Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
-61,00 CUSA
Mercer
5-4,0-0SoCon
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Lady Raiders turn back Mercer, 59-49
12/3/2021 8:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT improves to 6-1
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A spark off the bench ignited Middle Tennessee women's basketball, as the Lady Raiders outscored the Mercer Bears 27-11 with their reserves to power past the SoCon foe, 59-49, at the Murphy Center on Friday night.
MT held their opponent under 50 points for the fifth time in seven games, while their 11 made 3-pointers were the second most made by the team thus far this season (behind 14 made threes against East Carolina).
"I thought our defense was probably the difference in the whole ball game," head coach Rick Insell said. "Early on, and really through the whole game, we played pretty good defense. We had a hand on every shot. That's what you've got to do.
"I've said all year, and I'll say it again: my three assistant coaches (Kim Brewton, Nina Davis, Matt Insell) have our team so well prepared that we know everything that they're going to do," Insell continued. "Now it may be a different situation on Sunday, because we only have one day to prepare. But we had two or three days to prepare for Mercer and we knew exactly who they were going to, exactly who was going to shoot the ball, which way they were going, right or left."
Kseniya Malashka earned her first career double-double as a Lady Raider, scoring 22 points (including four 3-pointers) while hauling in 11 rebounds, six off the offensive glass, playing 30 minutes in relief of Anastasiia Boldyreva at the five.
"It's good to be back after injury," Malashka, who missed the first two games of the season due to injury, said. "We are doing really well as a team, we're well prepared for the games. I'm just excited to play with my teammates."
Execution on the offensive boards was critical for Middle Tennessee, which scored 17 second chance points off of 16 offensive rebounds, while holding the Bears to just five second chance points on seven offensive boards. Alexis Whittington and Courtney Whitson had nine and eight total rebounds respectively, with Whitson second on the team in offensive rebounds with four.
Courtney Blakely set a career high with six assists off the bench, to go along with five points. The freshman guard did a great job keeping Mercer's Amoria Beal-Tysor in check, helping force the senior guard into three turnovers, part of the Bears' 19 total turnovers on the night.
"I always love when I set them up and then they hit the shot," Blakely said of her assists. "That's what really gets me going. So if I know I can do that one or two times and get us going, I know we'll have a really good game."
Middle Tennessee held the advantage after the first ten minutes, leading 19-14 after ending the first quarter on a 6-0 run while turning the Bears over seven times. Seven different Lady Raiders scored for MT in the quarter, with no player scoring more than one field goal.
MT led 36-26 at halftime, following a nifty reverse layup from Malashka off the pass from a driving Courtney Blakely. The Lady Raiders held the Bears to only one assist in the first twenty minutes, while compiling five of their own, four from Blakely.
The Lady Raiders stretched their lead even further in the third quarter, entering the final stretch up 52-39. Symbolic of the teams' different offensive styles, Mercer only shot one three pointer in the first 30 minutes, while MT shot 34 times from beyond the arc (The Lady Raiders drilled 10 of their attempts, while the Bears made their only attempt).
The pace slowed in the fourth quarter, as MT milked the clock to ice the game down the stretch. Malashka scored all seven of the Lady Raiders' points in the final ten minutes of the game, adding in a block and steal to her stat sheet.
MT will face a quick turnaround this weekend, with only one day off until their next game on the road at Lipscomb. Tip off in Nashville is scheduled for 1:30 pm.
