MT Looks To Rebound at LA Tech

Saturday, February 7

Ruston, La.

6 PM

Middle Tennessee

Louisiana Tech

2/6/2015 5:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Blue Raiders tied atop C-USA Standings

By: @MTAthletics

RUSTON, La. – Middle Tennessee will look to rebound from an overtime loss at Southern Miss when it faces Louisiana Tech here Saturday night.

The Blue Raiders (14-6, 8-2) remain tied atop the C-USA standings and will be looking to avoid consecutive conference losses for the first time since 2008.

Senior forward Cheyenne Parker registered her C-USA leading 11^th double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds against Southern Miss, and senior captain Shanice Cason added her second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Lady Eagles came from behind to secure the win.

Series with LA Tech

• Louisiana Tech and Middle Tennessee meet for the seventh time.
• LA Tech leads the series 4-2.
• MT Head Coach Rick Insell is 2-0 against LA Tech.
• MT won the first meeting this season, 82-59, (1/17/15) in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Scouting LA Tech

• LA Tech is 11-10, 6-4 under Head Coach Tyler Summitt.
• LA Tech is 6-2 at home during the 2014-15 season.
• LA Tech is led by Whitney Frazier (14.7 ppg) and Kalia Shelton (13.4). They are the only Lady Eagle players in double figures; however five other players average six points or more per game.
• LA Tech was picked seventh in the C-USA Coaches Preseason poll.

C-USA Play

• MT is in its second season as a C-USA member.
• MT was 15-1 in its first season as a C-USA member in 2013-14, winning the regular season and tournament titles.
• MT has won 89 percent of its regular season conference games under Head Coach Rick Insell with a mark of 167-20.

On the Road

• MT is 5-1 against C-USA foes on the road this season and has won eight of nine league road games dating to last season.
• MT is 69-13 against conference foes under HC Rick Insell and 94-48 overall on the road under him.
• MT has seven road wins overall this season.

Last Time Out

• MT lost a 70-65 OT decision at USM.
• Cheyenne Parker continued her torrid pace with her 11th double-double in 17 games with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
• Senior captain Shanice Cason notched her second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
• MT remained tied for first in the C-USA standings.

Insell Amongst the Best

• MT Head Coach Rick Insell is one of the nation's winningest women's coaches.
• Insell ranks fifth among winningest active coaches in Division I by winning percentage with a .771 clip.
• Insell's current record is 242-73.

NCAA Division I Winningest Active Coaches

(By Winning Percentage)
Coach                              School                 %
1 Geno Auriemma          UConn                 .870
2 Kim Mulkey                  Baylor                 .830
3 Tara VanDerveer         Stanford             .817
4 Brian Giorgia               Marist                  .777
5 Rick Insell                   MT                       .771
6 Mike McLaughlin         Penn                    .769
7 Joe Foley                      UALR                   .766
8 Wes Moore                  NC State              .752
9 David Six                      Hampton            .749
10 Matt Bollant               Illinois                 .742

Parker Produces Triple-Double

• MT senior forward Cheyenne Parker became the first player in program history to produce a triple-double vs. UTEP (1/31/15).
• Parker had 18 points, 17 rebounds and a MT single-game record 11 blocked shots.
• The triple-double was the ninth in C-USA history.
• Parker's 11 blocks were the third most in C-USA single-game history.

Parker National Player of Week

• MT senior Cheyenne Parker was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week (Jan. 27) following her two-game performances against ODU and Charlotte.
• Parker averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocked shots while shooting 75 percent (18-for-24) from the field.
• Parker was also named C-USA Player of the Week, TSWA Player of the Week, and she earned a nod on the NCAA.com Starting Five Feature (Jan. 28).

Jones, Parker Double Trouble

• MT's Olivia Jones and Cheyenne Parker comprise one of the top duos in all of NCAA Division I Women's Basketball.
• MT is the only school in the country with two players in the top five in scoring and rebounding in their conference stats: Jones leads C-USA in scoring (21.2) and is fifth in rebounding (8.6), and Parker is third in scoring (18.2) and first in rebounding (10.8).
• Jones and Parker are tied for the third-highest scoring duo in America with 39.4 ppg. They rank just behind Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell and Ameryst Alston (46.6), and Akron's Sina King and Anita Brown (40.1).

Parker Player of Year Candidate

• MT senior Cheyenne Parker is emerging as one of the top post players in C-USA.
• Parker ranks in the top three of six categories in the C-USA rankings and leads in four. She is first in rebounding (10.8), blocked shots (4.2), double-doubles (11), and offensive rebounds (5.6), second in field goal percentage (.604) and rebounding and third in scoring (18.2)
• Parker in the Top 50 of six categories in the NCAA ratings, including being ranked in the top 10 of four: offensive rebounds (1st), triple-doubles (2nd), field goal percentage (4th), blocked shots (5th), double-doubles (24th), and rebounding (25th). She is also 59th in scoring.
• Parker has 11 double-doubles in 17 games.

Parker Sets School Record

• Cheyenne Parker set a single-game Middle Tennessee record with 11 blocks against UTEP (1/31/15).
• Parker moved into third on the single-season blocks record with 11 against UTEP. She has 71 for the season.
• MT senior forward Cheyenne Parker had nine blocks at ODU, seven at South Dakota State and six at No. 8 Kentucky.

Keeping Up With Jones

• MT sophomore Olivia Jones leads C-USA in four categories and ranks in the top five of eight. She leads in scoring (21.2), steals (3.1), 3-pt. field goals per game (2.6), and minutes played (38.3). She is third in double-doubles (8), third in defensive rebounds (6.0) and fifth in rebounding (8.8).
• Jones is ranked among the nation's Top 100 in five statistical categories: scoring (13th), steals (16th), double-doubles (46th), 3-pt. FGs per game (50th), and rebounds (59th).
• Jones has scored double figures in every game and has double figure rebounds in eight.
• Jones has scored 20-plus in 12 of the last 14 games.
• Jones earned her second C-USA Player of the Week, Dec. 29, after registering her fifth double double (30/12) against Tenn. Tech. Jones connected on a career-high five 3-pointers. She was 11-of-17 from the field, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range. She was also earned the honor Dec. 8.

Blue Raiders' RPI Ranking

• MT has a RPI rating of 46th in this week's official NCAA RPI rankings.

Middle Tennessee Earning Votes

• MT is earning votes in the AP Top 25 poll. The Blue Raiders received three votes in this week's poll, which places them 35th nationally.

Knocking Down the 3

• MT has connected for 96 3-pointers over its last 10 games for an 9.6 average.
• MT knocked down a season-high 12 treys at FAU. It had 11 against LA Tech.
• Olivia Jones leads C-USA in 3s per game (2.6) and is 10th in 3-pt field goal percentage (.372).
• MT leads C-USA in 3-pt FGs (7.6 per gm).
• MT has hit 7 or more 3s in 14 games and has connected for 10 or more five times, including four of the last five.

Play 4Kay Game Set for Feb. 14

• Middle Tennessee will host its annual Play 4Kay gmae Feb. 14 against North Texas. Fans are encouraged to wear pink.