MT welcomes Vanderbilt Monday

Murfreesboro, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee women's basketball returns home to face in-state foe Vanderbilt Monday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. inside the Murphy Center.

Last time out - Nov. 12, 2021 at VCU (W, 54-46) RECAP
The Lady Raiders defeated a 2021 NCAA Tournament team in VCU on the road Friday. After holding a 22-point lead at halftime, MT held off a late VCU comeback bid to improve to 2-0.

Dor Saar led the Blue Raiders with 18 points and six assists. Jalynn Gregory and Courtney Whitson each scored 11 points. Alexis Whittington recorded her fourth career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, along with four steals.

Blue Raider notes

Middle Tennessee has made 18 consecutive postseason appearances.
This season's roster includes six international players from five different countries.
Opponents are scoring an average of 4.5 points in the first quarter against the Blue Raiders this season and 14.5 points in the first half.
Courtney Whitson has made 57 consecutive starts for Middle Tennessee. The Kingsport, Tenn. native is putting up 16 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season.
Scoring 18 points in both games, Dor Saar's season is off to a good start. The grad transfer guard is also dishing five assists per game and is tied for the team lead in 3-point field goals with seven.

Scouting the Commodores
Vanderbilt split its first two games of the season, defeating Gardner-Webb 75-59 in its season opener and falling to Little Rock 40-56 Nov. 12.

Brinae Alexander is averaging 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season to lead the Commodores. Vanderbilt has three other players scoring at least eight points per game. Alexander and Demi Washington each have three steals while Jordyn Cambridge has nine total assists through two games.

Vanderbilt and its opponents both average 57.5 points per game with the Commodores shooting 41.2 percent from the field. Opponents are a combined nine-for-36 from beyond the arc (25 percent).

The Commodores played just eight games in 2020-21, finishing the season 4-4 and 0-3 in the SEC. The program discontinued its season on Jan. 18 due to COVID-19, opt-outs and injuries.

Shea Ralph is in her first season as Vanderbilt's head coach after serving the previous 13 seasons as an assistant at UConn.

All-time series
MT leads the all-time series 12-8. The team's have not met since 2018 when the Blue Raiders won 65-58 at the Murphy Center.

Promotions
Monday is Tik Tok Night. Giveaways include 2021-22 Women's Basketball schedule posters for the first 250 fans. The first 250 students will receive selfie lights for their phones.

Options to follow the game

Can't make it to the game? Monday's game will stream on ESPN+ (subscription required). Listen on WGNS 1450 AM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM or GoBlueRaiders.com/Watch.
Fans can also follow along on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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Players Mentioned

Jalynn Gregory

Dor Saar

Courtney Whitson

Alexis Whittington

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics