Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Thursday, March 10
Frisco, Texas
2:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-236,144 CUSA
70
vs
50
Southern Mississippi
-1812,98 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Southern Miss.
15
9
19
7
50
Middle Tenn.
13
19
25
13
70
Team Stats
USM
MTSU
FG%
.327
.393
3FG%
.333
.286
FT%
.667
.833
RB
35
42
TO
11
8
STL
4
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Lady Raiders roll in C-USA Tourney opener
3/10/2022 5:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT rolls past Southern Miss, 70-50
FRISCO, Texas — Middle Tennessee women's basketball gritted out the early minutes and kept the foot on the gas late, blitzing past Southern Miss 70-50 in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Heritage Landscape Supply Group Conference USA Basketball Championships at the Ford Center at the Star.
The Blue Raiders (23-6) took the lead in the early in the second quarter and never relinquished it from there, holding the Golden Eagles (18-12) to under 10 points in both the second and fourth quarters, suffocating USM to a 17-for-52 clip from the field.
"If you look at our players, and you look at some of the other teams here, we don't look as strong, laterally quick, vertically quick as some of those teams," head coach Rick Insell said. "I tell you what we do, our players are very intelligent, not that the others are not. But they buy into our scouting report. (Matt Insell), (Kim Brewton) and (Nina Davis) have done such a tremendous job all year long getting our players prepared for each opponent. If you know what they're going to go, that gives you a step ahead."
Kseniya Malashka was excellent off the bench, scoring inside and out with 23 points, hitting three triples while hauling in 11 rebounds. It was the Belarus international's third double-double of the season.
"It's just championship time," Malashka said. "It's just one step at a time, one game after another game, after another practice. We've been getting ready for this moment."
Jalynn Gregory was huge early for the Lady Raiders, scoring 15 of her 18 points in the first half and getting the offense going as MT adjusted to the confines of the Ford Center with clutch three-point shooting. The freshman also finished with three rebounds, a block, and an assist in her C-USA Tournament debut.
"What really started it all was Courtney Whitson," Gregory said. "She's one of my best friends on the team, and she really helps to calm me down. She could tell before the game that I was nervous, and she was just sitting there talking to me 'You're going to be fine.'"
Alexis Whittington and Dor Saar each finished scoring in double figures, both posing great all-around games. Whittington finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while Saar finished the afternoon with 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
At the end of the first quarter, Middle Tennessee trailed 15-13. Gregory hit a pair of threes early to give MT a 6-2 lead, but USM made a run shortly thereafter to control the first ten minutes thanks to some cold shooting from the Lady Raiders (5-of-16, 3-of-11 from three) in the first quarter.
Middle Tennessee came out firing in the second quarter, scoring the first seven points of the frame, outscoring USM 19-9 en route to a 32-24 halftime lead. The Golden Eagles managed to make just two of their 10 shots in the second quarter. Gregory led all scorers with 15 points thanks to a 62.5 percent field goal percentage.
The Lady Raiders continued to pour it on in the third quarter, going 5-for-10 from beyond the arc to lead 57-43 at the end of the quarter. Three different Lady Raiders finished the quarter with at least 10 points (Gregory, Malashka, Saar). Saar picked up her sixth assist of the game on a great drive and dish to Whitson, who drilled the corner three to put MT up 14 with 10 minutes to play.
MT slowed the pace down in the final quarter, working the shot clock for several possessions while forcing USM into long threes to cruise to a 20-point win behind a 13-7 advantage in the final 10 minutes. Malashka scored her team's first eight points in the fourth quarter, including two 3-pointers.
"They gutted it up, we didn't put the ball in the hole early," Insell said of today's win. "I thought Dor and Courtney kind of struggled early and told them that. (Then) they came back out and moved their game up a notch. Real proud of that. Kseniya just played good all game long, and we needed her to. We need her to play big in this tournament. If she does, we've got a good chance to win this thing."
With the victory, Middle Tennessee advances to the C-USA Semifinals, where they will face Louisiana Tech, the No. 1 seed out of the West Division. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Court A here at the Ford Center at the Star. The game will be broadcast on Stadium.
The Blue Raiders (23-6) took the lead in the early in the second quarter and never relinquished it from there, holding the Golden Eagles (18-12) to under 10 points in both the second and fourth quarters, suffocating USM to a 17-for-52 clip from the field.
"If you look at our players, and you look at some of the other teams here, we don't look as strong, laterally quick, vertically quick as some of those teams," head coach Rick Insell said. "I tell you what we do, our players are very intelligent, not that the others are not. But they buy into our scouting report. (Matt Insell), (Kim Brewton) and (Nina Davis) have done such a tremendous job all year long getting our players prepared for each opponent. If you know what they're going to go, that gives you a step ahead."
Kseniya Malashka was excellent off the bench, scoring inside and out with 23 points, hitting three triples while hauling in 11 rebounds. It was the Belarus international's third double-double of the season.
"It's just championship time," Malashka said. "It's just one step at a time, one game after another game, after another practice. We've been getting ready for this moment."
Jalynn Gregory was huge early for the Lady Raiders, scoring 15 of her 18 points in the first half and getting the offense going as MT adjusted to the confines of the Ford Center with clutch three-point shooting. The freshman also finished with three rebounds, a block, and an assist in her C-USA Tournament debut.
"What really started it all was Courtney Whitson," Gregory said. "She's one of my best friends on the team, and she really helps to calm me down. She could tell before the game that I was nervous, and she was just sitting there talking to me 'You're going to be fine.'"
Alexis Whittington and Dor Saar each finished scoring in double figures, both posing great all-around games. Whittington finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while Saar finished the afternoon with 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
At the end of the first quarter, Middle Tennessee trailed 15-13. Gregory hit a pair of threes early to give MT a 6-2 lead, but USM made a run shortly thereafter to control the first ten minutes thanks to some cold shooting from the Lady Raiders (5-of-16, 3-of-11 from three) in the first quarter.
Middle Tennessee came out firing in the second quarter, scoring the first seven points of the frame, outscoring USM 19-9 en route to a 32-24 halftime lead. The Golden Eagles managed to make just two of their 10 shots in the second quarter. Gregory led all scorers with 15 points thanks to a 62.5 percent field goal percentage.
The Lady Raiders continued to pour it on in the third quarter, going 5-for-10 from beyond the arc to lead 57-43 at the end of the quarter. Three different Lady Raiders finished the quarter with at least 10 points (Gregory, Malashka, Saar). Saar picked up her sixth assist of the game on a great drive and dish to Whitson, who drilled the corner three to put MT up 14 with 10 minutes to play.
MT slowed the pace down in the final quarter, working the shot clock for several possessions while forcing USM into long threes to cruise to a 20-point win behind a 13-7 advantage in the final 10 minutes. Malashka scored her team's first eight points in the fourth quarter, including two 3-pointers.
"They gutted it up, we didn't put the ball in the hole early," Insell said of today's win. "I thought Dor and Courtney kind of struggled early and told them that. (Then) they came back out and moved their game up a notch. Real proud of that. Kseniya just played good all game long, and we needed her to. We need her to play big in this tournament. If she does, we've got a good chance to win this thing."
With the victory, Middle Tennessee advances to the C-USA Semifinals, where they will face Louisiana Tech, the No. 1 seed out of the West Division. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Court A here at the Ford Center at the Star. The game will be broadcast on Stadium.
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
Rick Insell Conference USA Hall of Fame Announcement
Wednesday, July 09
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Women's Basketball Coach Rick Insell interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
