Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, January 24
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
15-5, 6-1
47
vs
60
Rice
15-3, 6-0
1
2
3
4
F
Rice
20
10
17
13
60
Middle Tennessee
10
15
8
14
47
Team Stats
RICE
MT
FG%
.480
.362
3FG%
.389
.250
FT%
.625
.643
RB
32
27
TO
12
12
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
5
FGM
1
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballLady Raiders fall to Rice
1/24/2019 8:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Johnson tallies 17 in setback
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Historic win No. 333 will have to wait for Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell.
The Lady Raiders (15-5, 6-1) welcomed the Rice Owls (15-3, 6-0) to the Murphy Center Thursday in a matchup of undefeated Conference USA teams and couldn't find enough success against a tough defense, falling 60-47.
Insell remains tied with former men's basketball coach Kermit Davis with 332 career wins at MT, the most in school history.
"The team that wanted it worse got it," Insell said. "They outplayed us … and our team was not the team I've been seeing the last two or three weeks.
"We've been playing a lot better than that on offense. Granted, we haven't been playing teams as good as Rice."
Fans were promised a defensive battle with C-USA's top two defenses on display. Middle Tennessee went into the game first in the league giving up an average of 54.9 points per game, and Rice was second at 56.6.
The matchup lived up to the billing with both teams dominating parts of the game with their defensive effort, but in the end the Owls were just too tough to score on for MT.
At the half, the Lady Raiders trailed 30-25 as both teams shot under 45 percent from the floor and combined for 15 turnovers.
After the break, Middle Tennessee's offensive woes set in. The blue and white shot just 25 percent in the third quarter as Rice built a 47-33 lead heading to the final 10 minutes.
"We only had seven assists," Insell said. "You can't win ballgames with seven assists.
"We didn't execute our offense. We were going in scared and going away from the pressure. You have to go in and attack and go to the free-throw line. We just never did that."
The Lady Raiders finished 8-for-24 shooting (33.3 percent) in the second half, never seeming to find an answer down low against 6-foot-9 sophomore giant Nancy Mulkey. She went into the game tops in the conference with 29 blocks this season in just nine games played and finished with eight Thursday, adding 20 points and seven rebounds.
"In practice we were trying to simulate [Mulkey's size]," senior Alex Johnson said. "At the end of the day, the scout was to just keep going at her."
While facing Mulkey most of the night, Johnson finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range.
"I thought Alex Johnson did a good job and showed a lot of heart," Insell said. "I was proud of her effort."
Senior A'Queen Hayes was also in double figures for MT with 13 points to go with five rebounds.
Middle Tennessee will try to turn things around on Saturday when the North Texas Mean Green make the trip to the Murphy Center for a 5 p.m. tip.
"I think the biggest thing is flushing this," Johnson said. "We have another good team coming in here Saturday that's just as hungry and that is going to be just as physical.
"We really have to buckle down and just prepare mentally more than anything for Saturday."
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 (15-5, 6-1) welcomed the Rice Owls (15-3, 6-0) to the Murphy Center Thursday in a matchup of undefeated Conference USA teams and couldn't find enough success against a tough defense, falling 60-47.
Insell remains tied with former men's basketball coach Kermit Davis with 332 career wins at MT, the most in school history.
"The team that wanted it worse got it," Insell said. "They outplayed us … and our team was not the team I've been seeing the last two or three weeks.
"We've been playing a lot better than that on offense. Granted, we haven't been playing teams as good as Rice."
Fans were promised a defensive battle with C-USA's top two defenses on display. Middle Tennessee went into the game first in the league giving up an average of 54.9 points per game, and Rice was second at 56.6.
The matchup lived up to the billing with both teams dominating parts of the game with their defensive effort, but in the end the Owls were just too tough to score on for MT.
At the half, the Lady Raiders trailed 30-25 as both teams shot under 45 percent from the floor and combined for 15 turnovers.
After the break, Middle Tennessee's offensive woes set in. The blue and white shot just 25 percent in the third quarter as Rice built a 47-33 lead heading to the final 10 minutes.
"We only had seven assists," Insell said. "You can't win ballgames with seven assists.
"We didn't execute our offense. We were going in scared and going away from the pressure. You have to go in and attack and go to the free-throw line. We just never did that."
The Lady Raiders finished 8-for-24 shooting (33.3 percent) in the second half, never seeming to find an answer down low against 6-foot-9 sophomore giant Nancy Mulkey. She went into the game tops in the conference with 29 blocks this season in just nine games played and finished with eight Thursday, adding 20 points and seven rebounds.
"In practice we were trying to simulate [Mulkey's size]," senior Alex Johnson said. "At the end of the day, the scout was to just keep going at her."
While facing Mulkey most of the night, Johnson finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting, including 2-of-6 from 3-point range.
"I thought Alex Johnson did a good job and showed a lot of heart," Insell said. "I was proud of her effort."
Senior A'Queen Hayes was also in double figures for MT with 13 points to go with five rebounds.
Middle Tennessee will try to turn things around on Saturday when the North Texas Mean Green make the trip to the Murphy Center for a 5 p.m. tip.
"I think the biggest thing is flushing this," Johnson said. "We have another good team coming in here Saturday that's just as hungry and that is going to be just as physical.
"We really have to buckle down and just prepare mentally more than anything for Saturday."
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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Wednesday, July 30
Rick Insell Conference USA Hall of Fame Announcement
Wednesday, July 09
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
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MTSU Women's Basketball Coach Rick Insell interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
