home dates during the 2005-06 season and led the nation in attendance increase last year with a more than 300 percent increase. The attendance mark of 10,010 is the 15th most to ever see a basketball game in the 11,500-seat Murphy Center and the third most to ever attend a women's basketball contest in Sun Belt Conference history (Western Kentucky holds the record with 12,951 on February 23, 1986, vs. Old Dominion; Arkansas State is second vs. Arkansas, March 24, 2005, 10,892). After the big crowd and the close contest against the Terrapins, the Blue Raiders lost this past Monday to South Dakota State, 72-61, also at home in a very physical contest against the Jackrabbits. SDSU won for the second straight time at Murphy Center after an overtime win in 2004-05. The Blue Raiders shot just 31 percent from the floor in the game and yet still had chance to win in the last five minutes before SDSU increased the lead from the foul line. Middle Tennessee has played 12 players in both contests thus far and has struggled with continuity and floor spacing at times. Also the club is shooting just 37 percent from the field after topping the Sun Belt and ranking 23rd nationally in field goal percentage last season at 45 percent. "Right now we're focusing on becoming a better basketball team. All of the teams in this tournament have good programs and good teams and these games will help us in our conference play," Insell said. "We have to become a better rebounding team. We're doing a good job on the offensive glass, but we need to improve our defensive rebounding. We also have to get better at cutting down on the high percentage shots for the opposition. Both [Maryland and South Dakota State] shot better than 50 percent from the floor." The Blue Raiders will face either Princeton or Minnesota Sunday in the four-team tournament.

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos