Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, March 24
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6:30 PM
Middle Tennessee
-267,144 CUSA
55
vs
53
Vanderbilt
16-19,4-12SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Vanderbilt
21
8
12
12
53
Middle Tenn.
10
11
22
12
55
Team Stats
Vandy
MTSU
FG%
.400
.404
3FG%
.300
.292
FT%
.700
.833
RB
28
30
TO
17
19
STL
10
9
Game Leaders
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications
Saar, Lady Raiders slam door on 'Dores in WNIT
3/24/2022 10:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lady Raiders claim 55-53 triumph
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — When Kseniya Malashka was fouled with 8.8 seconds to go, she had a moment to collect her thoughts in the huddle with her coaches and teammates.
The fouling out of Kaylon Smith had delayed the game, tied at 53-53, as Vanderbilt slowly tried to figure out who they wanted to replace her on the court. Malashka, now given two free throws with the chance to give MT the lead, was getting coached up one final time tonight. What did the coaches in the huddle say?
"I wouldn't say I was doubting myself, but when I talked to Coach Rick, I calmed myself down," Malashka said. "I wasn't even listening to what they were saying in that huddle, I was preparing myself."
The Belarus international cleared her head, calmly stepped up the line, and drilled both free throws, giving MT a 55-53 lead they would not relinquish in their round of 16 win over Vanderbilt in front of 3,022 fans at the Murphy Center on Thursday night.
The win gave the Lady Raiders (26-7) their 17th straight win at home, 16 of which have come this season, and two of which have come against the Commodores (16-19).
"What a heck of a game," head coach Rick Insell said. "Both teams played hard, both teams executed at times and both teams got sloppy at times. You've got to give credit to both teams. They battled and battled and battled and our players battled and battled and battled. A heck of a game, I'm proud of our basketball team."
Malashka finished the night with 12 points, four rebounds and four blocks, none bigger than the one on Jordyn Cambridge on the Commodores' penultimate possession, swatting it out of bounds while standing straight up with 2.0 seconds left on the clock.
"We work the whole season on helpside," Malashka said. "I was just in the right place at the right time."
Vanderbilt was able to inbound the ball late to Iyana Moore, but Courtney Blakely suffocated a three pointer attempt that clanked off the side iron of the rim to finish the game for the Lady Raiders.
Dor Saar came up big in the second half, scoring 11 of her 13 points in the final 20 minutes of the game, three of which coming from beyond the arc, and none bigger than the dagger to end the third quarter that put MT up 43-41 going into the final frame. With her trio of triples on the night, Saar has now made 83 threes this season, tied for the sixth most in a single season in Middle Tennessee history with Jackie Pickel's 2009-10 campaign.
"I think it comes down to that I work every day on those shots," Saar said. "Sometimes people tell me 'Wow, those shots are crazy.' But I'm like, 'Maybe it seems to you crazy, but I work on them every day.' So, I do have confidence in my shot."
Courtney Whitson played all 40 minutes on Thursday, scoring nine points, while Jalynn Gregory hit a pair of threes en route to finishing with eight points and five rebounds. Alexis Whittington was her usual scrappy self on defense, leading the team with six rebounds while also contributing seven points on the offensive end. Whittington and Saar tied for the team-lead with three steals.
"For all of us, we knew how intense this game was," said Whittington, who briefly left the game in the first quarter after taking a hard foul from Sacha Washington. "We knew this could be our last game on this court with this team. We weren't going to lose. With the fans coming out, we have to come out here and give everything we have."
With seven threes as a team, Middle Tennessee has hit 319 threes this season, the most ever by a single team in Lady Raider history. The team's 26 wins this season are tied for fourth most in a single season in program history.
Vanderbilt dominated the opening quarter, making 75 percent of their shots in the first 10 minutes to race out to a 21-10 lead. Middle Tennessee struggled to find their shot in the first quarter, turning the ball over five times and shooting just 4-for-12 from the field, including 0-of-6 from three.
Middle Tennessee chipped away at the Commodore lead in the second quarter, holding Vandy to just 3-for-14 from the field in the quarter, but couldn't cut the lead any further than 29-21 at the half. All seven Lady Raiders who checked into the game scored at least two points in the first half, led by five from Whitson.
The Lady Raiders came roaring back with a vengeance in the third quarter, with two late threes from Gregory and Saar giving MT the final push to take a 43-41 lead at the end of the quarter. Middle Tennessee was red hot on offense in the quarter, drilling 4-of-6 3 point attempts and 7-of-11 shots from the field.
The fourth quarter was another defensive battle, with the teams combining to go just 5-of-18 from the floor. But MT made just enough plays down the stretch, taking advantage of three missed Commodore free throws in the period, to set themselves up for a final shot with 32 seconds to play, where Malashka gave Middle Tennessee the lead with a pair of free throws.
