Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 16
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
4:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-74,51 CUSA
61
vs
69
Southern Miss
-35,15 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
15
13
14
27
69
Middle Tennessee
18
16
13
14
61
USM rally snaps Lady Raider win streak at seven
1/16/2021 6:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT drops 69-61 decision
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Courage and fight weren't enough to overcome some tired legs for Middle Tennessee Saturday.
The Lady Raiders (7-4, 5-1) were searching for their eighth win in a row and a weekend sweep over Conference USA foe Southern Miss, but the Golden Eagles (3-5, 1-5) had other plans, leaving the Murphy Center a 69-61 winner.
"They just outplayed us," MT head coach Rick Insell said. "You have to tip your hat to them. They played harder than we played … and I wish them all the luck in the world.
"We did a very bad job of executing. We just have to get back in here and practice Monday and Tuesday and get things going again, because we have to go to WKU."
Friday's 78-58 Lady Raider victory came on the back of winning the turnover battle, capitalizing on offensive rebounds and hitting free throws. The same looked like it was in store for Saturday, but some offensive miscues eventually did MT in.
The starting five played almost the entire game, with junior Amanda Whittington the only bench player seeing action with three minutes. Playing those many minutes on the tail end of a back-to-back is always tough, and the exhaustion showed down the stretch. Middle Tennessee only hit five of its final 17 shots and committed 10 turnovers in the second half.
"They closed the paint up very well, so you had no choice but to shoot," sophomore Aislynn Hayes said. "The shots that we had were open shots. We just didn't hit them like we usually do, and you'll have nights like that."
Consistent shooting was hard to come by all weekend for MT. After only hitting 33.8% of its shots on Friday, including 26.9% from 3-point range, it followed Saturday by shooting 32.8% and 21.1% (8-for-38) from distance.
"We had good looks, we just didn't make our shots like we usually do," Hayes said. "We just got in our heads once we started missing."
Led by 19 first-half points by junior Anastasia Hayes, the Lady Raiders led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter before Southern Miss closed the advantage down to six at the half.
The battle was on from there.
Both teams took the lead a couple of times in the third quarter before MT closed the frame on a 7-2 run to take a five-point advantage into the final 10 minutes. The Golden Eagles closed that gap quickly and took the lead at the 5:51 mark, never surrendering it again.
When things got tough for Middle Tennessee late, it was Aislynn Hayes who kept them within striking distance. She scored nine of her 18 points in the fourth quarter with a couple of made treys and also ripped down seven rebounds to tie the team high.
"Aislynn kept us in the game late. We needed that," Insell said. "I was really pleased with her for that. That's what a point guard is supposed to do is keep you in the ball game late."
Anastasia Hayes, who went into the weekend leading the country averaging 28.6 points per game, finished the night with 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Senior Deja Cage was the other Lady Raider in double-figure scoring with 11.
Middle Tennessee will look to start a new winning streak next weekend when it travels just up the road to take on rival WKU.
The Lady Raiders (7-4, 5-1) were searching for their eighth win in a row and a weekend sweep over Conference USA foe Southern Miss, but the Golden Eagles (3-5, 1-5) had other plans, leaving the Murphy Center a 69-61 winner.
"They just outplayed us," MT head coach Rick Insell said. "You have to tip your hat to them. They played harder than we played … and I wish them all the luck in the world.
"We did a very bad job of executing. We just have to get back in here and practice Monday and Tuesday and get things going again, because we have to go to WKU."
Friday's 78-58 Lady Raider victory came on the back of winning the turnover battle, capitalizing on offensive rebounds and hitting free throws. The same looked like it was in store for Saturday, but some offensive miscues eventually did MT in.
The starting five played almost the entire game, with junior Amanda Whittington the only bench player seeing action with three minutes. Playing those many minutes on the tail end of a back-to-back is always tough, and the exhaustion showed down the stretch. Middle Tennessee only hit five of its final 17 shots and committed 10 turnovers in the second half.
"They closed the paint up very well, so you had no choice but to shoot," sophomore Aislynn Hayes said. "The shots that we had were open shots. We just didn't hit them like we usually do, and you'll have nights like that."
Consistent shooting was hard to come by all weekend for MT. After only hitting 33.8% of its shots on Friday, including 26.9% from 3-point range, it followed Saturday by shooting 32.8% and 21.1% (8-for-38) from distance.
"We had good looks, we just didn't make our shots like we usually do," Hayes said. "We just got in our heads once we started missing."
Led by 19 first-half points by junior Anastasia Hayes, the Lady Raiders led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter before Southern Miss closed the advantage down to six at the half.
The battle was on from there.
Both teams took the lead a couple of times in the third quarter before MT closed the frame on a 7-2 run to take a five-point advantage into the final 10 minutes. The Golden Eagles closed that gap quickly and took the lead at the 5:51 mark, never surrendering it again.
When things got tough for Middle Tennessee late, it was Aislynn Hayes who kept them within striking distance. She scored nine of her 18 points in the fourth quarter with a couple of made treys and also ripped down seven rebounds to tie the team high.
"Aislynn kept us in the game late. We needed that," Insell said. "I was really pleased with her for that. That's what a point guard is supposed to do is keep you in the ball game late."
Anastasia Hayes, who went into the weekend leading the country averaging 28.6 points per game, finished the night with 24 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Senior Deja Cage was the other Lady Raider in double-figure scoring with 11.
Middle Tennessee will look to start a new winning streak next weekend when it travels just up the road to take on rival WKU.
Team Stats
USM
MT
FG%
.456
.328
3FG%
.438
.211
FT%
.714
.786
RB
43
33
TO
24
17
STL
8
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
9
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballG
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