Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, February 21
Bowling Green, Ky.
2 PM
Middle Tennessee
18-7, 12-3
60
at
63
WKU
23-4, 12-2
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Middle Tennessee
35
25
60
WKU
43
20
63
Team Stats
MT
WKU
FG%
.434
.361
3FG%
.333
.125
FT%
.727
.692
RB
38
42
TO
19
8
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballMT Drops Close Contest at WKU
2/21/2015 5:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Blue Raiders Fall 63-60
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The much anticipated showdown of the top two teams in C-USA lived up to the billing.
WKU (23-4, 12-2) protected the homecourt and secured a 63-60 win against Middle Tennessee (18-7, 12-3) in the only regular-season matchup between the two league contenders in front of 3,023 at Diddle Arena Saturday.
Alexis Govan's layup off of an offensive rebound and putback gave WKU a 61-60 lead with 1:33 remaining.
The Blue Raiders missed two layups within 13 seconds that would have enabled them to regain the lead and Chastity Gooch converted two free throws with 22 seconds to stretch the advantage to 63-60.
Middle Tennessee called a timeout to set up a potential tying shot; however, a turnover with two seconds remaining prevented the Blue Raiders from getting off a shot.
Turnovers were the story of the game. Middle Tennessee was guilty of 19 turnovers to WKU's eight; however, the telling statistic was the Lady Hilltoppers outscoring the Blue Raiders 26-5 in points off of turnovers.
"The turnovers was the difference in the game," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We ran a play to get a 3-pointer there at the end and we had (Brea Edwards) wide open in the dead corner but we were not able to execute and had the turnover. We had too many turnovers and they were able to convert them into points."
WKU also had 17 second-chance points off of its 21 offensive rebounds. Those opportunities, coupled with points off turnovers, led to 68 percent of the Lady Hilltoppers' 63 points.
Cheyenne Parker led Middle Tennessee with 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Olivia Jones finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and Shanice Cason had another stellar game with 12 points, two assists and two steals. Ty Petty finished with nine points, five assists, two steals and four rebounds.
Freshman Rebecca Reuter continued her improved play with five points and established career highs for rebounds (seven), blocked shots (four) and minutes played (25). Her defensive presence in the second half was also a factor for the Blue Raiders.
Gooch led WKU with 17 points and pulled six rebounds. Govan had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Lady Hilltoppers.
Middle Tennessee started strong and led 25-16 following Jones' 3-pointer with 9:34 remaining in the first half; however, WKU rallied and rode the wave of an 18-2 run to storm from behind and take a 43-35 advantage into the half.
The Lady Hilltoppers pushed the lead to 10, 49-39, with 15:42 remaining before the Blue Raiders showed some moxie with a stirring comeback led by the will and determination of Cason, the team's senior captain.
Jones capped an 11-2 run with a layup that narrowed the gap to 51-50 with 11:20 remaining, and Dow's two free throws enabled Middle Tennessee to regain the lead, 55-53, with 7:57 to play.
From there, it was a one-possession game the remainder of the way with each possession seemingly the most critical of the game. Cason's driving layup with 2:10 remaining provided the Blue Raiders a 60-59 lead but they were unable to score the remainder of the way as WKU escaped with the win.
Middle Tennessee returns to action when it plays host to UAB at Murphy Center, Feb. 28, at 5 p.m.
WKU (23-4, 12-2) protected the homecourt and secured a 63-60 win against Middle Tennessee (18-7, 12-3) in the only regular-season matchup between the two league contenders in front of 3,023 at Diddle Arena Saturday.
Alexis Govan's layup off of an offensive rebound and putback gave WKU a 61-60 lead with 1:33 remaining.
The Blue Raiders missed two layups within 13 seconds that would have enabled them to regain the lead and Chastity Gooch converted two free throws with 22 seconds to stretch the advantage to 63-60.
Middle Tennessee called a timeout to set up a potential tying shot; however, a turnover with two seconds remaining prevented the Blue Raiders from getting off a shot.
Turnovers were the story of the game. Middle Tennessee was guilty of 19 turnovers to WKU's eight; however, the telling statistic was the Lady Hilltoppers outscoring the Blue Raiders 26-5 in points off of turnovers.
"The turnovers was the difference in the game," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We ran a play to get a 3-pointer there at the end and we had (Brea Edwards) wide open in the dead corner but we were not able to execute and had the turnover. We had too many turnovers and they were able to convert them into points."
WKU also had 17 second-chance points off of its 21 offensive rebounds. Those opportunities, coupled with points off turnovers, led to 68 percent of the Lady Hilltoppers' 63 points.
Cheyenne Parker led Middle Tennessee with 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. Olivia Jones finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and Shanice Cason had another stellar game with 12 points, two assists and two steals. Ty Petty finished with nine points, five assists, two steals and four rebounds.
Freshman Rebecca Reuter continued her improved play with five points and established career highs for rebounds (seven), blocked shots (four) and minutes played (25). Her defensive presence in the second half was also a factor for the Blue Raiders.
Gooch led WKU with 17 points and pulled six rebounds. Govan had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Lady Hilltoppers.
Middle Tennessee started strong and led 25-16 following Jones' 3-pointer with 9:34 remaining in the first half; however, WKU rallied and rode the wave of an 18-2 run to storm from behind and take a 43-35 advantage into the half.
The Lady Hilltoppers pushed the lead to 10, 49-39, with 15:42 remaining before the Blue Raiders showed some moxie with a stirring comeback led by the will and determination of Cason, the team's senior captain.
Jones capped an 11-2 run with a layup that narrowed the gap to 51-50 with 11:20 remaining, and Dow's two free throws enabled Middle Tennessee to regain the lead, 55-53, with 7:57 to play.
From there, it was a one-possession game the remainder of the way with each possession seemingly the most critical of the game. Cason's driving layup with 2:10 remaining provided the Blue Raiders a 60-59 lead but they were unable to score the remainder of the way as WKU escaped with the win.
Middle Tennessee returns to action when it plays host to UAB at Murphy Center, Feb. 28, at 5 p.m.
8th MTSU WBB Head Coach - Matt Insell
Wednesday, April 01
MTSU Women's Basketball Postgame Press Conference vs Cleveland State on 3/26/26
Thursday, March 26
WBB: Matt Insell Introductory Press Conference
Tuesday, March 24
MTSU Women's Basketball Postgame Press Conference vs St. Bonaventure on 3/23/26
Monday, March 23
