Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Experience at guard position a Lady Raider asset
11/19/2020 5:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Middle Tennessee position breakdown
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Plenty returns from Middle Tennessee's successful 2019-20 season to make Lady Raider fans excited heading into 2020-21.
Led by a handful of Tennessee products — including four guards from Murfreesboro — the Lady Raiders have experience and depth across the board. It's no wonder they were picked as preseason favorites in Conference USA.
"We've got a team coming back that's pretty experienced … and they have really jumped on it and we've been able to accomplish a lot of things," head coach Rick Insell said. "I think the biggest positive that we have right now is our experience coming back. … Then, you look at our freshmen coming in, and they have a lot of size. You can see that they're going to play a lot this year."
Guards
The guard position is where MT's strength really lies.
Sisters Anastasia and Aislynn Hayes were both named to the Preseason All-C-USA team, with Anastasia tabbed Preseason Player of the Year. Alexis and Amanda Whittington are also back for their junior seasons. The four Murfreesboro natives are very familiar with one another, all having graduated from Riverdale High School.
After appearing in 13 games as a freshman, Taylor Lewis is hoping to see more minutes this season as well, and graduate transfer Deja Carter came to Murfreesboro this season from Ole Miss. They'll add depth to what was an already deep position for the Lady Raiders.
Anastasia Hayes, R-Jr., Murfreesboro (Riverdale High School)
• 2020-21 C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, 2019-20 C-USA Newcomer of the Year, 2019-20 All-C-USA First Team, 2017-18 SEC 6th Woman of the Year as a freshman at Tennessee
• Top 10 in C-USA in 2019-20 in minutes (37.1, first), scoring (18.7, second), assists (4.4, fourth), steals (1.9, fourth) and assist-turnover ratio (1.0, 10th)
• Recorded the second triple-double in program history and first by a guard at Marshall
Aislynn Hayes, So., Murfreesboro (Riverdale High School)
• 2020-21 All-C-USA Preseason Team, 2019-20 Her Hoops Stats Freshman All-American, 2019-20 C-USA Freshman of the Year, 2019-20 C-USA All-Freshman Team
• Won the USBWA National Freshman of the Week three times in 2019-20
• Won C-USA Freshman of the Week seven times in 2019-20
• Top 10 in C-USA in 2019-20 in minutes (36.8, second), 3-PT FG made (2.0, sixth), assist-turnover ratio (1.1, eighth), assists (3.1, ninth) and scoring (14.1, 10th)
Alexis Whittington, Jr., Murfreesboro (Riverdale High School)
• Middle Tennessee's top reserve in 2019-20
• Averaged 24 minutes, 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 2019-20 while shooting 39.1% from the floor and 33.3% from 3-point range
Amanda Whittington, Jr., Murfreesboro (Riverdale High School)
• Started for the first time in her career against Tulane on Nov. 14, 2019
• Played critical minutes in double-OT win against WKU in late February
Taylor Lewis, So., Columbia, S.C. (Spring Valley High School)
• Appeared in 13 games as a freshman in 2019-20
• Former High School McDonald's All-American nominee and South Carolina Class 5A Player of the Year
Deja Cage, R-Sr., Chicago (Morgan Park High School)
• Made 21 starts in 2019-20 at Ole Miss, leading team in scoring (12.9) and 3-point field goals per game (2.3)
• Played first two years at DePaul before transferring to Ole Miss in 2018
• Big East All-Academic Team at DePaul
Forwards
Where Middle Tennessee desperately needed some depth last season was down low. It'll have that this year with a few forwards who can do damage on the block or step away from the basket.
Courtney Whitson is back after starting every game as a freshman a season ago. She'll get help from Rellah Boothe, a former McDonald's All-American Game MVP who only played in seven games last year while recovering from an injury, and a couple of freshmen coming to Murfreesboro from abroad.
Courtney Whitson, So., Kingsport, TN (Dobyns-Bennett High School)
• Started all 30 games as a freshman in 2019-20, earning C-USA Freshman of the Week once
• Averaged 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 2019-20
• Started all 139 career games at Dobyns-Bennett High School, where she's the school's all-time leading scorer for men or women with 2,458 points
Rellah Boothe, R-Jr., Ocala, FL (IMG Academy)
• Played in seven games in 2019-20 while recovering from knee injury
• Played freshman season at Texas before transferring to Northwest Florida State College then MT
• Former McDonald's High School All-America Game Most Valuable Player
Jada Grannum, Fr., Mississauga, ON (Lincoln Prep)
• First Canadian-born player to ever play for Lady Raiders
• Averaged 7 points and 7.3 rebounds during prep career
Anabel Latorre, Fr., Zaragoza, Spain (John Madejski Academy)
• First Spanish-born player to ever play for Lady Raiders
• Former MVP of the U18 National Cup
Centers
Rounding out Middle Tennessee's roster is a freshman center who along with her fellow freshmen teammates are making history at MT already.
Kseniia Kozlova played her prep ball at Monteverde Academy in Florida, but she hails from Moscow, Russia. She'll be the first Russian-born player to ever suit up for the Lady Raiders, and she'll provide another body down low.
