Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Thursday, February 14
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
19-6, 10-2
81
vs
69
WKU
14-12, 8-4
1
2
3
4
F
WKU
15
10
18
26
69
Middle Tennessee
14
12
24
31
81
Team Stats
WKU
MT
FG%
.514
.667
3FG%
.375
.455
FT%
.833
.857
RB
17
19
TO
13
13
STL
8
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
17
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballJones leads Lady Raiders past WKU
2/14/2019 9:16:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Hot-shooting carries MT to victory
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – It's been a tough season offensively for Middle Tennessee's Anna Jones, but the sophomore found some love on Valentine's Day.
With rival WKU visiting the Murphy Center Thursday, Jones, a six-points-per-game scorer this season, exploded for a season-high 26 to lead the Lady Raiders to an 81-69 win.
"It does help a little bit just to see the ball go in the basket," she said. "I've been in the gym a lot recently, so I'm getting my shooting confidence back."
The victory broke a five-game losing streak in the series for MT, which leads its rival all-time 34-29.
"We didn't talk a lot about that," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We're more into getting one of those top four seeds [in the conference tournament]."
Middle Tennessee (19-6, 10-2) was in a bind early on as its two leading scorers, seniors Alex Johnson and A'Queen Hayes, were hampered with foul trouble. The Lady Toppers (14-12, 8-4) thankfully had no answer for Jones, though.
With Johnson and Hayes playing just five and 13 minutes, respectively, in the first half, Jones took over when her team needed it.
The Jackson, Tenn. native led the way in the first two quarters with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, guiding the Lady Raiders through a tough half that saw nine lead changes. They led 26-25 at the break.
"Anna Jones was a horse all night," Insell said. "I've been on her the last three practices about her having to step her game up … and tonight, she became aggressive, hit a shot or two and look what happens. I'm really proud of her."
Jones was far from done as the teams came out of the halftime locker rooms, and the rest of the Raiders picked up the pace, as well.
The home team hit six of its eight field goals and 11-of-13 free throws in the third quarter, building its lead to seven heading to the final 10 minutes.
The hot shooting continued into the fourth, where the Lady Raiders hit their first 10 shots before missing a last-minute contested layup to finish the second half 16-of-19 from the floor and 19-of-21 from the free-throw line. Jones ended 8-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and hit 8-of-10 freebies.
Middle Tennessee's 66.7 field-goal percentage (26-39) set a new program record.
"We just had to keep pushing, because we knew they were going to come out fighting," Jones said. "It definitely builds our confidence as a team, because it was a team win.
"We know we can rely on each other to score when we need it."
Jones wasn't the only Lady Raider who stepped up with Hayes and Johnson on the pine.
Redshirt junior Jordan Majors was forced to see 29 minutes of action, one off her career high, and responded with a career-best 15 points and team-high seven rebounds off the bench.
"I know what Alex [Johnson] has to do for the team, so I just looked to try to score in every way that I could, play defense and rebound, just back her up," she said.
Hayes and Johnson both reached double-figure scoring despite the limited time, Hayes finishing with 17 on 7-of-9 shooting and Johnson 10, making the two field goals she attempted.
That kind of spread-out scoring should help Middle Tennessee keep some offensive rhythm with C-USA third-placed Marshall set to travel to the Murphy Center Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
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.
With rival WKU visiting the Murphy Center Thursday, Jones, a six-points-per-game scorer this season, exploded for a season-high 26 to lead the Lady Raiders to an 81-69 win.
"It does help a little bit just to see the ball go in the basket," she said. "I've been in the gym a lot recently, so I'm getting my shooting confidence back."
The victory broke a five-game losing streak in the series for MT, which leads its rival all-time 34-29.
"We didn't talk a lot about that," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We're more into getting one of those top four seeds [in the conference tournament]."
Middle Tennessee (19-6, 10-2) was in a bind early on as its two leading scorers, seniors Alex Johnson and A'Queen Hayes, were hampered with foul trouble. The Lady Toppers (14-12, 8-4) thankfully had no answer for Jones, though.
With Johnson and Hayes playing just five and 13 minutes, respectively, in the first half, Jones took over when her team needed it.
The Jackson, Tenn. native led the way in the first two quarters with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, guiding the Lady Raiders through a tough half that saw nine lead changes. They led 26-25 at the break.
"Anna Jones was a horse all night," Insell said. "I've been on her the last three practices about her having to step her game up … and tonight, she became aggressive, hit a shot or two and look what happens. I'm really proud of her."
Jones was far from done as the teams came out of the halftime locker rooms, and the rest of the Raiders picked up the pace, as well.
The home team hit six of its eight field goals and 11-of-13 free throws in the third quarter, building its lead to seven heading to the final 10 minutes.
The hot shooting continued into the fourth, where the Lady Raiders hit their first 10 shots before missing a last-minute contested layup to finish the second half 16-of-19 from the floor and 19-of-21 from the free-throw line. Jones ended 8-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, and hit 8-of-10 freebies.
Middle Tennessee's 66.7 field-goal percentage (26-39) set a new program record.
"We just had to keep pushing, because we knew they were going to come out fighting," Jones said. "It definitely builds our confidence as a team, because it was a team win.
"We know we can rely on each other to score when we need it."
Jones wasn't the only Lady Raider who stepped up with Hayes and Johnson on the pine.
Redshirt junior Jordan Majors was forced to see 29 minutes of action, one off her career high, and responded with a career-best 15 points and team-high seven rebounds off the bench.
"I know what Alex [Johnson] has to do for the team, so I just looked to try to score in every way that I could, play defense and rebound, just back her up," she said.
Hayes and Johnson both reached double-figure scoring despite the limited time, Hayes finishing with 17 on 7-of-9 shooting and Johnson 10, making the two field goals she attempted.
That kind of spread-out scoring should help Middle Tennessee keep some offensive rhythm with C-USA third-placed Marshall set to travel to the Murphy Center Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
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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