Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Friday, March 13
10:00 AM
Middle Tennessee
21-9
53
vs
65
Southern Miss
22-9
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Southern Miss
21
44
65
Middle Tennessee
25
28
53
Team Stats
USM
MT
FG%
.460
.317
3FG%
.500
.286
FT%
.593
.438
RB
49
31
TO
18
14
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's BasketballMT Women Fall In C-USA Semis
3/13/2015 2:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Blue Raiders Drop Decision to Southern Miss
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Middle Tennessee started strong but Southern Miss finished stronger in a 65-53 win against the Blue Raiders in the semifinals of the C-USA Championship at Legacy Arena Friday afternoon.
The Blue Raiders (21-9) were outscored 44-28 in the second half as Southern Miss (22-9) erased a four-point halftime deficit and denied Middle Tennessee a date in the C-USA title game for the second straight season.
It was Middle Tennessee's first loss in the semifinals in nine appearances under Head Coach Rick Insell.
Middle Tennessee, which entered the tournament with a RPI of 67, will await word on its postseason future. The NCAA and NIT Tournament fields will be announced Monday night.
"Give Southern Miss credit. They made plays," Insell said. "Southern Miss is a very good basketball team and they battled. They fought hard. You have to play three tough teams in three days to win the championship and we knew that coming into this game."
Southern Miss Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis said it was a game of two varying halves.
"What a ball game," she said. "Obviously it was tale of two halves. Middle Tennessee totally dominated probably the first 18 minutes of the first half and was clicking on all cylinders. They did a great job with the way they played and shot the ball extremely well. We gained some momentum after we made our defensive change going into the half that gave us some hope to be able to come out and play in the second half. We highly respect Coach Insell and Middle Tennessee. They're such a great team and they're a postseason team. They're always in postseason play and always in the NCAA Tournament. They always win championships, so know you've got to play your very best just to overcome the tradition that Middle Tennessee has. That's the thing for which you have to say hats off to them."
Olivia Jones led Middle Tennessee with her 11th double-double of the season. Jones scored a game-high 19 points and pulled 10 rebounds to go with her three assists. Brea Edwards continued her strong play with 14 points and Ty Petty finished with 10.
The Blue Raiders shot just 31.7 percent (19-for-60) and the 53 points was tied for their second lowest-scoring output of the season. Middle Tennessee was also outrebounded 49-31 and shot just 44 percent (7-for-16) from the free-throw line.
"Just looking at the statistics, you can't miss free throws and in games like this you have to rebound," Insell said. "You are not going to win big games shooting 7-of-16 from the free-throw line."
The Blue Raiders (21-9) were outscored 44-28 in the second half as Southern Miss (22-9) erased a four-point halftime deficit and denied Middle Tennessee a date in the C-USA title game for the second straight season.
It was Middle Tennessee's first loss in the semifinals in nine appearances under Head Coach Rick Insell.
Middle Tennessee, which entered the tournament with a RPI of 67, will await word on its postseason future. The NCAA and NIT Tournament fields will be announced Monday night.
"Give Southern Miss credit. They made plays," Insell said. "Southern Miss is a very good basketball team and they battled. They fought hard. You have to play three tough teams in three days to win the championship and we knew that coming into this game."
Southern Miss Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis said it was a game of two varying halves.
"What a ball game," she said. "Obviously it was tale of two halves. Middle Tennessee totally dominated probably the first 18 minutes of the first half and was clicking on all cylinders. They did a great job with the way they played and shot the ball extremely well. We gained some momentum after we made our defensive change going into the half that gave us some hope to be able to come out and play in the second half. We highly respect Coach Insell and Middle Tennessee. They're such a great team and they're a postseason team. They're always in postseason play and always in the NCAA Tournament. They always win championships, so know you've got to play your very best just to overcome the tradition that Middle Tennessee has. That's the thing for which you have to say hats off to them."
Olivia Jones led Middle Tennessee with her 11th double-double of the season. Jones scored a game-high 19 points and pulled 10 rebounds to go with her three assists. Brea Edwards continued her strong play with 14 points and Ty Petty finished with 10.
The Blue Raiders shot just 31.7 percent (19-for-60) and the 53 points was tied for their second lowest-scoring output of the season. Middle Tennessee was also outrebounded 49-31 and shot just 44 percent (7-for-16) from the free-throw line.
"Just looking at the statistics, you can't miss free throws and in games like this you have to rebound," Insell said. "You are not going to win big games shooting 7-of-16 from the free-throw line."
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