Kseniia Kozlova, Fr., Moscow, Russia (Montverde (FL) Academy)
• First Russian-born player to ever play for Lady Raiders
• 2019 McDonald's All-American nominee
• Played for Russian National Team "Trinta" in Moscow
Led by a handful of Tennessee products — including four guards from Murfreesboro — the Lady Raiders have experience and depth across the board. It's no wonder they were picked as preseason favorites in Conference USA.
"We've got a team coming back that's pretty experienced … and they have really jumped on it and we've been able to accomplish a lot of things," head coach Rick Insell said. "I think the biggest positive that we have right now is our experience coming back. … Then, you look at our freshmen coming in, and they have a lot of size. You can see that they're going to play a lot this year."
Guards
The guard position is where MT's strength really lies.
Sisters Anastasia and Aislynn Hayes were both named to the Preseason All-C-USA team, with Anastasia tabbed Preseason Player of the Year. Alexis and Amanda Whittington are also back for their junior seasons. The four Murfreesboro natives are very familiar with one another, all having graduated from Riverdale High School.
After appearing in 13 games as a freshman, Taylor Lewis is hoping to see more minutes this season as well, and graduate transfer Deja Carter came to Murfreesboro this season from Ole Miss. They'll add depth to what was an already deep position for the Lady Raiders.
Anastasia Hayes, R-Jr., Murfreesboro (Riverdale High School)
• 2020-21 C-USA Preseason Player of the Year, 2019-20 C-USA Newcomer of the Year, 2019-20 All-C-USA First Team, 2017-18 SEC 6th Woman of the Year as a freshman at Tennessee
• Top 10 in C-USA in 2019-20 in minutes (37.1, first), scoring (18.7, second), assists (4.4, fourth), steals (1.9, fourth) and assist-turnover ratio (1.0, 10th)
• Recorded the second triple-double in program history and first by a guard at Marshall
Aislynn Hayes, So., Murfreesboro (Riverdale High School)
• 2020-21 All-C-USA Preseason Team, 2019-20 Her Hoops Stats Freshman All-American, 2019-20 C-USA Freshman of the Year, 2019-20 C-USA All-Freshman Team
• Won the USBWA National Freshman of the Week three times in 2019-20
• Won C-USA Freshman of the Week seven times in 2019-20
• Top 10 in C-USA in 2019-20 in minutes (36.8, second), 3-PT FG made (2.0, sixth), assist-turnover ratio (1.1, eighth), assists (3.1, ninth) and scoring (14.1, 10th)
Alexis Whittington, Jr., Murfreesboro (Riverdale High School)
• Middle Tennessee's top reserve in 2019-20
• Averaged 24 minutes, 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 2019-20 while shooting 39.1% from the floor and 33.3% from 3-point range
Amanda Whittington, Jr., Murfreesboro (Riverdale High School)
• Started for the first time in her career against Tulane on Nov. 14, 2019
• Played critical minutes in double-OT win against WKU in late February
Taylor Lewis, So., Columbia, S.C. (Spring Valley High School)
• Appeared in 13 games as a freshman in 2019-20
• Former High School McDonald's All-American nominee and South Carolina Class 5A Player of the Year
Deja Cage, R-Sr., Chicago (Morgan Park High School)
• Made 21 starts in 2019-20 at Ole Miss, leading team in scoring (12.9) and 3-point field goals per game (2.3)
• Played first two years at DePaul before transferring to Ole Miss in 2018
• Big East All-Academic Team at DePaul
Forwards
Where Middle Tennessee desperately needed some depth last season was down low. It'll have that this year with a few forwards who can do damage on the block or step away from the basket.
Courtney Whitson is back after starting every game as a freshman a season ago. She'll get help from Rellah Boothe, a former McDonald's All-American Game MVP who only played in seven games last year while recovering from an injury, and a couple of freshmen coming to Murfreesboro from abroad.
Courtney Whitson, So., Kingsport, TN (Dobyns-Bennett High School)
• Started all 30 games as a freshman in 2019-20, earning C-USA Freshman of the Week once
• Averaged 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 2019-20
• Started all 139 career games at Dobyns-Bennett High School, where she's the school's all-time leading scorer for men or women with 2,458 points
Rellah Boothe, R-Jr., Ocala, FL (IMG Academy)
• Played in seven games in 2019-20 while recovering from knee injury
• Played freshman season at Texas before transferring to Northwest Florida State College then MT
• Former McDonald's High School All-America Game Most Valuable Player
Jada Grannum, Fr., Mississauga, ON (Lincoln Prep)
• First Canadian-born player to ever play for Lady Raiders
• Averaged 7 points and 7.3 rebounds during prep career
Anabel Latorre, Fr., Zaragoza, Spain (John Madejski Academy)
• First Spanish-born player to ever play for Lady Raiders
• Former MVP of the U18 National Cup
Centers
Rounding out Middle Tennessee's roster is a freshman center who along with her fellow freshmen teammates are making history at MT already.
Kseniia Kozlova played her prep ball at Monteverde Academy in Florida, but she hails from Moscow, Russia. She'll be the first Russian-born player to ever suit up for the Lady Raiders, and she'll provide another body down low.
Kseniia Kozlova, Fr., Moscow, Russia (Montverde (FL) Academy)
• First Russian-born player to ever play for Lady Raiders
• 2019 McDonald's All-American nominee
• Played for Russian National Team "Trinta" in Moscow
Players Mentioned
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