Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Tuesday, November 9
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
7:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
-10,00 CUSA
70
vs
49
East Carolina
0-1,0-0AAC
1
2
3
4
F
East Carolina
5
13
11
20
49
Middle Tenn.
15
16
21
18
70
Team Stats
ECU
MTSU
FG%
.333
.447
3FG%
.188
.500
FT%
.476
.778
RB
30
38
TO
20
29
STL
10
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Kaitlyn Hungerford/MT Athletic Communications
Lady Raiders grind out season-opening win vs. ECU
11/9/2021 10:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Whitson pours in 21 to lead victory
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee women's basketball grinded out a gritty season opening win, holding East Carolina to 33 percent shooting from the field and 19 percent shooting from beyond the arc in a 70-49 win at the Murphy Center on Tuesday night.
The Lady Raiders shot 14-of-28 from 3-point range, scoring 60 percent of their points on the triple to power past the Pirates' pressing defense. The 50 percent shooting clip beyond the arc is the best percentage a Middle Tennessee team coached by head coach Rick Insell has had in its season opener.
"We can shoot the heck out of the basketball," Insell said. "If we get any kind of look, we're going to let go. I think one of those out there was about 50 foot."
Courtney Whitson paced the Lady Raiders with 21 points, just one point off of her career high, shooting 7-for-12 with a 5-for-9 clip from three. The point guard duo of Dor Saar and Courtney Blakely were the other two Lady Raiders in double digits, with the graduate transfer Saar scoring 18 points in her official debut while the freshman Blakely added 14 off the bench in her first official collegiate action.
Saar had the highlight of the game near the end of the third quarter, drawing contact on the three-point shot for the foul, burying the three to cheers of a raucous Murphy Center crowd. The Ma'anit, Israel native pumped her team by pounding her chest as the ball sank through the net.
"I'm really big on momentum," Saar said. "Hitting shots like that just brings a lot of momentum and energy. I'm just happy it went in and it helped the team win."
The basketball at times was brutal in Murfreesboro, as each team eclipsed 20 turnovers on the night as they shook out the season opening rust. The Pirates' 1-2-2 press gave MT fits most of the night, with the Lady Raiders turning the ball over six times in the first 10 minutes alone.
"They've got a lot of length, they switch it up, and it just makes it tough," Insell said. "And we knew that. (Assistant Coach) Matt (Insell) had the scout, and he did a tremendous job getting the kids ready. We just didn't execute early."
But the Lady Raiders were even more disruptive when the Pirates had the ball. MT held ECU to score just five points in the first quarter, the fewest points the Lady Raiders have ever given up in the first quarter since NCAA women's basketball switched to quarters and tied for the third-fewest points ever given up in a quarter in Middle Tennessee history.
Insell mentioned not being happy with his team's 29 turnovers, with 15 of those turnovers come from freshmen making their Lady Raider debut. But as Whitson said, a win is a win, and it's something that MT will have to correct quickly. Middle Tennessee travels to Richmond, Va. on Friday to take on 2021 NCAA Tournament participant VCU that evening.
"We didn't play good, but it's a win," Whitson said. "We're young, we're going to learn, we're going to learn from it, we play in two days. One thing our team's going to have to learn is it's not high school anymore, we don't have two weeks in between games or have one week to harp on whether we did good or bad. We've just got to flush this one and get ready for VCU."
The Lady Raiders shot 14-of-28 from 3-point range, scoring 60 percent of their points on the triple to power past the Pirates' pressing defense. The 50 percent shooting clip beyond the arc is the best percentage a Middle Tennessee team coached by head coach Rick Insell has had in its season opener.
"We can shoot the heck out of the basketball," Insell said. "If we get any kind of look, we're going to let go. I think one of those out there was about 50 foot."
Courtney Whitson paced the Lady Raiders with 21 points, just one point off of her career high, shooting 7-for-12 with a 5-for-9 clip from three. The point guard duo of Dor Saar and Courtney Blakely were the other two Lady Raiders in double digits, with the graduate transfer Saar scoring 18 points in her official debut while the freshman Blakely added 14 off the bench in her first official collegiate action.
Saar had the highlight of the game near the end of the third quarter, drawing contact on the three-point shot for the foul, burying the three to cheers of a raucous Murphy Center crowd. The Ma'anit, Israel native pumped her team by pounding her chest as the ball sank through the net.
"I'm really big on momentum," Saar said. "Hitting shots like that just brings a lot of momentum and energy. I'm just happy it went in and it helped the team win."
The basketball at times was brutal in Murfreesboro, as each team eclipsed 20 turnovers on the night as they shook out the season opening rust. The Pirates' 1-2-2 press gave MT fits most of the night, with the Lady Raiders turning the ball over six times in the first 10 minutes alone.
"They've got a lot of length, they switch it up, and it just makes it tough," Insell said. "And we knew that. (Assistant Coach) Matt (Insell) had the scout, and he did a tremendous job getting the kids ready. We just didn't execute early."
But the Lady Raiders were even more disruptive when the Pirates had the ball. MT held ECU to score just five points in the first quarter, the fewest points the Lady Raiders have ever given up in the first quarter since NCAA women's basketball switched to quarters and tied for the third-fewest points ever given up in a quarter in Middle Tennessee history.
Insell mentioned not being happy with his team's 29 turnovers, with 15 of those turnovers come from freshmen making their Lady Raider debut. But as Whitson said, a win is a win, and it's something that MT will have to correct quickly. Middle Tennessee travels to Richmond, Va. on Friday to take on 2021 NCAA Tournament participant VCU that evening.
"We didn't play good, but it's a win," Whitson said. "We're young, we're going to learn, we're going to learn from it, we play in two days. One thing our team's going to have to learn is it's not high school anymore, we don't have two weeks in between games or have one week to harp on whether we did good or bad. We've just got to flush this one and get ready for VCU."
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Rick Insell Conference USA Hall of Fame Announcement
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2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
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MTSU Women's Basketball Coach Rick Insell interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
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