Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Monday, November 7
Macon, GA
6 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
-01,00 CUSA
75
at
76
Mercer
1-0,0-0SoCon
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tenn.
15
13
21
26
75
Mercer
24
21
15
16
76
Team Stats
MTSU
Mercer
FG%
.404
.575
3FG%
.350
.667
FT%
.722
.917
RB
24
31
TO
13
25
STL
15
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
10
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Photo by: Jordan Frazier | @MTAthletics
Lady Raiders fight back but fall to Mercer
11/7/2022 10:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Buzzer-beating shot downs MTSU in season-opener
MACON, Ga. — 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 Monday in its season opener.
The Lady Raiders outscored the Bears 47-31 in the second half, including an 11-2 run to start the third quarter to cut Mercer's lead to 62-60. The Bears continued to find answers until a Lady Raider 7-0 run, capped off by Gregory's 3-pointer, gave MTSU its first lead of the night with 1:35 to play.
Trailing by one with 11 seconds to play, Courtney Blakely drove in for a go-ahead layup to make it 75-74 but a buzzer-beating Mercer jumper on the next possession dropped the Blue Raiders to 0-1.
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.
Mercer opened the game shooting 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the field and posted a 57% field goal percent clip.
By the Numbers
25: Turnovers forced by the Lady Raiders tonight.
67: Savannah Wheeler's career double-figure scoring games.
15: Most steals in a game by the Lady Raiders since recording 15 at Lipscomb Dec. 5, 2021.
63%: Lady Raider field goal percentage in the fourth quarter (7-for-11).
Blue Raider Notes
● Courtney Whitson extended her start streak to 90 games while recording her 100th career steal and increasing her career point total to 927.
● Kseniya Malashka's five steals were a career high. Her previous best was four vs. Southern Illinois Dec. 17, 2021. Savannah Wheeler tied her career high in steals (five).
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"Our kids played hard in the second half. We didn't help ourselves in the first half. We've got to come back and we have to build off this, that's all we can do. There's nothing we can do about it now. We're 0-1. It would've been a big win for us, it was a big win for (Mercer) Let's get home tonight, get on film and not start the way Saturday like we did today."
Up Next
The Lady Raiders conclude their season-opening road trip at Southern Illinois Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Carbondale, Ill.
Follow the Lady Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTSUWBB), Twitter (@MT_WBB) and Instagram (@mt_wbb).
The Lady Raiders outscored the Bears 47-31 in the second half, including an 11-2 run to start the third quarter to cut Mercer's lead to 62-60. The Bears continued to find answers until a Lady Raider 7-0 run, capped off by Gregory's 3-pointer, gave MTSU its first lead of the night with 1:35 to play.
Trailing by one with 11 seconds to play, Courtney Blakely drove in for a go-ahead layup to make it 75-74 but a buzzer-beating Mercer jumper on the next possession dropped the Blue Raiders to 0-1.
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.
Mercer opened the game shooting 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the field and posted a 57% field goal percent clip.
By the Numbers
25: Turnovers forced by the Lady Raiders tonight.
67: Savannah Wheeler's career double-figure scoring games.
15: Most steals in a game by the Lady Raiders since recording 15 at Lipscomb Dec. 5, 2021.
63%: Lady Raider field goal percentage in the fourth quarter (7-for-11).
Blue Raider Notes
● Courtney Whitson extended her start streak to 90 games while recording her 100th career steal and increasing her career point total to 927.
● Kseniya Malashka's five steals were a career high. Her previous best was four vs. Southern Illinois Dec. 17, 2021. Savannah Wheeler tied her career high in steals (five).
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"Our kids played hard in the second half. We didn't help ourselves in the first half. We've got to come back and we have to build off this, that's all we can do. There's nothing we can do about it now. We're 0-1. It would've been a big win for us, it was a big win for (Mercer) Let's get home tonight, get on film and not start the way Saturday like we did today."
Up Next
The Lady Raiders conclude their season-opening road trip at Southern Illinois Saturday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Carbondale, Ill.
Follow the Lady Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTSUWBB), Twitter (@MT_WBB) and Instagram (@mt_wbb).
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