Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, March 17
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
8:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
-247,144 CUSA
86
vs
56
Wofford
17-14,11-3SoCon
1
2
3
4
F
Wofford
9
15
14
18
56
Middle Tenn.
24
16
26
20
86
Team Stats
WOF
MTSU
FG%
.321
.493
3FG%
.308
.387
FT%
.737
.667
RB
26
49
TO
11
11
STL
6
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Lady Raiders roll into second round of WNIT
3/17/2022 11:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT secures 86-56 win vs. Wofford
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee dominated in all facets of the game to open the WNIT, stifling Wofford to just 32 percent shooting on the night while hitting 49 percent of their shots to storm past the Terriers 86-56.
The Lady Raiders (24-7, 14-4 C-USA) jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, with six MT players finishing the night shooting at least 50 percent from the field. The Terriers (17-14, 11-3 SoCon) let up 38 points in the paint to MT, never really recovering from six first quarter turnovers that put them behind early.
"I was (concerned about motivation), because a lot of teams go into the NIT, it's like kissing your sister," head coach Rick Insell said. "I love my sisters, but you know…They don't get motivated. Tonight, when they came out, they were ready to play.
"They played for the Lady Raider fans. They were excited to see people coming to the game after the boys state tournament. They saw those people filing in, and they were talking about that when they came into the dressing room. So, I knew right then, it was going to be an exciting night."
Dor Saar led the Lady Raiders with 16 points. The graduate student guard went 4-for-6 beyond the arc, while also adding five rebounds and four assists with no turnovers. Jalynn Gregory was huge early for MT, hitting four of her five made 3-pointers before halftime en route to 15 points.
"It's usually the first shot, it depends on what kind of night it's going to be," Gregory said. "But even if I miss that first shot, I always have to think that the next one is going in."
Anastasiia Boldyreva and Kseniya Malashka were each big contributors in the post, each adding 15 points to the Lady Raiders' total on the night. Boldyreva made her first four shots from the field, shooting 6-for-9 from the floor in just 17 minutes, while Malashka added a three pointer to her five buckets in the paint.
Courtney Whitson finished one rebound off a double-double, scoring 11 points and leading MT with nine rebounds. The junior forward also tied for the team lead in assists with Saar and Blakely, dishing out four dimes on the evening.
"It still hurts," Whitson said of the C-USA Tournament loss. "But a sign of character is how you respond to situations like that. So, we had to get the right mindset and just be able to come out and win big."
Middle Tennessee raced out to a commanding position in the first quarter, taking a 24-9 lead at the end of the quarter powered by a 17-1 run in the middle of the frame. The Lady Raiders forced Wofford into six turnovers in the quarter, scoring 10 of their 24 points off Terrier mistakes. Seven different Lady Raiders scored in the quarter, led by six points from Jalynn Gregory.
The Lady Raiders continued their winning ways in the second quarter, holding Wofford to just 29.4 percent from the field to take a 40-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. Anastasiia Boldyreva did not miss a shot from the field or the free throw line the first half, scoring 10 points in 10 minutes on the court. Gregory continued her hot shooting, knocking down another pair of triples in the second quarter to stretch her scoring for the game to 12 points.
Middle Tennessee continued to pour it on in the third quarter, hitting four of their nine three-point attempts and holding the Terriers to just four field goals total in the quarter to grow their lead to 66-38. Courtney Blakely dished out back-to-back assists to Whitson and Dor Saar to help stretch MT's advantage. Wofford was especially cold from beyond the arc in the quarter, going 1-for-5 for three in the frame.
The game in hand, Middle Tennessee rotated in the bench in the final quarter, where Blakely and Saar continued to put on a show with gravity defying layups for the former and step back threes for the latter. The Lady Raiders led by as much as 38 before cruising their way to the final 86-56 margin.
With 12 made 3-pointers as a team against Wofford, MT now has made the second most threes in a season in school history, with 306 total so far this season. MT sits just seven threes away from breaking the school record of 313 set in the 2009-10 campaign.
The victory over Wofford was MT's 15th straight win at home dating back to the 2020-21 season. The win was the Lady Raiders' 13th postseason win in program history, nine of which have been won by Insell. MT is now 8-1 at home in the WNIT and has made the second round of the WNIT five times in school history.
