Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Sunday, January 28
Murfreesboro, TN
2 PM
Middle Tennessee
13-8, 5-3
64
vs
45
Charlotte
7-13, 3-4
1
2
3
4
F
Charlotte
18
11
5
11
45
Middle Tennessee
10
20
11
23
64
Team Stats
CHA
MT
FG%
.353
.411
3FG%
.444
.269
FT%
.556
1.000
RB
27
41
TO
14
12
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballStifling defense carries Lady Raiders to victory
1/28/2018 4:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT turns back Charlotte, 64-45
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee's stranglehold on its all-time series against Charlotte continued with a 64-45 win Saturday.
The Lady Raiders (13-8, 5-3) welcomed the 49ers (7-13, 3-4) to the Murphy Center, and despite a poor start, they notched their fifth win in the last six games overall. The blue-clad ladies are now 5-0 all-time against Charlotte and 3-0 at home.
"I thought we played with a lot of confidence," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We're getting there. We don't need to be there right now, we still have the conference tournament coming up, but we're getting close to where we need to be.
"You win championships knocking down free throws, rebounding the basketball and playing defense. If we continue to go in those three areas, we have a chance to win the conference."
Things didn't look promising early on for the Lady Raiders.
At the first media timeout, just under the five-minute mark of the first quarter, Charlotte held an 11-2 advantage as MT was 0-of-7 from the field.
When the first-quarter buzzer sounded, the ladies in blue had connected on just 2-of-13 shots (0-of-6 from 3-point range), while their usually tough defense allowed the 49ers to hit 8-of-10. Charlotte went into the break up 18-10.
"If you looked at our bench, they didn't panic," Insell said. "The players didn't panic, and I didn't panic. I knew a couple of threes would put us back in the game."
Insell was right not to panic.
Despite their early struggles, the Lady Raiders held within striking distance until their Conference USA second-ranked scoring defense (55.1 points per game allowed) found footing.
The 49ers started the second quarter with seven consecutive misses, allowing Middle Tennessee to rattle off a 10-2 run keyed by five points each from freshman Anna Jones and junior Jess Louro.
By the time the game reached halftime, the Lady Raiders had snagged a 30-29 lead after hitting 7-of-16 shots from the floor and 4-of-11 from 3-point range in the second quarter.
"Really, we put hope in our defense being good," Louro said. "It was just getting that chemistry again [on offense]. Even when shots aren't going down, they will eventually."
The strong defensive effort continued for MT after the intermission.
After allowing Charlotte to hit just 1-of-10 shots in the third quarter, the Lady Raiders limited the 49ers to just five makes on 18 attempts in the game's final frame.
Charlotte hit just 10-of-41 after its 8-of-10 start from the field in the first quarter. Its 45 points were its lowest output of the season, and it was the ninth time MT has held an opponent under 50 points. The Lady Raiders are 8-1 in those games.
"We do take pride in our defense, and we do work hard a lot on defense," Louro said. "Especially when our offense is struggling, just those little defensive plays where we get a steal or a big rebound, those really help us bring momentum to the offensive side."
Not only did Middle Tennessee do a banner job forcing tough shots, but it also found a way to gobble up most of the misses against C-USA's third-best rebounding team.
The Lady Raiders won the rebounding battle 41-27, allowing Charlotte just 10 offensive boards while nabbing 16 themselves.
Six of the seven Raiders who saw the floor grabbed at least four rebounds, led by Louro's nine to go along with 14 points and four steals.
Junior Alex Johnson Johnson led the way in the scoring department with a season-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds and three blocks. Jones added 12 points, four boards and two steals.
Middle Tennessee will stay home for its only game next week, a Thursday showdown with LA Tech. The contest is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. tip, and it can be viewed on ESPN3.
The Lady Raiders (13-8, 5-3) welcomed the 49ers (7-13, 3-4) to the Murphy Center, and despite a poor start, they notched their fifth win in the last six games overall. The blue-clad ladies are now 5-0 all-time against Charlotte and 3-0 at home.
"I thought we played with a lot of confidence," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We're getting there. We don't need to be there right now, we still have the conference tournament coming up, but we're getting close to where we need to be.
"You win championships knocking down free throws, rebounding the basketball and playing defense. If we continue to go in those three areas, we have a chance to win the conference."
Things didn't look promising early on for the Lady Raiders.
At the first media timeout, just under the five-minute mark of the first quarter, Charlotte held an 11-2 advantage as MT was 0-of-7 from the field.
When the first-quarter buzzer sounded, the ladies in blue had connected on just 2-of-13 shots (0-of-6 from 3-point range), while their usually tough defense allowed the 49ers to hit 8-of-10. Charlotte went into the break up 18-10.
"If you looked at our bench, they didn't panic," Insell said. "The players didn't panic, and I didn't panic. I knew a couple of threes would put us back in the game."
Insell was right not to panic.
Despite their early struggles, the Lady Raiders held within striking distance until their Conference USA second-ranked scoring defense (55.1 points per game allowed) found footing.
The 49ers started the second quarter with seven consecutive misses, allowing Middle Tennessee to rattle off a 10-2 run keyed by five points each from freshman Anna Jones and junior Jess Louro.
By the time the game reached halftime, the Lady Raiders had snagged a 30-29 lead after hitting 7-of-16 shots from the floor and 4-of-11 from 3-point range in the second quarter.
"Really, we put hope in our defense being good," Louro said. "It was just getting that chemistry again [on offense]. Even when shots aren't going down, they will eventually."
The strong defensive effort continued for MT after the intermission.
After allowing Charlotte to hit just 1-of-10 shots in the third quarter, the Lady Raiders limited the 49ers to just five makes on 18 attempts in the game's final frame.
Charlotte hit just 10-of-41 after its 8-of-10 start from the field in the first quarter. Its 45 points were its lowest output of the season, and it was the ninth time MT has held an opponent under 50 points. The Lady Raiders are 8-1 in those games.
"We do take pride in our defense, and we do work hard a lot on defense," Louro said. "Especially when our offense is struggling, just those little defensive plays where we get a steal or a big rebound, those really help us bring momentum to the offensive side."
Not only did Middle Tennessee do a banner job forcing tough shots, but it also found a way to gobble up most of the misses against C-USA's third-best rebounding team.
The Lady Raiders won the rebounding battle 41-27, allowing Charlotte just 10 offensive boards while nabbing 16 themselves.
Six of the seven Raiders who saw the floor grabbed at least four rebounds, led by Louro's nine to go along with 14 points and four steals.
Junior Alex Johnson Johnson led the way in the scoring department with a season-high 18 points to go with seven rebounds and three blocks. Jones added 12 points, four boards and two steals.
Middle Tennessee will stay home for its only game next week, a Thursday showdown with LA Tech. The contest is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. tip, and it can be viewed on ESPN3.
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