Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, February 1
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
5:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-157,73 CUSA
69
vs
48
UTSA
-614,27 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
UTSA
16
8
14
10
48
Middle Tennessee
12
25
17
15
69
Team Stats
UTSA
MT
FG%
.385
.338
3FG%
.273
.133
FT%
.556
.722
RB
37
49
TO
32
17
STL
9
20
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballLady Raiders force 32 turnovers in win
2/1/2020 7:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Charity Savage registers ninth double-double in victory
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Despite missing Conference USA's second-leading scorer, Middle Tennessee had little trouble putting UTSA away at home Saturday.
The Lady Raiders (15-7, 7-3) had never lost to the Roadrunners (6-14, 2-7) in six meetings before Saturday and weren't about to start. They went on a big run in the second quarter to build a double-digit lead and cruised in the second half to a 69-48 victory.
"We didn't shoot the ball well … but we played well on the defensive end tonight getting into passing lanes and turning defense into offense," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We're getting into the meat of our conference schedule. … What we have to do is stay in the hunt. We still have a chance to win this conference … but we have a tough road trip coming up."
UTSA held a 16-12 lead after the first 10 minutes of play, but the second quarter belonged to MT.
The Lady Raiders took advantage of one of the youngest teams in the nation — the Roadrunners have eight freshmen on their roster, second most in Division I — by forcing turnovers and turning them into points.
After turning UTSA over 10 times in the first quarter, Middle Tennessee forced another eight miscues in the second frame, helping it outscore UTSA 25-8 in the second quarter and leading to a 40-24 halftime advantage.
In total, the Lady Raiders forced 32 turnovers, leading to 30 points. Both were season highs, as well as their 20 steals.
"We're really confident in our defense," senior Charity Savage said. "We get into our scouts well, and we knew they cut backdoor a lot and enter into the high post a lot.
"We didn't do well in the first quarter with defense and getting into transition, so we put an emphasis on that after the first quarter."
Turning defense into offense was critical for MT, since leading scorer Anastasia Hayes was sidelined while recovering from a root canal. The sophomore went into the night second in C-USA with 357 points this season, an average of 17 per game.
It was a team effort to step up in her absence. Sophomore Alexis Whittington entered the starting lineup for the third time this season and finished with nine points and a career-high seven rebounds. Freshman Aislynn Hayes scored a career-high 25 points, her sixth game this season with 20 or more, and Savage collected her ninth double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds to go with a career-high six steals.
Not to be left out, freshman Kiya Turner played 17 minutes off the bench, two off her career high, and while she only scored two points, she made an impact defensively with four steals. The 5-foot-6 guard also grabbed three rebounds, two of them on the offensive end.
"It's easy to get frustrated when you aren't playing much … but for [Turner] to not give up and still play hard and get rewarded for it, you have to be proud of her for that," Savage said.
Also filling the stat sheet for Middle Tennessee was sophomore Taylor Sutton with 10 points and freshman Courtney Whitson with six points, 13 rebounds (eight offensive), three blocks and three steals.
The Lady Raiders will hit the road for their next three contests, starting Thursday at North Texas and following next Saturday at conference-leading Rice.
"This was a good win," Aislynn Hayes said. "We just have to keep working. Like coach said, we're getting into a touch stretch of our schedule."
The Lady Raiders (15-7, 7-3) had never lost to the Roadrunners (6-14, 2-7) in six meetings before Saturday and weren't about to start. They went on a big run in the second quarter to build a double-digit lead and cruised in the second half to a 69-48 victory.
"We didn't shoot the ball well … but we played well on the defensive end tonight getting into passing lanes and turning defense into offense," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We're getting into the meat of our conference schedule. … What we have to do is stay in the hunt. We still have a chance to win this conference … but we have a tough road trip coming up."
UTSA held a 16-12 lead after the first 10 minutes of play, but the second quarter belonged to MT.
The Lady Raiders took advantage of one of the youngest teams in the nation — the Roadrunners have eight freshmen on their roster, second most in Division I — by forcing turnovers and turning them into points.
After turning UTSA over 10 times in the first quarter, Middle Tennessee forced another eight miscues in the second frame, helping it outscore UTSA 25-8 in the second quarter and leading to a 40-24 halftime advantage.
In total, the Lady Raiders forced 32 turnovers, leading to 30 points. Both were season highs, as well as their 20 steals.
"We're really confident in our defense," senior Charity Savage said. "We get into our scouts well, and we knew they cut backdoor a lot and enter into the high post a lot.
"We didn't do well in the first quarter with defense and getting into transition, so we put an emphasis on that after the first quarter."
Turning defense into offense was critical for MT, since leading scorer Anastasia Hayes was sidelined while recovering from a root canal. The sophomore went into the night second in C-USA with 357 points this season, an average of 17 per game.
It was a team effort to step up in her absence. Sophomore Alexis Whittington entered the starting lineup for the third time this season and finished with nine points and a career-high seven rebounds. Freshman Aislynn Hayes scored a career-high 25 points, her sixth game this season with 20 or more, and Savage collected her ninth double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds to go with a career-high six steals.
Not to be left out, freshman Kiya Turner played 17 minutes off the bench, two off her career high, and while she only scored two points, she made an impact defensively with four steals. The 5-foot-6 guard also grabbed three rebounds, two of them on the offensive end.
"It's easy to get frustrated when you aren't playing much … but for [Turner] to not give up and still play hard and get rewarded for it, you have to be proud of her for that," Savage said.
Also filling the stat sheet for Middle Tennessee was sophomore Taylor Sutton with 10 points and freshman Courtney Whitson with six points, 13 rebounds (eight offensive), three blocks and three steals.
The Lady Raiders will hit the road for their next three contests, starting Thursday at North Texas and following next Saturday at conference-leading Rice.
"This was a good win," Aislynn Hayes said. "We just have to keep working. Like coach said, we're getting into a touch stretch of our schedule."
2025 MTSU Basketball tickets on sale now - October 1st
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