Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Expectations high for Lady Raiders
12/4/2020 11:32:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MT opens season vs. Belmont Sunday
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Excitement is buzzing around Middle Tennessee's Lady Raiders as they anxiously await the start of the 2020-21 season.
The Lady Raiders received seven votes in the season's first USA Today Coaches Poll, good for 33rd in the country. They were supposed to start the campaign with a Nov. 25 showdown in Murfreesboro against No. 5 Louisville, but that game and the next on Nov. 29 against Vanderbilt had to be postponed due to COVID-19.
As a reminder, fans currently are not being allowed inside the Murphy Center for basketball games.
Despite having to wait a little longer than expected to begin their quest for a Conference USA championship, Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Insell is excited about his team, and for good reason.
"We're excited about what's going on here," he said. "We have a team coming back that is pretty experienced … and we've been able to accomplish a lot of things [this offseason.]"
Preseason favorites in C-USA
The Lady Raiders were picked during the preseason by C-USA's coaches to win the league in 2020-21, while redshirt junior guard Anastasia Hayes was named Preseason Player of the Year. Her sister, sophomore guard Aislynn Hayes, was also placed on the Preseason All-C-USA team.
Anastasia Hayes was named the C-USA Newcomer of the Year last season and was included on the all-conference first team. She led the Lady Raiders and was top four in C-USA in scoring, assists, steals and minutes played as a sophomore, her first year playing for her hometown school.
Aislynn Hayes became the second Lady Raider ever to be named a Freshman All-American when she was included last season by Her Hoops Stats. She was the C-USA Freshman of the Year and finished second for MT in points, minutes played, assists and 3-point field goals.
Returning strength
Along with the Hayes sisters, Middle Tennessee has a lot of pieces returning from what was a very talented team last year that finished 21-9 and 13-5 in C-USA.
The Lady Raiders lost sharpshooter Taylor Sutton and Kiya Turner to transfer and last year's senior sensation Charity Savage to graduation, but everyone else is back.
Sophomore Courtney Whitson, who started all 30 games last season as a freshman, returns after averaging 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds. She'll be joined in the post by Rellah Boothe, a former McDonald's All-American Game MVP who only played in seven games for MT a year ago.
Boothe was out most of last season while recovering from knee surgery, but if she's back to full health, she and Whitson make a dangerous forward combo with their ability to step away from the basket and rebound.
"That's a huge help for us," Anastasia Hayes said. "Having someone down there who we can throw down to on offense and rebound will really help us this season."
Also back this season are junior Murfreesboro natives Alexis and Amanda Whittington, who were teammates at local Riverdale High School with the Hayes sisters.
The Whittington twins are undeniably great shooters, but they do a little more for the Lady Raiders.
Alexis Whittington played 24 minutes per game last season, averaging 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She also had 25 steals and 21 blocks while being one of MT's best perimeter defenders. Amanda Whittington didn't see action in many games, but she played crucial minutes in the double-overtime win against rival WKU.
Sophomore guard Taylor Lewis, who played in 13 games as a freshman last season, rounds out the returning Lady Raiders.
Reinforcements
Losing Savage's 10.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game — not to mention her team-leading 38 blocks — is a lot that Middle Tennessee is going to have to replace down low this season. As mentioned earlier, having a healthy Boothe will help. A few reinforcements joining the Lady Raiders will also go a long way.
Middle Tennessee's freshman class is made up of three girls standing 6-foot-3, 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-4. They're also all from outside of the United States, Jada Grannum hailing from Mississauga, Ontario; Anabel Latorre from Zaragoza, Spain; and Kseniia Kozlova from Moscow, Russia.
The three freshmen will provide good size down low, and Insell expects them to step in and see time immediately.
"All three of them have great size … and you can see that they'll play a lot this year," he said. "I'm excited to get into the season and see where they're at."
Joining the freshmen trio in this year's signing class is graduate transfer Deja Cage, who transferred to MT from Ole Miss.
Cage started 21 games for the Lady Rebels last season, leading them in scoring and 3-point field goals per game. She'll provide even more experience to a group that doesn't lack it.
"She's a really good player with a lot of experience, and she can really shoot the ball," Anastasia Hayes said. "I really love playing with her."
Tough schedule … again
As is a Rick Insell staple, Middle Tennessee' schedule is no joke this season.
Even without playing against Louisville and Vanderbilt, the Lady Raiders still have a tough nonconference slate with games against Belmont, Tulane, TCU, Troy and Lipscomb.
"We're just excited to be playing," Insell said. "We're excited about being at the starting line and getting through our nonconference and into conference play."
Things will look a little different this season in C-USA play. All teams are switching from the regular Thursday-Saturday slate each week with two opponents to back-to-back games against the same team on Fridays and Saturdays.
