Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Friday, December 17
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-82,00 CUSA
62
vs
61
Southern Illinois
4-4,0-0MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Ill.
19
10
15
17
61
Middle Tenn.
13
14
19
16
62
Team Stats
SIU
MTSU
FG%
.397
.407
3FG%
.167
.300
FT%
.706
.500
RB
44
30
TO
21
14
STL
9
11
Game Leaders
Pts
27
FGM
10
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Gregory's career-high 27 points spark Lady Raider win
12/17/2021 8:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT survives Southern Illinois, 62-61
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.— Jalynn Gregory came out of the Lady Raider huddle near the end of the fourth quarter with a look of determination on her face. Coming off a narrow loss last weekend against former Sun Belt rival Troy, the 5-foot-8-inch guard knew that she was going to play a huge part in the outcome for her team tonight the way the first three quarters had gone against Southern Illinois.
Off the inbound play, the freshman came off a screen and came open near the top of the arc. With almost no hesitation, Gregory fired a long bomb that hardly tickled the twine on its way down, getting thrown to the ground in the process and drawing a huge foul.
Her teammates all smiled and picked her up off the floor, when she calmly sank the free-throw to complete the four-point play. With just over 2:00 left on the clock, Gregory drove the nail in the proverbial coffin to help her team secure a 62-61 win to close out non-conference play.
"During the game, my mind goes blank," Gregory said. "Really, I love when things like (the four-point play) happen in games, though, because it brings the energy of the whole team up. As soon as I looked up after making that play, everyone was rushing to me to help me up. It was great to see because, again, it just brings the energy of the whole team up."
Though it escaped with the win, it wasn't the cleanest of games for Middle Tennessee as it found itself behind by two at the end of the first half, a half in which it struggled mightily on the glass getting outrebounded 22 to 16 by the Salukis.
On the night, Middle Tennessee was outrebounded by 14 and had multiple players in foul trouble including: Courtney Whitson with three, Dor Saar and Kseniya Malashka with four and Jada Grannum, who fouled out.
Defensively, the Lady Raiders were able to force 21 turnovers and played well enough to keep themselves in it until the end.
"For us, it's important to stay focused and take every play one by one," said senior guard Alexis Whittington. "Sometimes, games are about the grind like tonight and the more we realize that the better things will go for us."
In the second half, the Lady Raiders found more success in their half-court offense, creating a lot of scoring opportunities from off-the-ball screens. Gregory was one such player who took advantage of her catch and shoot opportunities, finishing the game 5-for-8 from behind the arc, a bulk of those points coming off of assists. The Lafayette, Tennessee, native finished the night with a career-high 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
"I saw Jalynn Gregory (play like this) in high school," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell.
"Does it surprise me? Absolutely not. She's a winner who wants to take the big shot and her teammates have confidence in her."
Following Gregory's long bomb at the beginning of the fourth quarter, both teams continued to trade blows back-and-forth until the closing moments of the night. Following Gregory's huge four-point play and a defensive stop, the Macon County High alumna found a cutting Kseniya Malashka to give Middle Tennessee a four-point lead with just over a minute to go. Following a Southern Illinois layup with 40 seconds left, Gregory drew a foul on MTSU's possession and sank one of her two free throws to put Middle Tennessee up 62-59 with 14 seconds left and ultimately help close out the game.
"This team can give a 70-year-old man a heart attack, to be honest with you," Insell said. "We've battled all year. We're sitting at 8-2 and got beat off a last-second tip in and in overtime. I've got to tip my hat to the team we've got. They're a joy to watch. They don't give up and don't do everything perfect, but we still find a way to come back and win a game."
Aside from Gregory, Middle Tennessee saw Kseniya Malashka and Jada Grannum provide quality minutes off the bench, with Malashka scoring 11 points and collecting four steals in her 18 minutes of play and Grannum pulling down a pair of rebounds and getting a block to go with her five points in 10 minutes. Dor Saar and Alexis Whittington had a pair of steals and Whittington also had six rebounds, two assists and eight points playing in all 40 minutes.
With its' game against Belmont this upcoming Sunday being cancelled, the Lady Raiders return to action on January 30th in San Antonio, when they open Conference USA play against UTSA.
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
Off the inbound play, the freshman came off a screen and came open near the top of the arc. With almost no hesitation, Gregory fired a long bomb that hardly tickled the twine on its way down, getting thrown to the ground in the process and drawing a huge foul.
Her teammates all smiled and picked her up off the floor, when she calmly sank the free-throw to complete the four-point play. With just over 2:00 left on the clock, Gregory drove the nail in the proverbial coffin to help her team secure a 62-61 win to close out non-conference play.
"During the game, my mind goes blank," Gregory said. "Really, I love when things like (the four-point play) happen in games, though, because it brings the energy of the whole team up. As soon as I looked up after making that play, everyone was rushing to me to help me up. It was great to see because, again, it just brings the energy of the whole team up."
Though it escaped with the win, it wasn't the cleanest of games for Middle Tennessee as it found itself behind by two at the end of the first half, a half in which it struggled mightily on the glass getting outrebounded 22 to 16 by the Salukis.
On the night, Middle Tennessee was outrebounded by 14 and had multiple players in foul trouble including: Courtney Whitson with three, Dor Saar and Kseniya Malashka with four and Jada Grannum, who fouled out.
Defensively, the Lady Raiders were able to force 21 turnovers and played well enough to keep themselves in it until the end.
"For us, it's important to stay focused and take every play one by one," said senior guard Alexis Whittington. "Sometimes, games are about the grind like tonight and the more we realize that the better things will go for us."
In the second half, the Lady Raiders found more success in their half-court offense, creating a lot of scoring opportunities from off-the-ball screens. Gregory was one such player who took advantage of her catch and shoot opportunities, finishing the game 5-for-8 from behind the arc, a bulk of those points coming off of assists. The Lafayette, Tennessee, native finished the night with a career-high 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
"I saw Jalynn Gregory (play like this) in high school," said Middle Tennessee Head Coach Rick Insell.
"Does it surprise me? Absolutely not. She's a winner who wants to take the big shot and her teammates have confidence in her."
Following Gregory's long bomb at the beginning of the fourth quarter, both teams continued to trade blows back-and-forth until the closing moments of the night. Following Gregory's huge four-point play and a defensive stop, the Macon County High alumna found a cutting Kseniya Malashka to give Middle Tennessee a four-point lead with just over a minute to go. Following a Southern Illinois layup with 40 seconds left, Gregory drew a foul on MTSU's possession and sank one of her two free throws to put Middle Tennessee up 62-59 with 14 seconds left and ultimately help close out the game.
"This team can give a 70-year-old man a heart attack, to be honest with you," Insell said. "We've battled all year. We're sitting at 8-2 and got beat off a last-second tip in and in overtime. I've got to tip my hat to the team we've got. They're a joy to watch. They don't give up and don't do everything perfect, but we still find a way to come back and win a game."
Aside from Gregory, Middle Tennessee saw Kseniya Malashka and Jada Grannum provide quality minutes off the bench, with Malashka scoring 11 points and collecting four steals in her 18 minutes of play and Grannum pulling down a pair of rebounds and getting a block to go with her five points in 10 minutes. Dor Saar and Alexis Whittington had a pair of steals and Whittington also had six rebounds, two assists and eight points playing in all 40 minutes.
With its' game against Belmont this upcoming Sunday being cancelled, the Lady Raiders return to action on January 30th in San Antonio, when they open Conference USA play against UTSA.
Anthony Fiorella is a writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @a_fiorella74 and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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