Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Wednesday, December 28
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
5-6
79
vs
69
Central Michigan
8-4
1
2
3
4
F
Central Michigan
18
9
18
24
69
Middle Tennessee
15
16
25
23
79
Team Stats
CMU
MT
FG%
.491
.448
3FG%
.333
.500
FT%
.600
.913
RB
29
36
TO
15
12
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
30
FGM
12
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballJohnson's career-high 30 paces Raiders past Chippewas
12/28/2016 8:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Petty pours in 21
MURFREESBORO - Six days after enduring a tough 61-60 home loss to Georgia Tech, Middle Tennessee got back to its winning ways at the Murphy Center with a 79-69 against Central Michigan Wednesday.
"Overall, it was a pretty good game for us," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell said. "They've played some tough competition … they have a pretty good basketball team."
The Chippewas (8-4) made things interesting late in the second half, but the Blue Raiders closed out the game with a terrific showing from the free-throw line (21-of-23) to end their non-conference slate.
It was their work from the post that proved to be the decider. Their three main post players – sophomore Alex Johnson and juniors Rebecca Reuter and Gabby Lyon – combined for 42 points and shot 12-of- 14 from the free-throw line. The Raiders outscored the Chippewas 34-24 in the paint.
Johnson dominated with a career-high 30-point performance that also included seven rebounds. After missing her first five field goal attempts, Johnson was 12-for-15 the rest of the way. Senior point Ty Petty was brilliant once again with 21 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals. She was 7-for-7 from the charity stripe and iced the win with four charity tosses in the final minute.
Junior guard Abbey Sissom was also solid with 10 points, eight assists and just one turnover, along with four rebounds.Jess Louro added six points and seven rebounds, while Rebecca Reuter and Gabby Lyon also scored six points each.
Insell believed getting Johnson going was a key to the game.
"We felt like coming in if we could get the ball into Alex, we could stalemate them a little bit," Insell said. "If we can get the ball into Alex, Gabby and Becca, and they're able to do what they did tonight, we're going to have a pretty good team."
The paint wasn't the only place the Raiders had a big night. Going into the game, Middle Tennessee was ranked 29th in the country with a 37.6 percent team 3-point shooting percentage. On the flip side, CMU's defense went in allowing opponents to shoot 36.4 percent from distance, good for 321st in the nation.
The stats held true, as the Blue Raiders hit six of their 12 attempts from distance (4-of-10 in the second half) to finish with a 50 percent shooting percentage, tied for their best of the season.
"I think in previous games we tended to let teams get us out of our system, but tonight was a big night where we just stuck to our system,"said Petty. "We stuck to our system tonight and it helped getting shooters open, and once they started knocking them down it opened it up for [Johnson]."
Middle Tennessee grabbed a 31-27 halftime lead on the back of a strong second quarter. The Raiders entered the period trailing by three, but outscored the Chippewas 16-9 thanks in part to strong defense on CMU's three leading scorers: Presley Hudson, Cassie Breen and Jewel Cotton.
All three Chippewas came into the game averaging 14 points per game, but combined for just nine points in the first half and 28 in the game.
"Coach has been harping on us about our defense," Petty said. "Today, I think on the defensive end we really stuck to our scouting report. I think we were all in our scouting report and knew what to expect."
While Central Michigan's go-to offensive weapons struggled throughout the night, the Blue Raiders' leaders stepped up in a big way.
Johnson, MTSU's leading scorer at 16.1 points per game, started 0-5 from the field but ended with a game- and career-high 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Petty (13.9 points per game) added 21 points including a 7-7 night from the free-throw line. She also had four assists and four boards.
"The biggest thing was just taking my time," Johnson said. "I knew when I started off 0-5 I had to change something, and that was the biggest thing I had to change."
The two were the main drivers in the second half for the Raiders. They scored 33 points after halftime and were the stabilizers when Central Michigan made a late run to get back into the game.
