Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, February 15
Murfreesboro, TN
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
15-10, 7-5
60
vs
76
WKU
19-6, 10-2
1
2
3
4
F
WKU
17
23
19
17
76
Middle Tennessee
10
19
16
15
60
Team Stats
WKU
MT
FG%
.489
.367
3FG%
.368
.200
FT%
.767
.714
RB
33
30
TO
18
20
STL
10
9
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballOffense sputters in loss to rival WKU
2/15/2018 9:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lady Raiders fall, 76-60
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Offensive struggles spelled doom for Middle Tennessee against its biggest rival Thursday.
The Lady Raiders (15-10, 7-5) welcomed current Conference USA second seed WKU (19-6, 10-2) to the Murphy Center and couldn't muster enough offensive consistency, falling 76-60.
It was the sixth loss in seven meetings for MT, which still leads the all-time series against its rival 33-29. The Lady Raiders are now alone in fifth in the C-USA standings, a half-game behind Charlotte with four regular-season contests remaining.
"They came in here and just put it to us … and that's what championship teams do," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "They did a good job of knocking down their shots early, and they dictated on the defensive end and offensive end, too."
Middle Tennessee's strong defense, which went into the game second in the league and 21st nationally with just 55.7 points given up per game, kept things close early against WKU's conference-best scoring offense (75.5 points per game).
The blue-clad ladies found themselves trailing just 17-16 with seven minutes left in the first half despite shooting just 4-of-16 from the field up to that point. A 15-3 Lady Hilltopper run over the next four minutes grew the away team's lead to 13, though, and the Lady Raiders couldn't find enough offense to recover.
The home team finished shooting just 37 percent from the field (18-of-49) while hitting 4-of-20 shots from 3-point range and turning the ball over 20 times.
"I don't think it was necessarily what they did," freshman Anna Jones said. "We didn't execute what we were supposed to do. They did do a good job, but we didn't do what we were supposed to."
Junior Alex Johnson was the high girl offensively for MT. She poured in 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting, her sixth double-figure night in eight games since returning from a foot injury. She also had five rebounds and was 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
The C-USA Preseason Player of the Year has averaged 14.6 points on 46 percent shooting since returning to the lineup. Her continued improvement will be critical as the Lady Raiders eye the upcoming conference tournament from March 8-11.
"I think the biggest thing is just doing us, doing what we know how to do, sticking to our system and knocking down shots when we're open," Johnson said. "Just really, it's finding our team chemistry. I feel like right now it's all over the place … we just have to settle down and get into our offense and play like we know how to play."
Jones added 13 points for Middle Tennessee, while junior Jess Louro had 10 and seven rebounds.
The Lady Raiders will host Rice, C-USA's third seed, on Saturday at the Murphy Center, starting at 2 p.m. The Owls (18-5, 8-3) fell to conference leader UAB on Thursday, but before that traveled to WKU Feb. 10 and left with a 73-58 victory.
"We just have to get into the film and see what's going on," Insell said. "[Rice] manhandled Western at their place. That tells me enough right there – we better get on point tonight and stay on it."
Middle Tennessee will then hit the road for its final trip of the regular season at UAB and Charlotte Feb. 22 and 25, respectively, before returning home for senior day March 3 against Old Dominion.
The Lady Raiders (15-10, 7-5) welcomed current Conference USA second seed WKU (19-6, 10-2) to the Murphy Center and couldn't muster enough offensive consistency, falling 76-60.
It was the sixth loss in seven meetings for MT, which still leads the all-time series against its rival 33-29. The Lady Raiders are now alone in fifth in the C-USA standings, a half-game behind Charlotte with four regular-season contests remaining.
"They came in here and just put it to us … and that's what championship teams do," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "They did a good job of knocking down their shots early, and they dictated on the defensive end and offensive end, too."
Middle Tennessee's strong defense, which went into the game second in the league and 21st nationally with just 55.7 points given up per game, kept things close early against WKU's conference-best scoring offense (75.5 points per game).
The blue-clad ladies found themselves trailing just 17-16 with seven minutes left in the first half despite shooting just 4-of-16 from the field up to that point. A 15-3 Lady Hilltopper run over the next four minutes grew the away team's lead to 13, though, and the Lady Raiders couldn't find enough offense to recover.
The home team finished shooting just 37 percent from the field (18-of-49) while hitting 4-of-20 shots from 3-point range and turning the ball over 20 times.
"I don't think it was necessarily what they did," freshman Anna Jones said. "We didn't execute what we were supposed to do. They did do a good job, but we didn't do what we were supposed to."
Junior Alex Johnson was the high girl offensively for MT. She poured in 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting, her sixth double-figure night in eight games since returning from a foot injury. She also had five rebounds and was 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
The C-USA Preseason Player of the Year has averaged 14.6 points on 46 percent shooting since returning to the lineup. Her continued improvement will be critical as the Lady Raiders eye the upcoming conference tournament from March 8-11.
"I think the biggest thing is just doing us, doing what we know how to do, sticking to our system and knocking down shots when we're open," Johnson said. "Just really, it's finding our team chemistry. I feel like right now it's all over the place … we just have to settle down and get into our offense and play like we know how to play."
Jones added 13 points for Middle Tennessee, while junior Jess Louro had 10 and seven rebounds.
The Lady Raiders will host Rice, C-USA's third seed, on Saturday at the Murphy Center, starting at 2 p.m. The Owls (18-5, 8-3) fell to conference leader UAB on Thursday, but before that traveled to WKU Feb. 10 and left with a 73-58 victory.
"We just have to get into the film and see what's going on," Insell said. "[Rice] manhandled Western at their place. That tells me enough right there – we better get on point tonight and stay on it."
Middle Tennessee will then hit the road for its final trip of the regular season at UAB and Charlotte Feb. 22 and 25, respectively, before returning home for senior day March 3 against Old Dominion.
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