Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, January 3
Miami, FL
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
10-4, 1-0CUSA
49
at
43
FIU
3-11, 0-1CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
MT
13
11
10
15
49
FIU
11
9
12
11
43
Team Stats
MT
FIU
FG%
.311
.317
3FG%
.214
.545
FT%
.833
.647
RB
44
29
TO
10
12
STL
10
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballLouro's clutch shooting lifts Lady Raiders
1/3/2019 8:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT graps C-USA road win
MIAMI – Sometime winning on the road comes down to toughness and Middle Tennessee showed tremendous grit in rallying to turn back FIU, 49-43, in the Conference USA opener for both teams here Thursday.
Trailing 43-41 with less than three minutes remaining, senior Jess Louro ignited fire into the Lady Raider offense as Middle Tennessee (10-4, 1-0) scored the game's final eight points to snag victory in the absence of Head Coach Rick Insell, who stayed back in Murfreesboro recovering from a recent illness.
Assistant Coach Matt Insell served as the acting head coach in his dad's absence.
"This is one of the best wins I have been a part of for a lot of reasons," Matt Insell said. "I certainly didn't want to be making that call back to the head man after a loss. I am so proud of the toughness our team showed to get this big conference road win. It is never easy to win at FIU and this wasn't easy. The teams showed a lot of guts."
Particularly Louro, who impacted the game on each end of the court.
The senior guard finished with nine points and eight rebounds but it was more about when Louro came through. Trailing 43-41, Louro snagged an offensive rebound and drained a pressure-packed 3-pointer to return the lead to Middle Tennessee, 44-43, with 2:03 remaining.
Louro then came through with a blocked shot on the defensive end and took a nice feed from A'Queen Hayes and drilled with a 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining to push the advantage to 47-43 with 47 seconds to play.
Louro corralled the rebound following a FIU miss and Hayes converted the final two free throws to seal the win.
"We knew we had to gut it up and find a way to get this road win," said Louro, who was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. "You never want to start conference play with a loss. Maybe this win will help Coach (Rick) Insell feel better."
While Louro was clutch under pressure, Middle Tennessee received winning contributions from a host of players.
Hayes continued her solid play with her third double-double of the season. Hayes scored a game-high 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished three assists and collected a steal. Alex Johnson was strong in the paint with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Jordan Majors' strong play off of the bench continued as she supplied eight rebounds as part of the Lady Raiders' 44-29 advantage on the boards.
The game was close throughout although Middle Tennessee did own a pair of nine-point leads. The Lady Raiders were never able to put FIU away until the final seconds due in large part of a shaky shooting night.
The Lady Raiders shot just 31 percent (19-of-61) and were only 6-of-28 from 3-point range, but their defense was solid and they were able to hold a 15-rebound advantage on the boards. Those qualities weighted heavily in success.
Middle Tennessee will look for the road sweep when it plays at Florida Atlantic Saturday. Tipoff is 1 p.m.
Trailing 43-41 with less than three minutes remaining, senior Jess Louro ignited fire into the Lady Raider offense as Middle Tennessee (10-4, 1-0) scored the game's final eight points to snag victory in the absence of Head Coach Rick Insell, who stayed back in Murfreesboro recovering from a recent illness.
Assistant Coach Matt Insell served as the acting head coach in his dad's absence.
"This is one of the best wins I have been a part of for a lot of reasons," Matt Insell said. "I certainly didn't want to be making that call back to the head man after a loss. I am so proud of the toughness our team showed to get this big conference road win. It is never easy to win at FIU and this wasn't easy. The teams showed a lot of guts."
Particularly Louro, who impacted the game on each end of the court.
The senior guard finished with nine points and eight rebounds but it was more about when Louro came through. Trailing 43-41, Louro snagged an offensive rebound and drained a pressure-packed 3-pointer to return the lead to Middle Tennessee, 44-43, with 2:03 remaining.
Louro then came through with a blocked shot on the defensive end and took a nice feed from A'Queen Hayes and drilled with a 3-pointer with 47 seconds remaining to push the advantage to 47-43 with 47 seconds to play.
Louro corralled the rebound following a FIU miss and Hayes converted the final two free throws to seal the win.
"We knew we had to gut it up and find a way to get this road win," said Louro, who was 2-for-3 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter. "You never want to start conference play with a loss. Maybe this win will help Coach (Rick) Insell feel better."
While Louro was clutch under pressure, Middle Tennessee received winning contributions from a host of players.
Hayes continued her solid play with her third double-double of the season. Hayes scored a game-high 16 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished three assists and collected a steal. Alex Johnson was strong in the paint with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Jordan Majors' strong play off of the bench continued as she supplied eight rebounds as part of the Lady Raiders' 44-29 advantage on the boards.
The game was close throughout although Middle Tennessee did own a pair of nine-point leads. The Lady Raiders were never able to put FIU away until the final seconds due in large part of a shaky shooting night.
The Lady Raiders shot just 31 percent (19-of-61) and were only 6-of-28 from 3-point range, but their defense was solid and they were able to hold a 15-rebound advantage on the boards. Those qualities weighted heavily in success.
Middle Tennessee will look for the road sweep when it plays at Florida Atlantic Saturday. Tipoff is 1 p.m.
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
Rick Insell Conference USA Hall of Fame Announcement
Wednesday, July 09
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Women's Basketball Coach Rick Insell interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
