Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, January 4
Bowling Green, KY
7 PM
Middle Tennessee
-86 (01 CUSA)
43
at
57
WKU
-104 (10 CUSA)
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tennessee
7
7
11
18
43
WKU
15
10
12
20
57
Team Stats
MT
WKU
FG%
.325
.339
3FG%
.200
.250
FT%
.789
.765
RB
30
39
TO
18
10
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballLackluster offense slows MT at WKU
1/4/2018 9:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lady Raiders fall 57-43
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Middle Tennessee hit the road Thursday to take on rival WKU in its Conference USA opener. The only problem was its shooting touch didn't make the short trip in the 57-43 loss.
The Lady Raiders (8-6, 0-1) got off to a rough start offensively and never quite fixed things, managing just 33 percent shooting from the field against the Lady Toppers (10-4, 1-0).
"It's a good win for them," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We didn't play well, and I don't think they really played as good as I've seen them play. So, I don't think either team played up to how they can play.
"We just didn't do a good job finishing … we did finesse plays instead of going up strong and finishing. That's one of the things we've talked about. We just didn't do a good job."
While Middle Tennessee couldn't find its way on the offensive end, its defense was again dominant against the conference's best scoring team.
The blue-clad ladies, who went into the game second in the league giving up just 56 points per game, did their best to keep the game close by using their normal brand of defensive intensity and holding the league's top scoring team to 20 points below its average.
Middle Tennessee limited WKU to just 34 percent shooting (20-of-59) and 25 percent from 3-point range. The Lady Toppers went into the game as C-USA's top scoring team, averaging 77.8 points per outing.
"Really, I thought we did a good job of playing defense," Insell said. "If you take away some of those early shots we missed … we're in the ballgame."
The defensive war started from the opening tip, as the teams combined to shoot a tough 24 percent from the field in the first quarter and 26 percent (12-of-45) in the first half.
Keeping the game ugly allowed the Lady Raiders to stay within striking distance, at least for most of the contest.
As the game entered the fourth quarter, they found themselves trailing 37-25, but quickly cut the lead to eight when Abbey Sissom knocked down her only 3-pointer of the night.
The senior was the lone double-figure scorer for MT with 11, and she also drew the assignment of guarding WKU leading scorer Tashia Brown. The Topper senior went into the game fourth in the country and tops in C-USA at 23.6 points per game and riding nine straight games of 20-plus points, but she scored 17 Thursday.
"For the most part early, I think we did a good job on Brown, limiting her," Sissom said. "I had hands in her face, but she's a good player and hit some tough shots."
After the small offensive outburst cut the lead to eight, the Lady Raiders ran out of gas.
WKU went on 16-6 run over the next seven minutes, and effectively put the game out of reach.
Junior LaSonja Edwards finished with seven points in just 11 minutes off the bench for MT, while senior Rebecca Reuter had six points, five rebounds and a block.
Middle Tennessee will return home Saturday to take on UAB (12-2, 1-0). The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tipoff at the Murphy Center.
The Lady Raiders (8-6, 0-1) got off to a rough start offensively and never quite fixed things, managing just 33 percent shooting from the field against the Lady Toppers (10-4, 1-0).
"It's a good win for them," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We didn't play well, and I don't think they really played as good as I've seen them play. So, I don't think either team played up to how they can play.
"We just didn't do a good job finishing … we did finesse plays instead of going up strong and finishing. That's one of the things we've talked about. We just didn't do a good job."
While Middle Tennessee couldn't find its way on the offensive end, its defense was again dominant against the conference's best scoring team.
The blue-clad ladies, who went into the game second in the league giving up just 56 points per game, did their best to keep the game close by using their normal brand of defensive intensity and holding the league's top scoring team to 20 points below its average.
Middle Tennessee limited WKU to just 34 percent shooting (20-of-59) and 25 percent from 3-point range. The Lady Toppers went into the game as C-USA's top scoring team, averaging 77.8 points per outing.
"Really, I thought we did a good job of playing defense," Insell said. "If you take away some of those early shots we missed … we're in the ballgame."
The defensive war started from the opening tip, as the teams combined to shoot a tough 24 percent from the field in the first quarter and 26 percent (12-of-45) in the first half.
Keeping the game ugly allowed the Lady Raiders to stay within striking distance, at least for most of the contest.
As the game entered the fourth quarter, they found themselves trailing 37-25, but quickly cut the lead to eight when Abbey Sissom knocked down her only 3-pointer of the night.
The senior was the lone double-figure scorer for MT with 11, and she also drew the assignment of guarding WKU leading scorer Tashia Brown. The Topper senior went into the game fourth in the country and tops in C-USA at 23.6 points per game and riding nine straight games of 20-plus points, but she scored 17 Thursday.
"For the most part early, I think we did a good job on Brown, limiting her," Sissom said. "I had hands in her face, but she's a good player and hit some tough shots."
After the small offensive outburst cut the lead to eight, the Lady Raiders ran out of gas.
WKU went on 16-6 run over the next seven minutes, and effectively put the game out of reach.
Junior LaSonja Edwards finished with seven points in just 11 minutes off the bench for MT, while senior Rebecca Reuter had six points, five rebounds and a block.
Middle Tennessee will return home Saturday to take on UAB (12-2, 1-0). The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. tipoff at the Murphy Center.
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