Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, March 11
Frisco, TX
7:45 PM
Middle Tennessee
-237,144 CUSA
72
vs
80
Louisiana Tech
-2110,117 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Middle Tenn.
25
14
18
15
72
Louisiana Tech
15
11
20
34
80
Team Stats
MTSU
LATech
FG%
.435
.531
3FG%
.395
.500
FT%
.750
.793
RB
27
33
TO
7
7
STL
4
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Fourth quarter dooms Lady Raiders in C-USA semis
3/12/2022 12:10:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MT drops 80-72 decision to LA Tech
FRISCO, Texas — Middle Tennessee women's basketball played well enough to win for 30 minutes on Friday night in the Conference USA semifinals. Unfortunately for the Lady Raiders, the basketball game went on for another 10 minutes.
MT took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter, but could not sustain it, as the Lady Techsters scored 34 points in the final 10 minutes to get past the Lady Raiders, 80-72.
"They had a great second half," head coach Rick Insell said of LA Tech. "They did a good job, their little guard just whipped us all over the floor and made some big-time baskets. That's the bottom line."
LA Tech shot a scorching 8-for-11 from the field in the final quarter, going 16-for-21 at the free throw line and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, while Middle Tennessee struggled to break through against the Lady Techsters' 3-2 zone, shooting just 7-for-18 from the field and 1-for-8 from three in the fourth quarter.
"We didn't do a good job passing the ball, we didn't do a good job cutting," Insell said. "Then when we got shots, we missed some shots that we usually hit, and I'm talking about inside. Didn't do a good job making decisions with the basketball. It was not any one person. As good as we played in the first half, we played that bad in the second half."
Dor Saar led the Lady Raiders with 20 points, making her first four shots from the field, all 3-pointers, en route to finishing the night 6-for-8 beyond the arc. The Isreali international also dished out four assists. Courtney Whitson was also hot from long range, scoring 15 of her 17 points from beyond the three-point line.
Kseniya Malashka added 15 points off the bench for Middle Tennessee, hauling in five rebounds. Alexis Whittington scored three points and led MT with six rebounds and four assists.
Middle Tennessee dominated the opening minutes offensively, leading 25-15 after the first quarter. Dor Saar came out firing, hitting her first three three-pointers to lead the Lady Raiders with nine points. Four of MT's starters hit a three-pointer in the first quarter, going 6-for-10 as a team in the game's first 10 minutes.
The teams were more evenly matched in the second quarter, with MT only improving their lead by three points, entering the locker room at halftime with a 39-26 lead. Saar led all scorers with 12 points, going 4-for-4 from three in the first half. Courtney Whitson also hit a trio of triples on her way to 11 first half points.
Louisiana Tech came out firing in the third quarter, shooting 70 percent as a team, while MT came out cold, missing eight of their first nine three-point attempts in the quarter. But some late shooting stemmed the tide, as Jalynn Gregory's buzzer-beating mid-range jumper gave MT a 57-46 advantage entering the final 10 minutes.
But it wasn't meant to be, as LA Tech shot 21 free throws in the final quarter while MT went to the line zero times in the second half. All while the Lady Techsters shooting heated up even further, with MT allowing them to make 72.7 percent of their shots in the fourth quarter.
"We just trusted this bunch all year long to do what they do," Insell said. "They've come through for us just about every time. I was trusting them and then sometimes you fall into that."
Middle Tennessee will now await the learn their postseason fate, with practice revving back up when the Lady Raiders return to Murfreesboro.
MT took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter, but could not sustain it, as the Lady Techsters scored 34 points in the final 10 minutes to get past the Lady Raiders, 80-72.
"They had a great second half," head coach Rick Insell said of LA Tech. "They did a good job, their little guard just whipped us all over the floor and made some big-time baskets. That's the bottom line."
LA Tech shot a scorching 8-for-11 from the field in the final quarter, going 16-for-21 at the free throw line and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, while Middle Tennessee struggled to break through against the Lady Techsters' 3-2 zone, shooting just 7-for-18 from the field and 1-for-8 from three in the fourth quarter.
"We didn't do a good job passing the ball, we didn't do a good job cutting," Insell said. "Then when we got shots, we missed some shots that we usually hit, and I'm talking about inside. Didn't do a good job making decisions with the basketball. It was not any one person. As good as we played in the first half, we played that bad in the second half."
Dor Saar led the Lady Raiders with 20 points, making her first four shots from the field, all 3-pointers, en route to finishing the night 6-for-8 beyond the arc. The Isreali international also dished out four assists. Courtney Whitson was also hot from long range, scoring 15 of her 17 points from beyond the three-point line.
Kseniya Malashka added 15 points off the bench for Middle Tennessee, hauling in five rebounds. Alexis Whittington scored three points and led MT with six rebounds and four assists.
Middle Tennessee dominated the opening minutes offensively, leading 25-15 after the first quarter. Dor Saar came out firing, hitting her first three three-pointers to lead the Lady Raiders with nine points. Four of MT's starters hit a three-pointer in the first quarter, going 6-for-10 as a team in the game's first 10 minutes.
The teams were more evenly matched in the second quarter, with MT only improving their lead by three points, entering the locker room at halftime with a 39-26 lead. Saar led all scorers with 12 points, going 4-for-4 from three in the first half. Courtney Whitson also hit a trio of triples on her way to 11 first half points.
Louisiana Tech came out firing in the third quarter, shooting 70 percent as a team, while MT came out cold, missing eight of their first nine three-point attempts in the quarter. But some late shooting stemmed the tide, as Jalynn Gregory's buzzer-beating mid-range jumper gave MT a 57-46 advantage entering the final 10 minutes.
But it wasn't meant to be, as LA Tech shot 21 free throws in the final quarter while MT went to the line zero times in the second half. All while the Lady Techsters shooting heated up even further, with MT allowing them to make 72.7 percent of their shots in the fourth quarter.
"We just trusted this bunch all year long to do what they do," Insell said. "They've come through for us just about every time. I was trusting them and then sometimes you fall into that."
Middle Tennessee will now await the learn their postseason fate, with practice revving back up when the Lady Raiders return to Murfreesboro.
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
