Undefeated Lady Raiders set to compete in Daytona Beach Invitational

Daytona Beach, Fla. – Middle Tennessee women's basketball takes its 4-0 record into the Daytona Beach Invitational where it will face Marquette and Illinois Nov. 26-27. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. both days at the Ocean Center.

Last time out - Nov. 22, 2021 at Tennessee Tech (W, 65-47) RECAP
The Lady Raiders stormed out to a strong start and never relented as they used balanced scoring and airtight team defense to take control of the game in the first half.

MT shot 45.3 percent from the field and held the Golden Eagles to 27 percent, including just three 3-pointers.

Jalynn Gregory scored a game-high 15 points. Alexis Whittington finished with 14 points and added nine rebounds and three steals. Whittington was a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Courtney Whitson rounded out the double digit Blue Raider scorers posting a line of 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Putting Middle Tennessee on the map
How good has the Blue Raider defense been? The following is where Middle Tennessee ranks nationally in several categories.

13th in the country in both opponent field goal percentage and scoring defense. The Blue Raiders are holding opponents to 30 percent shooting from the field and 47 points per game.
Sixth in the nation in opponent 3-point percentage (15.3).

Offensively, MT is tied for 16th in 3-point field goals per game (9.5). Whitson averages 37.3 minutes per game, which is 19th in the country. She is also tied for 26th in 3-point field goals made (14) and 12th in 3-point field goals per game (3.5).

Blue Raider notes

Middle Tennessee has made 18 consecutive postseason appearances.
This season's roster includes six international players from five different countries.
Whitson has scored in double figures in all four games this season.
The Lady Raiders have held all four opponents to less than 50 points, marking the only time in program history that a MT team has held four straight foes to less than 50 points during any stretch.
Five of the 11 non-conference foes were NCAA Tournament teams last season, including Friday's opponent Marquette.

Examining the Golden Eagles
After a 3-0 start to the season, Marquette suffered its first loss at Colorado Nov. 19.

Marquette puts up 76 points per game and is shooting just under 49 percent on the season. The field goal percentage is 19th best in the nation.

Defensively, opponents are scoring 50.5 points per contest and have a field goal percentage of 33.5 percent.
The offensive attack is led by a trio of players. Karissa McLaughlin leads all Golden Eagle scorers with 15.3 points per game and has made 11 3-pointers. No other Golden Eagle has more than three 3-pointers.

Lauren Van Kleunen scores 13 points per contest and is averaging 6.8 per game. Jordan King rounds out the top scoring threats by averaging 10.3 points and five assists per game.

This season marks head coach Megan Duffy's third season leading the team. Coming into this season, she was off to the best two-year start of any coach in program history with a 43-15 record. As an at-large NCAA Tournament selection in 2021, Marquette fell to Virginia Tech in the first round.

Inspecting the Illini
Illinois is also off to a 3-1 start to the season after going 5-18 (2-16 in the Big Ten) last season. Its only loss this year has been to Southern Illinois Edwardsville on Nov. 18. Before facing the Blue Raiders, the Fighting Illini will face Dayton Nov. 26 at 1:15 p.m.

Scoring 15 points per game, Aaliyah Nye is the lone member on the roster averaging double figures this season. The sophomore guard has made 11 3-pointers this season and is coming off a game in which she hit 5-of-6 beyond the arc in Illinois' 86-82 win over UC Riverside.

Like Middle Tennessee, Illinois brings in a large group of newcomers. The roster features three true freshmen and three transfers.

The Daytona Beach Invitational will be the Fighting Illini's first games away from home this season.

Nancy Fahey is in her fourth season as head coach of Illinois. She has a record of 35-79 at the school and a 772-212 career record in 35 seasons with Illinois and Washington University.

All-time series

MT will be making its first appearance against both Marquette and Illinois at the Daytona Beach Invitational.

Options to follow the game

This weekend's game will stream on FloHoops (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

Courtney Whitson

Alexis Whittington

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics