Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, January 28
Birmingham, AL
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-104,81 CUSA
81
at
78
UAB
-76,25 CUSA
1
2
3
4
OT 1
F
Middle Tenn.
23
15
17
15
11
81
UAB
17
16
23
14
8
78
Hayes' masterpiece lifts Lady Raiders to OT win at UAB
1/28/2021 8:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Junior guard pours in 42 points
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Anastasia Hayes has produced many memorable performances as a Lady Raider.
The sensational junior guard engineered one of the best in program and Conference USA history to lead Middle Tennessee (10-4, 8-1) to a riveting 81-78 overtime win at Bartow Arena Thursday.
Hayes poured in a career-high 42 points as the Lady Raiders won for the 10th time in 11 games and captured their eighth straight C-USA road win dating back to last season. In addition to the eye-popping 42 points, Hayes also had a career-high six 3-pointers (on eight attempts) and tied her career high with six steals, while also dishing out four assists and collecting three rebounds.
The 42 points are seventh most in program history and sixth most in C-USA history for a conference game. It is also tied for the fifth most points scored in a Division I women's basketball game this season.
Middle Tennessee needed every one of them to capture the league road win. The multi-talented player scored 21 consecutive Lady Raiders points during a stretch from the third quarter into the fourth.
"I just told our team going into overtime that we were not going to lose this game," Hayes said. "We had worked too hard and we just battled. We came together and did what we had to do to get this done. I'm so proud of our team."
Middle Tennessee had to show great resilience to snare victory after trailing by as many as seven in the fourth quarter.
Hayes gave Middle Tennessee a 70-68 lead on a driving layup from the left wing with 1:32 remaining in regulation; however, UAB center Zakyia Weathersby evened the score with 1:10 remaining and neither team tallied in the final 70 seconds.
Trailing 76-72 in overtime, Hayes came up with a steal and layup to narrow the gap to 76-74 with 2:43 remaining in the extra frame. On UAB's next possession, Hayes came away with her sixth steal and drew an intentional foul as she was attacking the goal. Hayes, who was 12-of-17 at the free-throw line, hit one of two to cut the lead to 76-75 with 2:26 remaining.
MT retained possession due to the intentional foul and Hayes found Alexis Whittington cutting to the basket for a huge basket to give the Lady Raiders a 77-76 lead with 1:15 remaining.
UAB went back on top, 78-77, on a Weathersby layup with 58 seconds to play; however, Whittington came up with several winning plays in the final seconds to seal the win. Aislynn Hayes attacked the basket and drew a foul with 30 seconds remaining and hit the first of two free throws to tie the game, 78-78. Whittington collected the offensive rebound to keep the possession alive.
Whittington collected an offensive rebound and stuck it back for an 80-78 lead with seven seconds remaining. She came away with another offensive rebound following Margaret Whitley's 3-point miss with two seconds remaining and hit one of two free throws to seal the win.
"What can you say about this bunch," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell. "They just battled and battled and refused to lose. I am proud of the effort and desire they showed on the road tonight. We have seen some outstanding individual performances from Lady Raiders through the years. Anastasia Hayes added another to the list tonight, and we really needed her. We had several players step up in key moments to get this victory."
Aislynn Hayes finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Deja Cage finished with 13 points and four rebounds. Courtney Whitson had another double-figure rebound game, finishing with 10 caroms.
Middle Tennessee and UAB will battle again when they hit the court inside Murphy Center Saturday at 4 p.m.
The sensational junior guard engineered one of the best in program and Conference USA history to lead Middle Tennessee (10-4, 8-1) to a riveting 81-78 overtime win at Bartow Arena Thursday.
Hayes poured in a career-high 42 points as the Lady Raiders won for the 10th time in 11 games and captured their eighth straight C-USA road win dating back to last season. In addition to the eye-popping 42 points, Hayes also had a career-high six 3-pointers (on eight attempts) and tied her career high with six steals, while also dishing out four assists and collecting three rebounds.
The 42 points are seventh most in program history and sixth most in C-USA history for a conference game. It is also tied for the fifth most points scored in a Division I women's basketball game this season.
Middle Tennessee needed every one of them to capture the league road win. The multi-talented player scored 21 consecutive Lady Raiders points during a stretch from the third quarter into the fourth.
"I just told our team going into overtime that we were not going to lose this game," Hayes said. "We had worked too hard and we just battled. We came together and did what we had to do to get this done. I'm so proud of our team."
Middle Tennessee had to show great resilience to snare victory after trailing by as many as seven in the fourth quarter.
Hayes gave Middle Tennessee a 70-68 lead on a driving layup from the left wing with 1:32 remaining in regulation; however, UAB center Zakyia Weathersby evened the score with 1:10 remaining and neither team tallied in the final 70 seconds.
Trailing 76-72 in overtime, Hayes came up with a steal and layup to narrow the gap to 76-74 with 2:43 remaining in the extra frame. On UAB's next possession, Hayes came away with her sixth steal and drew an intentional foul as she was attacking the goal. Hayes, who was 12-of-17 at the free-throw line, hit one of two to cut the lead to 76-75 with 2:26 remaining.
MT retained possession due to the intentional foul and Hayes found Alexis Whittington cutting to the basket for a huge basket to give the Lady Raiders a 77-76 lead with 1:15 remaining.
UAB went back on top, 78-77, on a Weathersby layup with 58 seconds to play; however, Whittington came up with several winning plays in the final seconds to seal the win. Aislynn Hayes attacked the basket and drew a foul with 30 seconds remaining and hit the first of two free throws to tie the game, 78-78. Whittington collected the offensive rebound to keep the possession alive.
Whittington collected an offensive rebound and stuck it back for an 80-78 lead with seven seconds remaining. She came away with another offensive rebound following Margaret Whitley's 3-point miss with two seconds remaining and hit one of two free throws to seal the win.
"What can you say about this bunch," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell. "They just battled and battled and refused to lose. I am proud of the effort and desire they showed on the road tonight. We have seen some outstanding individual performances from Lady Raiders through the years. Anastasia Hayes added another to the list tonight, and we really needed her. We had several players step up in key moments to get this victory."
Aislynn Hayes finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Deja Cage finished with 13 points and four rebounds. Courtney Whitson had another double-figure rebound game, finishing with 10 caroms.
Middle Tennessee and UAB will battle again when they hit the court inside Murphy Center Saturday at 4 p.m.
Team Stats
MTSU
UAB
FG%
.342
.382
3FG%
.371
.342
FT%
.667
.700
RB
45
56
TO
7
15
STL
12
3
Game Leaders
Pts
42
FGM
12
3FGM
6
FTM
12
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG
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