Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Friday, November 9
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
1-0
65
vs
58
Vanderbilt
0-2
1
2
3
4
F
VANDY
7
14
11
26
58
Middle Tennessee
23
11
13
18
65
Team Stats
VU
MT
FG%
.345
.429
3FG%
.313
.500
FT%
.682
.697
RB
30
35
TO
18
23
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
10
Pts
17
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
8
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballLady Raiders open season on high note
11/9/2018 9:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Turn back Vanderbilt, 65-58
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The 2018-19 season started on a high note for Middle Tennessee Friday night.
The Lady Raiders (1-0) built a big first-half lead and held on against the visiting Vanderbilt Commodores (0-2), moving to 12-8 all-time against their in-state foe with a 65-58 win.
"We knew it was going to be a game much like it was," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We knew they would be dangerous and come in here with a lot of energy … and it was a great game.
"I'm really proud of our young ladies."
Middle Tennessee featured one of the better defenses in Conference USA last season and didn't seem to miss a beat on Friday.
Last year's 22nd-ranked scoring defense in the nation (56.4 points per game allowed) picked up right where it left off, holding Vanderbilt to 34.5 percent shooting (19-55) and forcing 18 turnovers with eight steals.
"That's been an emphasis for us all week, just focusing on our defense and buckling down to get stops," sophomore Anna Jones said. "Our offense feeds off our defense. If our defense is working, then we're going to get shots and get things rolling."
The defensive intensity started right away for the Lady Raiders.
They held the Commodores to seven first-quarter points and a 2-for-13 mark from the floor, building a 23-7 lead on the back of an 18-0 run.
"I knew we were ready," redshirt senior A'Queen Hayes said. "I knew we could come out and do it as long as we worked hard, and we came out and did that in the first half."
MT's lead ballooned to as many as 22 in the second quarter before Vanderbilt found its footing and got back into the ballgame.
The Dores used an 11-0 run to close the first half and start the second to cut the lead to as little as 11 in the third quarter, then pushed it down to five with 1:30 left in the fourth.
Vanderbilt was then in prime position to cut the lead to four with just over a minute left, but Jones came up with a blocked shot and calmly hit a pair of free throws to push the advantage back to eight, essentially putting the game out of reach.
Middle Tennessee didn't do itself any favors as Vanderbilt made its charge. The Lady Raiders committed 13 turnovers in the second half, finishing with 23 for the game.
"I don't know how we won the game with [that many turnovers]," Insell said. "We got into the shot clock too many times, and we'll come in in the morning and work on that. We thought we had that taken care of, but they got up and pressured us."
Seniors Alex Johnson and Hayes led the way in the scoring department for MT with 19 and 17, respectively. They combined for an 18-for-24 night from the free-throw line, and Johnson secured six rebounds, one behind senior Jess Louro's team-high seven. It was Hayes' Lady Raider debut after transferring from Eastern Kentucky.
Jones was also in double figures with 13 points, and she added six rebounds and two blocked shots. Freshman Taylor Sutton had nine points in her Middle Tennessee debut, shooting 4-for-9.
The Lady Raiders will look for their second win Nov. 11 at Furman. Tipoff is scheduled for noon.
"We're going to be a pretty good basketball team come January, but we have a pretty tough schedule to get through to get to January," Insell said. "We can't let a single game define us, win or lose."
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
The Lady Raiders (1-0) built a big first-half lead and held on against the visiting Vanderbilt Commodores (0-2), moving to 12-8 all-time against their in-state foe with a 65-58 win.
"We knew it was going to be a game much like it was," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We knew they would be dangerous and come in here with a lot of energy … and it was a great game.
"I'm really proud of our young ladies."
Middle Tennessee featured one of the better defenses in Conference USA last season and didn't seem to miss a beat on Friday.
Last year's 22nd-ranked scoring defense in the nation (56.4 points per game allowed) picked up right where it left off, holding Vanderbilt to 34.5 percent shooting (19-55) and forcing 18 turnovers with eight steals.
"That's been an emphasis for us all week, just focusing on our defense and buckling down to get stops," sophomore Anna Jones said. "Our offense feeds off our defense. If our defense is working, then we're going to get shots and get things rolling."
The defensive intensity started right away for the Lady Raiders.
They held the Commodores to seven first-quarter points and a 2-for-13 mark from the floor, building a 23-7 lead on the back of an 18-0 run.
"I knew we were ready," redshirt senior A'Queen Hayes said. "I knew we could come out and do it as long as we worked hard, and we came out and did that in the first half."
MT's lead ballooned to as many as 22 in the second quarter before Vanderbilt found its footing and got back into the ballgame.
The Dores used an 11-0 run to close the first half and start the second to cut the lead to as little as 11 in the third quarter, then pushed it down to five with 1:30 left in the fourth.
Vanderbilt was then in prime position to cut the lead to four with just over a minute left, but Jones came up with a blocked shot and calmly hit a pair of free throws to push the advantage back to eight, essentially putting the game out of reach.
Middle Tennessee didn't do itself any favors as Vanderbilt made its charge. The Lady Raiders committed 13 turnovers in the second half, finishing with 23 for the game.
"I don't know how we won the game with [that many turnovers]," Insell said. "We got into the shot clock too many times, and we'll come in in the morning and work on that. We thought we had that taken care of, but they got up and pressured us."
Seniors Alex Johnson and Hayes led the way in the scoring department for MT with 19 and 17, respectively. They combined for an 18-for-24 night from the free-throw line, and Johnson secured six rebounds, one behind senior Jess Louro's team-high seven. It was Hayes' Lady Raider debut after transferring from Eastern Kentucky.
Jones was also in double figures with 13 points, and she added six rebounds and two blocked shots. Freshman Taylor Sutton had nine points in her Middle Tennessee debut, shooting 4-for-9.
The Lady Raiders will look for their second win Nov. 11 at Furman. Tipoff is scheduled for noon.
"We're going to be a pretty good basketball team come January, but we have a pretty tough schedule to get through to get to January," Insell said. "We can't let a single game define us, win or lose."
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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