The Lady Raiders will now hit the road for the first time in this WNIT run, battling Toledo in the Savage Center on Monday at 6 p.m. central. This marks the second time MT has made the quarterfinals of the WNIT. MT lost to Temple 69-57 in the 2015 WNIT quarterfinals in their previous appearance.
The fouling out of Kaylon Smith had delayed the game, tied at 53-53, as Vanderbilt slowly tried to figure out who they wanted to replace her on the court. Malashka, now given two free throws with the chance to give MT the lead, was getting coached up one final time tonight. What did the coaches in the huddle say?
"I wouldn't say I was doubting myself, but when I talked to Coach Rick, I calmed myself down," Malashka said. "I wasn't even listening to what they were saying in that huddle, I was preparing myself."
The Belarus international cleared her head, calmly stepped up the line, and drilled both free throws, giving MT a 55-53 lead they would not relinquish in their round of 16 win over Vanderbilt in front of 3,022 fans at the Murphy Center on Thursday night.
The win gave the Lady Raiders (26-7) their 17th straight win at home, 16 of which have come this season, and two of which have come against the Commodores (16-19).
"What a heck of a game," head coach Rick Insell said. "Both teams played hard, both teams executed at times and both teams got sloppy at times. You've got to give credit to both teams. They battled and battled and battled and our players battled and battled and battled. A heck of a game, I'm proud of our basketball team."
Malashka finished the night with 12 points, four rebounds and four blocks, none bigger than the one on Jordyn Cambridge on the Commodores' penultimate possession, swatting it out of bounds while standing straight up with 2.0 seconds left on the clock.
"We work the whole season on helpside," Malashka said. "I was just in the right place at the right time."
Vanderbilt was able to inbound the ball late to Iyana Moore, but Courtney Blakely suffocated a three pointer attempt that clanked off the side iron of the rim to finish the game for the Lady Raiders.
Dor Saar came up big in the second half, scoring 11 of her 13 points in the final 20 minutes of the game, three of which coming from beyond the arc, and none bigger than the dagger to end the third quarter that put MT up 43-41 going into the final frame. With her trio of triples on the night, Saar has now made 83 threes this season, tied for the sixth most in a single season in Middle Tennessee history with Jackie Pickel's 2009-10 campaign.
"I think it comes down to that I work every day on those shots," Saar said. "Sometimes people tell me 'Wow, those shots are crazy.' But I'm like, 'Maybe it seems to you crazy, but I work on them every day.' So, I do have confidence in my shot."
Courtney Whitson played all 40 minutes on Thursday, scoring nine points, while Jalynn Gregory hit a pair of threes en route to finishing with eight points and five rebounds. Alexis Whittington was her usual scrappy self on defense, leading the team with six rebounds while also contributing seven points on the offensive end. Whittington and Saar tied for the team-lead with three steals.
"For all of us, we knew how intense this game was," said Whittington, who briefly left the game in the first quarter after taking a hard foul from Sacha Washington. "We knew this could be our last game on this court with this team. We weren't going to lose. With the fans coming out, we have to come out here and give everything we have."
With seven threes as a team, Middle Tennessee has hit 319 threes this season, the most ever by a single team in Lady Raider history. The team's 26 wins this season are tied for fourth most in a single season in program history.
Vanderbilt dominated the opening quarter, making 75 percent of their shots in the first 10 minutes to race out to a 21-10 lead. Middle Tennessee struggled to find their shot in the first quarter, turning the ball over five times and shooting just 4-for-12 from the field, including 0-of-6 from three.
Middle Tennessee chipped away at the Commodore lead in the second quarter, holding Vandy to just 3-for-14 from the field in the quarter, but couldn't cut the lead any further than 29-21 at the half. All seven Lady Raiders who checked into the game scored at least two points in the first half, led by five from Whitson.
The Lady Raiders came roaring back with a vengeance in the third quarter, with two late threes from Gregory and Saar giving MT the final push to take a 43-41 lead at the end of the quarter. Middle Tennessee was red hot on offense in the quarter, drilling 4-of-6 3 point attempts and 7-of-11 shots from the field.
The fourth quarter was another defensive battle, with the teams combining to go just 5-of-18 from the floor. But MT made just enough plays down the stretch, taking advantage of three missed Commodore free throws in the period, to set themselves up for a final shot with 32 seconds to play, where Malashka gave Middle Tennessee the lead with a pair of free throws.
The Lady Raiders will now hit the road for the first time in this WNIT run, battling Toledo in the Savage Center on Monday at 6 p.m. central. This marks the second time MT has made the quarterfinals of the WNIT. MT lost to Temple 69-57 in the 2015 WNIT quarterfinals in their previous appearance.
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