Middle Tennessee doesn't get much a break before its Conference USA season begins. The Blue Raiders, winners of three of their last four games, will travel to UAB on New Year's Day for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
"We have to get our chemistry up and we have to stick together, play as a team," Petty said. "We're almost there – we're not quite there, we still have to get our younger kids up to getting familiar with the system … but being a senior, I'm definitely happy with where we're at going into conference play."
"Overall, it was a pretty good game for us," Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell said. "They've played some tough competition … they have a pretty good basketball team."
The Chippewas (8-4) made things interesting late in the second half, but the Blue Raiders closed out the game with a terrific showing from the free-throw line (21-of-23) to end their non-conference slate.
It was their work from the post that proved to be the decider. Their three main post players – sophomore Alex Johnson and juniors Rebecca Reuter and Gabby Lyon – combined for 42 points and shot 12-of- 14 from the free-throw line. The Raiders outscored the Chippewas 34-24 in the paint.
Johnson dominated with a career-high 30-point performance that also included seven rebounds. After missing her first five field goal attempts, Johnson was 12-for-15 the rest of the way. Senior point Ty Petty was brilliant once again with 21 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals. She was 7-for-7 from the charity stripe and iced the win with four charity tosses in the final minute.
Junior guard Abbey Sissom was also solid with 10 points, eight assists and just one turnover, along with four rebounds.Jess Louro added six points and seven rebounds, while Rebecca Reuter and Gabby Lyon also scored six points each.
Insell believed getting Johnson going was a key to the game.
"We felt like coming in if we could get the ball into Alex, we could stalemate them a little bit," Insell said. "If we can get the ball into Alex, Gabby and Becca, and they're able to do what they did tonight, we're going to have a pretty good team."
The paint wasn't the only place the Raiders had a big night. Going into the game, Middle Tennessee was ranked 29th in the country with a 37.6 percent team 3-point shooting percentage. On the flip side, CMU's defense went in allowing opponents to shoot 36.4 percent from distance, good for 321st in the nation.
The stats held true, as the Blue Raiders hit six of their 12 attempts from distance (4-of-10 in the second half) to finish with a 50 percent shooting percentage, tied for their best of the season.
"I think in previous games we tended to let teams get us out of our system, but tonight was a big night where we just stuck to our system,"said Petty. "We stuck to our system tonight and it helped getting shooters open, and once they started knocking them down it opened it up for [Johnson]."
Middle Tennessee grabbed a 31-27 halftime lead on the back of a strong second quarter. The Raiders entered the period trailing by three, but outscored the Chippewas 16-9 thanks in part to strong defense on CMU's three leading scorers: Presley Hudson, Cassie Breen and Jewel Cotton.
All three Chippewas came into the game averaging 14 points per game, but combined for just nine points in the first half and 28 in the game.
"Coach has been harping on us about our defense," Petty said. "Today, I think on the defensive end we really stuck to our scouting report. I think we were all in our scouting report and knew what to expect."
While Central Michigan's go-to offensive weapons struggled throughout the night, the Blue Raiders' leaders stepped up in a big way.
Johnson, MTSU's leading scorer at 16.1 points per game, started 0-5 from the field but ended with a game- and career-high 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Petty (13.9 points per game) added 21 points including a 7-7 night from the free-throw line. She also had four assists and four boards.
"The biggest thing was just taking my time," Johnson said. "I knew when I started off 0-5 I had to change something, and that was the biggest thing I had to change."
The two were the main drivers in the second half for the Raiders. They scored 33 points after halftime and were the stabilizers when Central Michigan made a late run to get back into the game.
Middle Tennessee doesn't get much a break before its Conference USA season begins. The Blue Raiders, winners of three of their last four games, will travel to UAB on New Year's Day for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
"We have to get our chemistry up and we have to stick together, play as a team," Petty said. "We're almost there – we're not quite there, we still have to get our younger kids up to getting familiar with the system … but being a senior, I'm definitely happy with where we're at going into conference play."
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
