Middle Tennessee To Participate in Las Vegas Invitational

LAS VEGAS— Middle Tennessee women's basketball is spending its Thanksgiving at the Las Vegas Invitational, where it will take on Texas Tech Friday and Missouri State Saturday. Both games will tip off at 1 p.m. CDT and will air on FloHoops.

The Blue Raiders (2-1) are one of 10 teams competing in this weekend's event at The Mirage, located on the Las Vegas Strip.

LAST TIME OUT
The Middle Tennessee women's basketball defense showed up early and the offense showed up in the paint, with suffocating perimeter pressure and skill around the rim powering the Lady Raiders past Belmont, 80-62 Nov. 16 at the Murphy Center.

MTSU (2-1) forced 17 turnovers in the first half, helping them jump out to a 22-7 lead against Belmont (1-2) at the end of the first quarter. A second half with more fouls took each team to the free throw line at least 18 times in the final 20 minutes, helping power a higher scoring by more evenly matched second half. Still, the Bruins managed to take just 43 shots the entire game against the stifling Lady Raider defense, only managing 18 field goals on the night.

Kseniya Malashka led all scorers with 23 points while also just missing a double-double with 9 rebounds. The Belarusian international drew 13 of Belmont's 26 personal fouls, going the charity stripe 14 times on Wednesday, knocking down nine of those free throws. Savannah Wheeler also had success inside, scoring 22 points with a plethora of finishes at the rim.

ON THE COURT
Stat Leaders:
Points - Savannah Wheeler (16.7 PPG)
Rebounds - Kseniya Malashka (6.3 RPG)
Assists - Savannah Wheeler (3.7 PPG)
Steals - Kseniya Malashka (3.3 SPG)

Lady Raider Notes

Including their Conference USA-leading 13.7 steals per game, the Lady Raiders have forced 20-plus turnovers in each of their three games to begin the season for an average of 23.3 per contest. Kseniya Malashka is second in C-USA and 79th in the country in steals with 10.

Shooting 46.8% from the field, the Blue Raiders lead Conference USA and rank 48th in the nation. Middle Tennessee has shot above 40% from the field in every game, including 57.1% at Southern Illinois.

Savannah Wheeler has made an immediate impact all over the floor in her first three games as the Lady Raider point guard. The junior transfer from Marshall leads the team in both points per game (16.7) and assists (11) while recording seven steals and six rebounds.

Since joining the starting lineup at Southern Illinois Nov. 12, Kseniya Malashka is averaging 18.5 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and 2.5 steals per game. The reigning C-USA Sixth Player of the Year continues to be a force on both ends of the floor. Malashka's 3.3 steals per game ranks 39th in the country.

RESEARCHING THE RED RAIDERS

After defeating Texas A&M - Corpus Christi by 20 in its season opener Nov. 7, Texas Tech won two of three games in the Preseason WNIT Nov. 15-20.
Four Red Raiders are averaging double figures through four games as Rhyle McKinney leads the team with 16 points per contest. The sophomore guard is shooting 60.5% from the field and 47.4% from beyond the arc.
Texas Tech leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (47.5%), free throw percentage (81.7%) and is second in 3-point field goal percentage (39%).

BREAKING DOWN THE LADY BEARS

Missouri State beat Saint Louis, 71-55 in between losses to Missouri (51-68) and Oklahoma State (54-73). The Lady Bears will take on UTSA Friday right after MTSU's game concludes.
Missouri State currently ranks 33rd nationally with a +13.0 rebounding margin while Lady Bear Indya Green ranks 33rd in the nation in rebounds per game (10.3) and 24th nationally in offensive boards per game (4.3).
Green is averaging a double-double through three games, putting up 10 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game. Isabelle Delarue is averaging 11.7 points per game.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kseniya Malashka

Savannah Wheeler

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics