Lady Raiders Host Rice in Annual Play4Kay Game

Saturday, February 17

Murfreesboro, TN

2 PM

Middle Tennessee

Rice

2/16/2018 3:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: Brendan English, Athletic Communications Assistant

Date and Time: Saturday, Feb.17 at 2 p.m.
Teams: Middle Tennessee (15-10, 7-5) vs. Rice (18-5, 8-3)
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. | Murphy Center

Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Stream (ESPN3)

Stay Social with the Lady Raiders

Hashtags: #TrueBlue, #LadyRaiders, #BlueRaiders
Twitter and Instagram: @MT_WBB
Facebook: MTSU Women's Basketball

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee women's basketball team hosts Rice on Saturday in their annual Play4Kay game in the Murphy Center at 2 p.m.

The Lady Raiders (15-10, 7-5) are coming off a setback against Western Kentucky on Thursday, but will have a fast turnaround having one day off before hosting Rice (18-5, 8-3).

Quick Hitters

Junior Alex Johnson regains form as she leads the Lady raiders scoring in the last five of their seven outings. In that span, Johnson inked a season-high 24 points and seven field goals over the Florida Atlantic Owls.

In C-USA play, the Murfreesboro product averages 14.6 points per game while grabbing 23 rebounds in eight games this season.
Similarly, freshman Anna Jones continues to excel in Conference USA play. The freshman added 13 points for the Lady Raiders in their last contest against Western Kentucky. Jones averages 10.8 points per game while hitting 44-of-106 from the field (.415).

As of Feb. 15, the team ranked among the top-30 in scoring defense. Respectively, the Lady Raiders have held 16 of their 25 competitors to 60 points or less this season.

Play4Kay Jersey Auction

Robert Treadway will host the fan favorite jersey auction after the game on Saturday. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Kay Yow Cancer Foundation. Donations can be made here or post game during the live jersey auction.

All-Time Series with Rice

The Lady Raiders have won all six meetings between the two programs. The last time they met, Alex Johnson contributed 22 points, for Middle Tennessee to clinch a 71-61 victory in the Murphy Center.

Scouting Rice (18-5, 8-3)

The Owls rely on Erica Ogwumike and Nicole Iademarco for their scoring efforts Ogwumike has a prominent presence on the court hitting 138-of-293 shots (.471) to average 17.3 points per game. Meanwhile, Iademarco is the Owl's second leading scoring tallying 303 points this season.

In conference games, Rice holds a +5.4 scoring margin (62-56.6) and a +3.1 rebounding margin (35.5-32.5) over C-USA competitors.

Up Next: UAB and Charlotte

The Lady Raiders are set for two road games next week, traveling to Birmingham, Ala. on Thursday, Feb. 22 to compete against UAB before rounding off the weekend in Charlotte on Sunday, Feb. 25.