Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
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Lady Raiders motor into WNIT Third Round
3/21/2022 9:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MT secures 67-55 win vs. Wake Forest
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee women's basketball made its way to the third round of the WNIT for the third time in program history on Monday night, defeating visiting Wake Forest 67-55 in the Murphy Center in the second round of the 2022 WNIT.
The Lady Raiders (25-7, 14-4 C-USA) dominated the first three quarters of the contest, playing great defense, holding the Demon Deacons (16-17, 4-14 ACC) to just 30.6 percent from the field throughout the game and turning the Deacs over 17 times. Wake Forest made a late run in the fourth quarter, but the 23-point lead at the end of the third quarter was too much to overcome.
"There late, we got to playing scoreboard and that's not good, very disappointed in that," head coach Rick Insell said. "But, I'm very pleased with what we did up to that point. I'm very proud of our young ladies, they played hard, they came out with the right energy early. They put the ball in the hole, we ran our offenses and if we do that, we'll be good. We've got to continue to do that. Because it's not going to get any easier."
Middle Tennessee got whatever they wanted in the paint, allowing Anastasiia Boldreva and Kseniya Malashka to cook against the Demon Deacons' forwards. Malashka led MT with 18 points, while Boldyreva scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, leading the team in rebounds with six and blocks with four.
"I think ball movement led to our good game," Malashka said. "I think we moved the ball really well in and out and also on the perimeter. We could get any shots we wanted to."
Joining Malashka off the bench was Courtney Blakely, who scored 12 points and hauled in four rebounds while blitzing past Wake Forest defenders, often forcing them to back pedal to attempt to keep up with speed on the court. She finished 4-for-7 from the field. Combined, Malashka and Blakely scored 30 points off the bench, well out pacing the Deacs' 12 points from their reserves.
"It's exciting because I know I can get to the rim, especially if they go under the screens, I know I can get an easy layup," Blakely said.
Dor Saar and Courtney Whitson just missed finishing the night with double digit points, with the Isreali point guard Saar finishing the night with nine points and a team-high five assists. The Kingsport, Tenn. native Whitson finished her evening with eight points, five rebounds and four assists.
Middle Tennessee started the game on fire from the field, making 7-of-15 shots in the first quarter, including 3-of-6 from three, to take a 20-13 lead at the end of the ten minutes of play. Boldyreva and Malashka were key in the paint to start the game, combining for nine points total, with eight from the pair coming in the lane.
The Lady Raiders kept the pace up in a physical second quarter, adding six points to their lead to take a 38-25 advantage into the locker room at halftime. MT was whistled for eight personal fouls in the second quarter but held Wake Forest once again to just 5-for-15 from the field. Malashka led MT with 12 points at the break.
MT had its most dominant quarter of the game in the third, as Wake Forest made just 26.7 percent of their attempts in the frame while the Lady Raiders knocked in 56.3 percent of theirs. Courtney Blakely finished the quarter with ten points, scoring six in the third quarter, using her speed to get to the rim often against the Deacs.
Middle Tennessee faltered down the stretch in the fourth quarter with a plethora of Lady Raiders in foul trouble but held on despite going cold from the field (2-for-13 in the final ten minutes), to hold on for the 67-55 victory. It was the 24th time this season MT held its opponent under 60 points.
The Lady Raiders will host Vanderbilt in the third round of the WNIT on Thursday night in Middle Tennessee's third ever third round appearance in the WNIT. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
