Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, February 2
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
17-5, 8-1
60
vs
44
UAB
18-4, 6-3
1
2
3
4
F
UAB
6
7
15
16
44
Middle Tennessee
16
12
14
18
60
Team Stats
UAB
MT
FG%
.372
.393
3FG%
.125
.250
FT%
.625
.556
RB
27
42
TO
13
12
STL
5
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
Lady Raiders throttle UAB
2/2/2019 8:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Sound defense sparks victory
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A dominant defensive showcase brought Middle Tennessee to within one win of 900 all-time on Saturday.
With the UAB Blazers (18-4, 6-3) visiting the Murphy Center, the Lady Raiders (17-5, 8-1) captured win No. 899 in 60-44 fashion. UAB's loss, its second in a row overall, snapped the preseason Conference USA favorite's 14-game winning streak in league road games.
"I thought we played good defense," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We had a week to prepare … and I thought our kids really got into the scouting report."
It was just another night at the office for Middle Tennessee, which went in ranked first in C-USA and 10th nationally giving up 54.7 points per outing. It was MT's sixth time holding an opponent to less than 50 points in nine league games.
UAB went in averaging 75.3 points scored, second best in the conference, but was hounded from the start. The Lady Raiders grabbed a 16-6 lead at the end of the first quarter by holding the visitors to 3-for-10 shooting from the floor and forcing seven turnovers.
"We've been playing pretty good defense the whole year … and anytime you get off to a quick start, it kind of puts pressure on the other team," Insell said.
The defensive effort didn't stop in the second quarter, and neither did MT's intensity on the offensive glass.
As the Lady Raiders built their lead to 28-13 at halftime, they ripped down eight offensive rebounds, led by a career-high-tying five from senior A'Queen Hayes. The boards led to seven critical second-chance first-half points, deflating some of the Blazers' spirit.
MT's 18 total offensive rebounds were one off its season high.
"Coach gave us two days off [this week] – not one, but two – so we had to reward him with that, come in and work hard," Hayes said.
UAB found some footing offensively in the second half, outscoring the Lady Raiders 15-14 in the third quarter, but it was far too little, too late. The Blazers managed to shoot just 16-for-43 (37 percent) from the floor and 2-for-16 from distance.
Hayes finished with her sixth double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting to go with a career-high 14 rebounds (seven offensive). Fellow senior Alex Johnson and freshman Taylor Sutton were also in double-figure scoring with 11 apiece.
Middle Tennessee's key spark came from junior Charity Savage. Playing in her 12th game of the season, the Memphis native had nine points and seven rebounds (five offensive) in a season-high 16 minutes.
"Coach really put the pressure on me to get more rebounds and be more active on defense," she said. "I've been getting a lot more reps in practice preparing.
"I trusted my teammates, and when they took shots, I made an effort to get all their misses off the boards."
One more win would make MT the 32nd program to reach 900 all-time. The Lady Raiders will try for the feat on Feb. 7 when they travel to Charlotte ahead of a Feb. 9 matchup at Old Dominion.
"We play two fine teams in Charlotte and Old Dominion," Insell said. "I watched both of them today, and they're very fine basketball teams. It won't be easy going on the road to either place."
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 the UAB Blazers (18-4, 6-3) visiting the Murphy Center, the Lady Raiders (17-5, 8-1) captured win No. 899 in 60-44 fashion. UAB's loss, its second in a row overall, snapped the preseason Conference USA favorite's 14-game winning streak in league road games.
"I thought we played good defense," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We had a week to prepare … and I thought our kids really got into the scouting report."
It was just another night at the office for Middle Tennessee, which went in ranked first in C-USA and 10th nationally giving up 54.7 points per outing. It was MT's sixth time holding an opponent to less than 50 points in nine league games.
UAB went in averaging 75.3 points scored, second best in the conference, but was hounded from the start. The Lady Raiders grabbed a 16-6 lead at the end of the first quarter by holding the visitors to 3-for-10 shooting from the floor and forcing seven turnovers.
"We've been playing pretty good defense the whole year … and anytime you get off to a quick start, it kind of puts pressure on the other team," Insell said.
The defensive effort didn't stop in the second quarter, and neither did MT's intensity on the offensive glass.
As the Lady Raiders built their lead to 28-13 at halftime, they ripped down eight offensive rebounds, led by a career-high-tying five from senior A'Queen Hayes. The boards led to seven critical second-chance first-half points, deflating some of the Blazers' spirit.
MT's 18 total offensive rebounds were one off its season high.
"Coach gave us two days off [this week] – not one, but two – so we had to reward him with that, come in and work hard," Hayes said.
UAB found some footing offensively in the second half, outscoring the Lady Raiders 15-14 in the third quarter, but it was far too little, too late. The Blazers managed to shoot just 16-for-43 (37 percent) from the floor and 2-for-16 from distance.
Hayes finished with her sixth double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting to go with a career-high 14 rebounds (seven offensive). Fellow senior Alex Johnson and freshman Taylor Sutton were also in double-figure scoring with 11 apiece.
Middle Tennessee's key spark came from junior Charity Savage. Playing in her 12th game of the season, the Memphis native had nine points and seven rebounds (five offensive) in a season-high 16 minutes.
"Coach really put the pressure on me to get more rebounds and be more active on defense," she said. "I've been getting a lot more reps in practice preparing.
"I trusted my teammates, and when they took shots, I made an effort to get all their misses off the boards."
One more win would make MT the 32nd program to reach 900 all-time. The Lady Raiders will try for the feat on Feb. 7 when they travel to Charlotte ahead of a Feb. 9 matchup at Old Dominion.
"We play two fine teams in Charlotte and Old Dominion," Insell said. "I watched both of them today, and they're very fine basketball teams. It won't be easy going on the road to either place."
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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