Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Tuesday, December 20
Houston, TX
12 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
at
Rice
Conference USA Play Begins at Rice for Lady Raiders
12/19/2022 1:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON—Middle Tennessee women's basketball opens Conference USA play at Rice Tuesday afternoon. Tipoff is set for noon inside Tudor Fieldhouse.
After a 7-2 record in non-conference play, the Lady Raiders prepare for a test vs. the undefeated Owls (9-0).
The game will stream on C-USA TV and be broadcasted on the Blue Raider Network.
LAST TIME OUT
The Middle Tennessee women's basketball team grit and grinded its way to a win the team's final non-conference game of the season, securing a 68-61 win over Houston to win the team's fifth straight entering conference play.
The Lady Raiders (7-2) took a seven-point lead into the locker room at the break over the Cougars (2-9), leading 37-30 at the break. A dominant half on the boards for MTSU, who lead 19-8 after 20 minutes, led to seven second chance points for the Lady Raiders. A series of big runs powered MTSU to a bigger advantage in the third quarter, where the Lady Raiders exited the game's first 30 minutes with a 62-42 lead.
Houston would put on full court pressure to force myriad Lady Raider turnovers, outscoring MTSU 19-6 in the game's final 10 minutes thanks to 13 points off of nine MTSU turnovers, but a couple of clutch stops and free throws iced the game in the closing seconds to earn the win.
Kseniya Malashka finished the night leading all scorers with 20 points in just 19:37 minutes played. Jalynn Gregory scored 14 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Courtney Whitson and Anastasiia Boldyreva both just missed out on double-doubles, each player scoring nine points, with Whitson hauling in nine rebounds and Boldyreva tracking down eight.
ON THE COURT
Stat Leaders:
Points - Savannah Wheeler (16.0 PPG)
Rebounds - Courtney Whitson (8.2 RPG)
Assists - Savannah Wheeler (3.9 APG)
Steals - Jalynn Gregory (2.2 SPG)
LADY RAIDER NOTES
OBSERVING THE OWLS
After a 7-2 record in non-conference play, the Lady Raiders prepare for a test vs. the undefeated Owls (9-0).
The game will stream on C-USA TV and be broadcasted on the Blue Raider Network.
LAST TIME OUT
The Middle Tennessee women's basketball team grit and grinded its way to a win the team's final non-conference game of the season, securing a 68-61 win over Houston to win the team's fifth straight entering conference play.
The Lady Raiders (7-2) took a seven-point lead into the locker room at the break over the Cougars (2-9), leading 37-30 at the break. A dominant half on the boards for MTSU, who lead 19-8 after 20 minutes, led to seven second chance points for the Lady Raiders. A series of big runs powered MTSU to a bigger advantage in the third quarter, where the Lady Raiders exited the game's first 30 minutes with a 62-42 lead.
Houston would put on full court pressure to force myriad Lady Raider turnovers, outscoring MTSU 19-6 in the game's final 10 minutes thanks to 13 points off of nine MTSU turnovers, but a couple of clutch stops and free throws iced the game in the closing seconds to earn the win.
Kseniya Malashka finished the night leading all scorers with 20 points in just 19:37 minutes played. Jalynn Gregory scored 14 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Courtney Whitson and Anastasiia Boldyreva both just missed out on double-doubles, each player scoring nine points, with Whitson hauling in nine rebounds and Boldyreva tracking down eight.
ON THE COURT
Stat Leaders:
Points - Savannah Wheeler (16.0 PPG)
Rebounds - Courtney Whitson (8.2 RPG)
Assists - Savannah Wheeler (3.9 APG)
Steals - Jalynn Gregory (2.2 SPG)
LADY RAIDER NOTES
- The Lady Raiders have won five straight games, including a 4-0 record in the month of December.
- MTSU is 119-35 vs. C-USA members since joining the league prior to the 2013-14 season. The 119 wins are the most of any league member during this span.
- Courtney Whitson is one point away from 1,000 career points. The junior forward would fittingly be the 33rd member of the Lady Raider 1,000-point club. Whitson is tied for 11th on the program's all-time rebounding list after her nine rebounds Wednesday tied her with Jamie Thomatis with 686 career boards.
- Whitson entered the top 10 in the program's career 3-pointers list earlier this season. Her 181 career treys ranks 10th all-time. She needs two to pass Sherry Tucker (182) for ninth and three to pass Abbey Sissom (183) for eighth. Whitson ranks eighth all time in attempts beyond the arc with 547.
- The Lady Raiders are 21st in the latest NET ratings, ranked above any other program in the state of Tennessee as well as Conference USA. NET rankings take into account game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency and quality of wins and losses.
- Middle Tennessee leads all of Conference USA and ranks 29th in the nation with an 18.7 scoring margin. In their seven wins, the Lady Raiders are averaging a 24.9 point differential, including a 52-point stomping of Southern Illinois Nov. 12.
OBSERVING THE OWLS
- One of 11 undefeated teams in the country, Rice is off to its best start in program history at 9-0. The Owls have two Power Five wins (TCU and Texas A&M) and have been receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll in recent weeks.
- Like the Lady Raiders, Rice gets to the free throw line frequently as it ranks first in C-USA and eighth nationally in free throw attempts per game. The team's 47.3 field goal percentage leads the conference and ranks 19th in the country.
- Destiny Jackson leads the team in scoring at 14.3 points per game, including dropping 33 vs. Houston Dec. 10. Jackson, however, has committed a team-high 38 turnovers. Four of Rice's five regular starters are putting up double figures in the scoring column this season.
Players Mentioned
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