Middle Tennessee will host Wake Forest in the second round of the WNIT on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. central. Middle Tennessee is 1-0 all-time against the Demon Deacons, defeating Wake Forest 73-66 at home in the second round of 2017 WNIT.
The Lady Raiders (24-7, 14-4 C-USA) jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, with six MT players finishing the night shooting at least 50 percent from the field. The Terriers (17-14, 11-3 SoCon) let up 38 points in the paint to MT, never really recovering from six first quarter turnovers that put them behind early.
"I was (concerned about motivation), because a lot of teams go into the NIT, it's like kissing your sister," head coach Rick Insell said. "I love my sisters, but you know…They don't get motivated. Tonight, when they came out, they were ready to play.
"They played for the Lady Raider fans. They were excited to see people coming to the game after the boys state tournament. They saw those people filing in, and they were talking about that when they came into the dressing room. So, I knew right then, it was going to be an exciting night."
Dor Saar led the Lady Raiders with 16 points. The graduate student guard went 4-for-6 beyond the arc, while also adding five rebounds and four assists with no turnovers. Jalynn Gregory was huge early for MT, hitting four of her five made 3-pointers before halftime en route to 15 points.
"It's usually the first shot, it depends on what kind of night it's going to be," Gregory said. "But even if I miss that first shot, I always have to think that the next one is going in."
Anastasiia Boldyreva and Kseniya Malashka were each big contributors in the post, each adding 15 points to the Lady Raiders' total on the night. Boldyreva made her first four shots from the field, shooting 6-for-9 from the floor in just 17 minutes, while Malashka added a three pointer to her five buckets in the paint.
Courtney Whitson finished one rebound off a double-double, scoring 11 points and leading MT with nine rebounds. The junior forward also tied for the team lead in assists with Saar and Blakely, dishing out four dimes on the evening.
"It still hurts," Whitson said of the C-USA Tournament loss. "But a sign of character is how you respond to situations like that. So, we had to get the right mindset and just be able to come out and win big."
Middle Tennessee raced out to a commanding position in the first quarter, taking a 24-9 lead at the end of the quarter powered by a 17-1 run in the middle of the frame. The Lady Raiders forced Wofford into six turnovers in the quarter, scoring 10 of their 24 points off Terrier mistakes. Seven different Lady Raiders scored in the quarter, led by six points from Jalynn Gregory.
The Lady Raiders continued their winning ways in the second quarter, holding Wofford to just 29.4 percent from the field to take a 40-24 lead into the locker room at halftime. Anastasiia Boldyreva did not miss a shot from the field or the free throw line the first half, scoring 10 points in 10 minutes on the court. Gregory continued her hot shooting, knocking down another pair of triples in the second quarter to stretch her scoring for the game to 12 points.
Middle Tennessee continued to pour it on in the third quarter, hitting four of their nine three-point attempts and holding the Terriers to just four field goals total in the quarter to grow their lead to 66-38. Courtney Blakely dished out back-to-back assists to Whitson and Dor Saar to help stretch MT's advantage. Wofford was especially cold from beyond the arc in the quarter, going 1-for-5 for three in the frame.
The game in hand, Middle Tennessee rotated in the bench in the final quarter, where Blakely and Saar continued to put on a show with gravity defying layups for the former and step back threes for the latter. The Lady Raiders led by as much as 38 before cruising their way to the final 86-56 margin.
With 12 made 3-pointers as a team against Wofford, MT now has made the second most threes in a season in school history, with 306 total so far this season. MT sits just seven threes away from breaking the school record of 313 set in the 2009-10 campaign.
The victory over Wofford was MT's 15th straight win at home dating back to the 2020-21 season. The win was the Lady Raiders' 13th postseason win in program history, nine of which have been won by Insell. MT is now 8-1 at home in the WNIT and has made the second round of the WNIT five times in school history.
Middle Tennessee will host Wake Forest in the second round of the WNIT on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. central. Middle Tennessee is 1-0 all-time against the Demon Deacons, defeating Wake Forest 73-66 at home in the second round of 2017 WNIT.
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