Lady Raiders return home to face Mercer

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – After almost a week since its last game, the Middle Tennessee women's basketball team returns to the court when it takes on Mercer Friday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. inside the Murphy Center.

Last time out - Nov. 27, 2021 vs. Illinois (W, 62-52) RECAP
The Blue Raiders bounced back from their first loss of the season with a win over a Power 5 opponent in the Daytona Beach Invitational finale.

Courtney Whitson recorded her fourth career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Dor Saar scored in double figures for the fifth time in six games with a 10-point performance. Five players scored seven or more points for Middle Tennessee.

The Lady Raiders never trailed against the Fighting Illini to conclude the Daytona Beach Invitational on a positive note.

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.

Third in the nation in opponent 3-point percentage (16 percent).
Fifteenth in the country in scoring defense and 29th in opponent field goal percentage. The Blue Raiders are holding opponents to 33.4 percent shooting from the field and 49.8 points per game.

Offensively, MT is tied for 30th in 3-point field goals per game (8.8). Whitson averages 39.04 minutes a game, which is fourth in the country.

Blue Raider notes

Middle Tennessee has made 18 consecutive postseason appearances.
This season's roster includes five international players from five different countries.
Five of the 11 non-conference opponents were NCAA Tournament teams last season: VCU, Marquette, Mercer, Troy and Belmont.
The Lady Raiders held their first 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.
MT has enjoyed great home success under Rick Insell. The Lady Raiders are 195-41 at the Murphy Center. This season, they are 2-0.

Scouting Mercer
Mercer comes into the Glass House 5-3 on the season in the midst of a challenging non-conference slate. The preseason selection to win the Southern Conference has faced four 2021 NCAA Tournament teams and will face a fifth in Middle Tennessee.

The Bears average just over 60 points per game, shoot 38.1 percent from the field and 29.9 from beyond the arc.

Defensively, Mercer has protected the rim this season with 42 blocked shots, which is tied for 13th in the nation. The Bears are holding opponents to 21.5 percent shooting from 3-point range and 33.7 percent from the field.

Amoria Neal-Tysor, Jaron Dougherty, Shannon Titus and Endia Banks are scoring 45.3 of Mercer's 60.88 points through eight games. Neal-Tysor is the team's leading scorer as she averages 14.1 points per contest while Dougherty leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 8.5 per game. In addition to a team-high 15 steals, Titus is one of two Bears with 11 blocks this season.

Susie Gardner is in her 11th season coaching Mercer and her 22nd coaching at the collegiate level. At Mercer, she is 196-147, including three NCAA Tournament appearances and seven total postseason tournaments.

All-time series

This will be the first-ever meeting between Mercer and Middle Tennessee.

Options to follow the game

Unable to make it to the game? Watch live on CUSA.TV. 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

Dor Saar

Courtney Whitson

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics