Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, January 29
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
3:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-154,72 CUSA
71
vs
64
WKU
-146,72 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Western Ky.
12
13
22
17
64
Middle Tenn.
17
19
16
19
71
Team Stats
WestKy
MTSU
FG%
.469
.350
3FG%
.250
.282
FT%
.619
.720
RB
32
36
TO
21
16
STL
11
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
8
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Lady Raiders triumph over WKU
1/29/2022 6:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Whittington posts double-double in scrappy win
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee women's basketball scrapped their way to a critical rivalry win, easing past Western Kentucky 71-64 in the Murphy Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Raiders (15-4, 7-2 C-USA) got 21 points of the bench from Kseniya Malashka, with 11 points in the fourth quarter, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, including three free throws in the fourth quarter to help ice the game down the stretch. The Hilltoppers (14-6, 7-2 C-USA) were held to nine points under their conference best scoring average, shooting just 28 percent from the field (7-for-25) in the first half.
"I've had a lot of games in my career that looked good and I lost," head coach Rick Insell said. "It didn't look good, but we won."
Alexis Whittington earned her second double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and hauling in 12 rebounds en route to player of the game honors. She also had three assists and four steals, none more critical than the full body dispossession of WKU's Meral Abdelgawad underneath the basket late the fourth quarter.
"I think the ball tonight was just coming my way," Whitington said of her rebounding effort. "My man, she wasn't really crashing the boards, but they always say 'if you're man don't go, you've still got to go.' Courtney, Anastasiia, they've got a big matchup down there. So when they're boxing out, it's our job to come in and clean up."
Whitson, who had nine points, seven rebounds and three steals of her own on the afternoon, couldn't stop herself from praising Whittington post game.
"(Alexis) took us on her back from the beginning," Whitson said. "It doesn't matter, (WKU) could have the worst team in the conference that season and still come in here and kick our butts. So we had to have that mindset, to just have good leadership."
The Lady Raiders continued their three-point shooting prowess, knocking down 11 shots from downtown, including three each from Dor Saar (10 points) and Jalynn Gregory (nine points), helping break down the wide variety of zones Western Kentucky deployed in the contest.
Middle Tennessee held the advantage after the first quarter, finishing the frame with a 17-12 lead. Both teams managed to force the other into six turnovers, but MT was able to convert those turnovers into eight points. WKU managed only four points off of turnovers, while shooting just 23.1 percent from the field. Whittington made her presence felt on the boards, finishing the first quarter with seven rebounds.
The Lady Raiders stretched their lead to double digits, entering the locker room with a 36-25 advantage at the half. All seven Lady Raiders who checked into the game in the first half scored at least three points, while holding WKY to just 7-for-25 shooting from the field.
The Hilltoppers threw their best counter-punch out of the gate in the third quarter, shooting 61.5 percent from the field en route to cutting MT's lead to 52-47. The Lady Raiders closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to pull ahead after falling behind 47-46.
"I don't know about momentum," Insell said of the run to close the quarter. "But I was breathing better."
That five point advantage gave MT a cushion they never relinquished despite some desperate charges in the fourth quarter from the Hilltoppers, who cut MT's lead to as few as four points in the final frame. But a layup-and-1 from Malashka gave MT a seven-point lead shortly thereafter, which held after WKU and Middle Tennessee traded a layup and a pair of free throws to close out the game.
The Lady Raiders will finish up their three-game homestand and go for home win No. 9 on the season against UAB next Saturday, Feb. 5. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. central time, with the game also being carried on ESPN+.
The Lady Raiders (15-4, 7-2 C-USA) got 21 points of the bench from Kseniya Malashka, with 11 points in the fourth quarter, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, including three free throws in the fourth quarter to help ice the game down the stretch. The Hilltoppers (14-6, 7-2 C-USA) were held to nine points under their conference best scoring average, shooting just 28 percent from the field (7-for-25) in the first half.
"I've had a lot of games in my career that looked good and I lost," head coach Rick Insell said. "It didn't look good, but we won."
Alexis Whittington earned her second double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and hauling in 12 rebounds en route to player of the game honors. She also had three assists and four steals, none more critical than the full body dispossession of WKU's Meral Abdelgawad underneath the basket late the fourth quarter.
"I think the ball tonight was just coming my way," Whitington said of her rebounding effort. "My man, she wasn't really crashing the boards, but they always say 'if you're man don't go, you've still got to go.' Courtney, Anastasiia, they've got a big matchup down there. So when they're boxing out, it's our job to come in and clean up."
Whitson, who had nine points, seven rebounds and three steals of her own on the afternoon, couldn't stop herself from praising Whittington post game.
"(Alexis) took us on her back from the beginning," Whitson said. "It doesn't matter, (WKU) could have the worst team in the conference that season and still come in here and kick our butts. So we had to have that mindset, to just have good leadership."
The Lady Raiders continued their three-point shooting prowess, knocking down 11 shots from downtown, including three each from Dor Saar (10 points) and Jalynn Gregory (nine points), helping break down the wide variety of zones Western Kentucky deployed in the contest.
Middle Tennessee held the advantage after the first quarter, finishing the frame with a 17-12 lead. Both teams managed to force the other into six turnovers, but MT was able to convert those turnovers into eight points. WKU managed only four points off of turnovers, while shooting just 23.1 percent from the field. Whittington made her presence felt on the boards, finishing the first quarter with seven rebounds.
The Lady Raiders stretched their lead to double digits, entering the locker room with a 36-25 advantage at the half. All seven Lady Raiders who checked into the game in the first half scored at least three points, while holding WKY to just 7-for-25 shooting from the field.
The Hilltoppers threw their best counter-punch out of the gate in the third quarter, shooting 61.5 percent from the field en route to cutting MT's lead to 52-47. The Lady Raiders closed the quarter on a 6-0 run to pull ahead after falling behind 47-46.
"I don't know about momentum," Insell said of the run to close the quarter. "But I was breathing better."
That five point advantage gave MT a cushion they never relinquished despite some desperate charges in the fourth quarter from the Hilltoppers, who cut MT's lead to as few as four points in the final frame. But a layup-and-1 from Malashka gave MT a seven-point lead shortly thereafter, which held after WKU and Middle Tennessee traded a layup and a pair of free throws to close out the game.
The Lady Raiders will finish up their three-game homestand and go for home win No. 9 on the season against UAB next Saturday, Feb. 5. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. central time, with the game also being carried on ESPN+.
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