Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, December 17
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
2:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
3-5
82
vs
51
Austin Peay
6-6
1
2
3
4
F
Austin Peay
18
16
8
9
51
Middle Tennessee
18
15
24
25
82
Team Stats
APSU
MT
FG%
.304
.444
3FG%
.286
.500
FT%
.688
.692
RB
37
41
TO
20
8
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballLady Raiders power past Austin Peay, 82-51
12/17/2016 4:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Johnson, Reuter key win
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee and Austin Peay renewed their in-state rivalry for the 69th time Saturday at MTSU's Murphy Center, and sophomore Alex Johnson powered the Raiders to an 82-51 victory.
The Blue Raiders (3-5) were determined to get the ball to Johnson in the post from the start. The team's leading scorer at 15 points per game had 10 of their first 18 points in the first quarter. She finished with a team-high 28, one off of her career high, on 9-of-16 shooting, as the Governors (6-6) never found an answer for her on the block. She also had six rebounds.
"Coach has been harping in practice on getting the ball to the post," Johnson said. "We're just pounding it inside, because we feel that can make a difference."
In addition to Johnson's stellar performance it was also an all-around strong team performance that keyed the victory. Rebecca Reuter earned her first start of the season and responded with a double-double, scoring 14 points and ripping down 10 rebounds. Reuter was 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Ty Petty added 10 points, dished out six assists and swiped three steals. Abbey Sissom added nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Gabby Lyon tallied nine points and four caroms. Jess Louro finished with seven points and three assists.
In the paint was where Middle Tennessee really showed its true dominance. The Raiders outscored APSU 28-10 in the painted area and used their aggressiveness to get to the free-throw line, where they made 27-of-39 attempts.
"What we have to do is we have to attack the basket," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "That's what we hadn't been doing – we haven't been attacking the basket."
Despite Johnson's quick start, Austin Peay held a 34-33 advantage going into the halftime break behind 50-percent shooting from the field (13-26).
After halftime, though, the Blue Raiders took over behind the strength of their defense.
"I was just a little disappointed at halftime in the fact that we didn't do a better job of closing out, and they were leading us in rebounds at halftime," Insell said. "We didn't change anything, just talked to them about the fact we have to get up to the line and deny them the ball."
The Governors may have started well from the floor, but in the second half they hit just four of their 30 attempts (13.3 percent). The Blue Raiders were also able to force APSU to give the ball up.
Austin Peay finished with 20 turnovers, eight of which were steals by Middle Tennessee. In total, MT scored 23 points off of the Governors' turnovers.
"I think the biggest difference in the second half was our defense," Johnson said. "Obviously, with defense comes offense, so getting rebounds and being able to push the floor really helped us."
On the other side, the Blue Raiders did well to keep possession. They turned the ball over just eight times, which set a new season low.
"Most of the guards in practice, that's one of the things [Insell] is harping on," Johnson said. "When we have those turnovers, it just gives the team another opportunity to go down in transition and get a layup."
Insell is hoping that turnover-free mindset carries over, as Middle Tennessee has a quick turnaround with a game at Missouri State Monday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m., and the contest can be seen on ESPN3.
"I think we're going to get a lot of rest tonight and tomorrow," Reuter said. "I think scouting is going to be a really big factor in this next game, because we're not going to have a lot of time to prepare. It will be a lot of mentally preparing for that game."
The Blue Raiders (3-5) were determined to get the ball to Johnson in the post from the start. The team's leading scorer at 15 points per game had 10 of their first 18 points in the first quarter. She finished with a team-high 28, one off of her career high, on 9-of-16 shooting, as the Governors (6-6) never found an answer for her on the block. She also had six rebounds.
"Coach has been harping in practice on getting the ball to the post," Johnson said. "We're just pounding it inside, because we feel that can make a difference."
In addition to Johnson's stellar performance it was also an all-around strong team performance that keyed the victory. Rebecca Reuter earned her first start of the season and responded with a double-double, scoring 14 points and ripping down 10 rebounds. Reuter was 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Ty Petty added 10 points, dished out six assists and swiped three steals. Abbey Sissom added nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Gabby Lyon tallied nine points and four caroms. Jess Louro finished with seven points and three assists.
In the paint was where Middle Tennessee really showed its true dominance. The Raiders outscored APSU 28-10 in the painted area and used their aggressiveness to get to the free-throw line, where they made 27-of-39 attempts.
"What we have to do is we have to attack the basket," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "That's what we hadn't been doing – we haven't been attacking the basket."
Despite Johnson's quick start, Austin Peay held a 34-33 advantage going into the halftime break behind 50-percent shooting from the field (13-26).
After halftime, though, the Blue Raiders took over behind the strength of their defense.
"I was just a little disappointed at halftime in the fact that we didn't do a better job of closing out, and they were leading us in rebounds at halftime," Insell said. "We didn't change anything, just talked to them about the fact we have to get up to the line and deny them the ball."
The Governors may have started well from the floor, but in the second half they hit just four of their 30 attempts (13.3 percent). The Blue Raiders were also able to force APSU to give the ball up.
Austin Peay finished with 20 turnovers, eight of which were steals by Middle Tennessee. In total, MT scored 23 points off of the Governors' turnovers.
"I think the biggest difference in the second half was our defense," Johnson said. "Obviously, with defense comes offense, so getting rebounds and being able to push the floor really helped us."
On the other side, the Blue Raiders did well to keep possession. They turned the ball over just eight times, which set a new season low.
"Most of the guards in practice, that's one of the things [Insell] is harping on," Johnson said. "When we have those turnovers, it just gives the team another opportunity to go down in transition and get a layup."
Insell is hoping that turnover-free mindset carries over, as Middle Tennessee has a quick turnaround with a game at Missouri State Monday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:05 p.m., and the contest can be seen on ESPN3.
"I think we're going to get a lot of rest tonight and tomorrow," Reuter said. "I think scouting is going to be a really big factor in this next game, because we're not going to have a lot of time to prepare. It will be a lot of mentally preparing for that game."
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