Middle Tennessee's C-USA season will start Jan. 1 and 2 at home against Florida Atlantic.
The Lady Raiders received seven votes in the season's first USA Today Coaches Poll, good for 33rd in the country. They were supposed to start the campaign with a Nov. 25 showdown in Murfreesboro against No. 5 Louisville, but that game and the next on Nov. 29 against Vanderbilt had to be postponed due to COVID-19.
As a reminder, fans currently are not being allowed inside the Murphy Center for basketball games.
Despite having to wait a little longer than expected to begin their quest for a Conference USA championship, Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Insell is excited about his team, and for good reason.
"We're excited about what's going on here," he said. "We have a team coming back that is pretty experienced … and we've been able to accomplish a lot of things [this offseason.]"
Preseason favorites in C-USA
The Lady Raiders were picked during the preseason by C-USA's coaches to win the league in 2020-21, while redshirt junior guard Anastasia Hayes was named Preseason Player of the Year. Her sister, sophomore guard Aislynn Hayes, was also placed on the Preseason All-C-USA team.
Anastasia Hayes was named the C-USA Newcomer of the Year last season and was included on the all-conference first team. She led the Lady Raiders and was top four in C-USA in scoring, assists, steals and minutes played as a sophomore, her first year playing for her hometown school.
Aislynn Hayes became the second Lady Raider ever to be named a Freshman All-American when she was included last season by Her Hoops Stats. She was the C-USA Freshman of the Year and finished second for MT in points, minutes played, assists and 3-point field goals.
Returning strength
Along with the Hayes sisters, Middle Tennessee has a lot of pieces returning from what was a very talented team last year that finished 21-9 and 13-5 in C-USA.
The Lady Raiders lost sharpshooter Taylor Sutton and Kiya Turner to transfer and last year's senior sensation Charity Savage to graduation, but everyone else is back.
Sophomore Courtney Whitson, who started all 30 games last season as a freshman, returns after averaging 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds. She'll be joined in the post by Rellah Boothe, a former McDonald's All-American Game MVP who only played in seven games for MT a year ago.
Boothe was out most of last season while recovering from knee surgery, but if she's back to full health, she and Whitson make a dangerous forward combo with their ability to step away from the basket and rebound.
"That's a huge help for us," Anastasia Hayes said. "Having someone down there who we can throw down to on offense and rebound will really help us this season."
Also back this season are junior Murfreesboro natives Alexis and Amanda Whittington, who were teammates at local Riverdale High School with the Hayes sisters.
The Whittington twins are undeniably great shooters, but they do a little more for the Lady Raiders.
Alexis Whittington played 24 minutes per game last season, averaging 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. She also had 25 steals and 21 blocks while being one of MT's best perimeter defenders. Amanda Whittington didn't see action in many games, but she played crucial minutes in the double-overtime win against rival WKU.
Sophomore guard Taylor Lewis, who played in 13 games as a freshman last season, rounds out the returning Lady Raiders.
Reinforcements
Losing Savage's 10.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per game — not to mention her team-leading 38 blocks — is a lot that Middle Tennessee is going to have to replace down low this season. As mentioned earlier, having a healthy Boothe will help. A few reinforcements joining the Lady Raiders will also go a long way.
Middle Tennessee's freshman class is made up of three girls standing 6-foot-3, 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-4. They're also all from outside of the United States, Jada Grannum hailing from Mississauga, Ontario; Anabel Latorre from Zaragoza, Spain; and Kseniia Kozlova from Moscow, Russia.
The three freshmen will provide good size down low, and Insell expects them to step in and see time immediately.
"All three of them have great size … and you can see that they'll play a lot this year," he said. "I'm excited to get into the season and see where they're at."
Joining the freshmen trio in this year's signing class is graduate transfer Deja Cage, who transferred to MT from Ole Miss.
Cage started 21 games for the Lady Rebels last season, leading them in scoring and 3-point field goals per game. She'll provide even more experience to a group that doesn't lack it.
"She's a really good player with a lot of experience, and she can really shoot the ball," Anastasia Hayes said. "I really love playing with her."
Tough schedule … again
As is a Rick Insell staple, Middle Tennessee' schedule is no joke this season.
Even without playing against Louisville and Vanderbilt, the Lady Raiders still have a tough nonconference slate with games against Belmont, Tulane, TCU, Troy and Lipscomb.
"We're just excited to be playing," Insell said. "We're excited about being at the starting line and getting through our nonconference and into conference play."
Things will look a little different this season in C-USA play. All teams are switching from the regular Thursday-Saturday slate each week with two opponents to back-to-back games against the same team on Fridays and Saturdays.
Middle Tennessee's C-USA season will start Jan. 1 and 2 at home against Florida Atlantic.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballFacility 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
