Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 23
Bowling Green, KY
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-94,71 CUSA
77
at
60
WKU
-39,24 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tenn.
22
11
23
21
77
Western Ky.
8
19
19
14
60
Lady Raiders snag historic win at Diddle Arena
1/23/2021 8:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT completes WKU sweep, 77-60
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Talk about making up for lost time.
Middle Tennessee (9-4, 7-1) ended seven years of frustration at Diddle Arena by sweeping rival WKU in historic fashion with a 77-60 win here Saturday night.
After winning in Diddle Arena for the first time since 2013 and ending a six-game losing streak there Friday night, the Lady Raiders made history Saturday.
Middle Tennessee became the first team ever to beat WKU twice at Diddle Arena in the same season as they won for the ninth time in 10 games.
"It feels great to get out of here with two wins," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "It's never easy to win at Diddle Arena so to get two wins in two days is pretty special for our group of young ladies. They just battled, worked hard, executed, got after loose balls. I'm really pleased."
Anastasia Hayes led the charge with 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting. She's scored 20-plus points in every game this season and 17 straight dating back to last. Anastasia Hayes was one of five Lady Raiders with double-figure scoring and a sixth tallied nine.
"Great team win," Insell said. "They all contributed, and we needed that to get these wins. WKU battled back after we had built a good early lead, but we knew they would. I'm just pleased with how we responded."
Aislynn Hayes was outstanding with 15 points, a career-high eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals. Courtney Whitson and Deja Cage just missed double-doubles. Whitson was a stat sheet stuffer with 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. Cage finished with 11 points and tied her career high with nine rebounds.
Rellah Boothe provided quality minutes for the second straight game in her return to the court this weekend. Boothe tied her season high of 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting and collected four rebounds in just under 14 minutes. Alexis Whittington totaled nine points on 3-of-5 shooting.
After Middle Tennessee exploded out of the gate to build a 22-8 lead after the first quarter, WKU whittled away at the lead and had pulled to within 33-27 by intermission.
The Lady Toppers pulled as close as four on four different occasions in the third quarter. Middle Tennessee's defense never allowed them to get closer. Anastasia Hayes and Aislynn Hayes were a big reason. The sisters combined for 16 of the team's 23 points in the quarter. One of the biggest daggers was Aislynn Hayes' corner 3-pointer with 3:36 remaining after WKU had pulled to within six.
Boothe provided one of the game's biggest stretches. She scored four straight points to close the third quarter and opened the fourth with another basket to push the lead back to double digits, 56-45.
The Lady Raiders came out clicking on all cylinders. After WKU hits its first 3-pointer to take a 3-0 lead, the remainder of the quarter belonged to Middle Tennessee. The Lady Raiders used an 11-0 run to establish themselves early. Before the dust had settled the Lady Raiders had used a 19-2 run over a span of 6:34 to open a 19-5 lead.
Consecutive 3-pointers off the fingertips of Whittington, Cage and Whitson provided a 22-8 lead after one quarter. The Lady Raiders shot 50 percent (9-of-18) in the opening stanza, including a 4-of-10 showing beyond the arc. As good as the Lady Raiders were offensively, there were even better on the defensive end as they limited WKU to 3-of-15 from the field.
Middle Tennessee continues its road trip with a game at UAB Thursday at 6 p.m.
Middle Tennessee (9-4, 7-1) ended seven years of frustration at Diddle Arena by sweeping rival WKU in historic fashion with a 77-60 win here Saturday night.
After winning in Diddle Arena for the first time since 2013 and ending a six-game losing streak there Friday night, the Lady Raiders made history Saturday.
Middle Tennessee became the first team ever to beat WKU twice at Diddle Arena in the same season as they won for the ninth time in 10 games.
"It feels great to get out of here with two wins," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "It's never easy to win at Diddle Arena so to get two wins in two days is pretty special for our group of young ladies. They just battled, worked hard, executed, got after loose balls. I'm really pleased."
Anastasia Hayes led the charge with 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting. She's scored 20-plus points in every game this season and 17 straight dating back to last. Anastasia Hayes was one of five Lady Raiders with double-figure scoring and a sixth tallied nine.
"Great team win," Insell said. "They all contributed, and we needed that to get these wins. WKU battled back after we had built a good early lead, but we knew they would. I'm just pleased with how we responded."
Aislynn Hayes was outstanding with 15 points, a career-high eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals. Courtney Whitson and Deja Cage just missed double-doubles. Whitson was a stat sheet stuffer with 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. Cage finished with 11 points and tied her career high with nine rebounds.
Rellah Boothe provided quality minutes for the second straight game in her return to the court this weekend. Boothe tied her season high of 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting and collected four rebounds in just under 14 minutes. Alexis Whittington totaled nine points on 3-of-5 shooting.
After Middle Tennessee exploded out of the gate to build a 22-8 lead after the first quarter, WKU whittled away at the lead and had pulled to within 33-27 by intermission.
The Lady Toppers pulled as close as four on four different occasions in the third quarter. Middle Tennessee's defense never allowed them to get closer. Anastasia Hayes and Aislynn Hayes were a big reason. The sisters combined for 16 of the team's 23 points in the quarter. One of the biggest daggers was Aislynn Hayes' corner 3-pointer with 3:36 remaining after WKU had pulled to within six.
Boothe provided one of the game's biggest stretches. She scored four straight points to close the third quarter and opened the fourth with another basket to push the lead back to double digits, 56-45.
The Lady Raiders came out clicking on all cylinders. After WKU hits its first 3-pointer to take a 3-0 lead, the remainder of the quarter belonged to Middle Tennessee. The Lady Raiders used an 11-0 run to establish themselves early. Before the dust had settled the Lady Raiders had used a 19-2 run over a span of 6:34 to open a 19-5 lead.
Consecutive 3-pointers off the fingertips of Whittington, Cage and Whitson provided a 22-8 lead after one quarter. The Lady Raiders shot 50 percent (9-of-18) in the opening stanza, including a 4-of-10 showing beyond the arc. As good as the Lady Raiders were offensively, there were even better on the defensive end as they limited WKU to 3-of-15 from the field.
Middle Tennessee continues its road trip with a game at UAB Thursday at 6 p.m.
Team Stats
MTSU
WestKy
FG%
.492
.365
3FG%
.273
.316
FT%
.462
.533
RB
39
40
TO
19
19
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ 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
