Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, February 5
Charlotte, NC
2 PM
Middle Tennessee
-124,101 CUSA
77
at
70
Charlotte
-57,43 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tennessee
18
12
29
18
77
Charlotte
20
13
19
18
70
Photo by: Charlotte Athletics
Lady Raiders show great moxie in road win
2/5/2021 5:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT turns back Charlotte, 77-70
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Winning on the road is never easy but it is starting to become habit forming for Middle Tennessee.
Facing the toughest of odds, Middle Tennessee (12-4, 10-1) rallied for a 77-70 win at Charlotte to increase its Conference USA east-division lead. The win was the Lady Raiders' ninth consecutive conference road win, equaling the sixth-longest such streak in school history.
Sophomore guard Aislynn Hayes, who is second on the team in scoring, rebounding and assists did not make the trip due to an illness, and the Lady Raiders also had to overcome Courtney Whitson being saddled for three quick fouls and playing less than five minutes in the first half.
The Lady Raiders showed great moxie to score their 12th victory in 13 games behind a 28-point, nine-rebound effort from Anastasia Hayes, the nation's leading scorer. Deja Cage had another sterling performance with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with four assists and three rebounds. Whitson bounced back strong with 14 points and six rebounds, all in the second half. She was 6-of-10 from the field.
Sophomore Taylor Lewis came up large in Aislynn Hayes' absence, playing a career-high 29 minutes and supplying six points and five rebounds. Ksyusha Kozlova added six points and five rebounds.
"I'm so proud of all of our players. These young ladies showed a great deal of character to earn this victory," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We had to have players step up and that's what they did. Charlotte is a good team and very well coached. It is always tough to win here and today was no different. We will have to bounce back and be ready to go again tomorrow because we know they will come back strong as well."
Middle Tennessee trailed 33-30 at the half but used a strong third quarter to turn the game in its favor. The Lady Raiders outscored the 49ers (5-7, 4-3) 29-19 in the pivotal frame to carry a 59-52 advantage into the final stanza.
The trio of Anastasia Hayes, Cage and Whitson accounted for all of Middle Tennessee's third-quarter scoring. Hayes and Cage netted 10 each and Whitson came through with nine. Whitson scored seven of her nine during one of the game's pivotal stretches. Her driving layup provided Middle Tennessee with a 52-51 lead with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter, and her long-distance 3-pointer on the next possession pushed the lead to 55-51.
Whitson wasn't finished. She grabbed an offensive rebound and nailed a 7-footer with 1:02 remaining to give Middle Tennessee a 57-51 lead with 1:02 remaining in the third.
Lewis' first career 3-pointer started the fourth-quarter scoring and pushed the lead to 62-52 and provided distance for the final stretch run.
Middle Tennessee will look to complete the weekend sweep Saturday. Tipoff is 1 p.m. and the game can be viewed on ESPN+.
Facing the toughest of odds, Middle Tennessee (12-4, 10-1) rallied for a 77-70 win at Charlotte to increase its Conference USA east-division lead. The win was the Lady Raiders' ninth consecutive conference road win, equaling the sixth-longest such streak in school history.
Sophomore guard Aislynn Hayes, who is second on the team in scoring, rebounding and assists did not make the trip due to an illness, and the Lady Raiders also had to overcome Courtney Whitson being saddled for three quick fouls and playing less than five minutes in the first half.
The Lady Raiders showed great moxie to score their 12th victory in 13 games behind a 28-point, nine-rebound effort from Anastasia Hayes, the nation's leading scorer. Deja Cage had another sterling performance with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with four assists and three rebounds. Whitson bounced back strong with 14 points and six rebounds, all in the second half. She was 6-of-10 from the field.
Sophomore Taylor Lewis came up large in Aislynn Hayes' absence, playing a career-high 29 minutes and supplying six points and five rebounds. Ksyusha Kozlova added six points and five rebounds.
"I'm so proud of all of our players. These young ladies showed a great deal of character to earn this victory," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "We had to have players step up and that's what they did. Charlotte is a good team and very well coached. It is always tough to win here and today was no different. We will have to bounce back and be ready to go again tomorrow because we know they will come back strong as well."
Middle Tennessee trailed 33-30 at the half but used a strong third quarter to turn the game in its favor. The Lady Raiders outscored the 49ers (5-7, 4-3) 29-19 in the pivotal frame to carry a 59-52 advantage into the final stanza.
The trio of Anastasia Hayes, Cage and Whitson accounted for all of Middle Tennessee's third-quarter scoring. Hayes and Cage netted 10 each and Whitson came through with nine. Whitson scored seven of her nine during one of the game's pivotal stretches. Her driving layup provided Middle Tennessee with a 52-51 lead with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter, and her long-distance 3-pointer on the next possession pushed the lead to 55-51.
Whitson wasn't finished. She grabbed an offensive rebound and nailed a 7-footer with 1:02 remaining to give Middle Tennessee a 57-51 lead with 1:02 remaining in the third.
Lewis' first career 3-pointer started the fourth-quarter scoring and pushed the lead to 62-52 and provided distance for the final stretch run.
Middle Tennessee will look to complete the weekend sweep Saturday. Tipoff is 1 p.m. and the game can be viewed on ESPN+.
Team Stats
MT
CLT
FG%
.470
.389
3FG%
.174
.176
FT%
.647
.806
RB
35
38
TO
7
14
STL
3
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
11
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
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