Lady Raiders head to Southern Illinois for Saturday Matchup

Saturday, November 12

Carbondale, IL

7 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

Southern Illinois

Photo by: Jordan Frazier | @MTAthletics

11/11/2022 4:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Middle Tennessee women's basketball faces Southern Illinois Saturday to conclude its season-opening road trip. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Banterra Center. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and stream on ESPN3.

Last Time Out

Despite erasing a 19-point deficit with a big fourth quarter push, Middle Tennessee women's basketball fell on a last-second shot against Mercer 75-76 Nov. 7 in its season opener.

Savannah Wheeler hit 10 free throws and recorded 14 points while the junior guard also dished five assists and added five steals. Jalynn Gregory played a significant role in the comeback effort by scoring 15 of her team-high 20 points in the second half. Courtney Whitson and Kseniya Malashka each reached double figures with 10 points.

On The Court

The Lady Raiders return four starters and nine total letterwinners from last season's team that reached the WNIT semifinals and came within points of advancing to the championship game. As the preseason Conference USA favorites, MTSU featured three student-athletes on the league's preseason team, including C-USA's top scorer in 2021-22 Savannah Wheeler, experienced forward Courtney Whitson and reigning C-USA Sixth Player of the Year Kseniya Malashka.

All three are expected to play significant roles on this season's Lady Raider team. MTSU also returns senior Alexis Whittington and a trio of sophomore role players from a season ago in Jalynn Gregory, Anastasiia Boldyreva and Courtney Blakely.

Stat Leaders

Points - Gregory (20.0)
Rebounds - Malashka - (5.0)
Assists - Wheeler (5.0)
Blocks - Boldyreva (2.0)
Steals - T-Malashka and Wheeler (5.0)

Lady Raider Notes

•           Eighty-seven percent of the scoring from 2021-22 returns for a Lady Raider team that is expected to be tested with a tough non-conference slate to begin the season. Seven of the nine teams on the list played in the postseason last March. Four of the nine teams won their respective conference championships.
•           Against Mercer, MTSU forced over 20 turnovers in a game for the 13th time since the start of the 2021-22 season.
•           Opening the season away from the Glass House, MTSU has enjoyed great road success under head coach Rick Insell. The Lady Raiders are 151-83 overall on the road in the Insell era. Four of MTSU's first five games are on the road or in a neutral site.
•           Courtney Whitson comes into her fourth season as a Lady Raider with 917 career points, looking to become the 32nd member of the program's 1,000-point club.

Scouting Southern Illinois

•           Southern Illinois' 21-win season was the most the program has had since 2006-07.
•           While finishing the season undefeated at home, the Salukis won eight of their final nine Missouri Valley Conference games and received a WNIT invite. SIU fell to Purdue 60-82 in the first round.
•           Quierra Love is the top returning scorer for the reigning regular-season MVC champions as she put up 5.1 points per game. The Salukis added six transfers and one true freshman under first-year head coach Kelly Bond-White.