Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Seton Hall
Lady Raiders Hosting Seton Hall in WNIT Semifinals on Thursday
3/30/2022 5:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Lady Raiders have advanced to the semifinal round of the Women's NIT and will face Seton Hall at 6:30 p.m. CT in Murfreesboro.
Middle Tennessee women's basketball (27-7, 14-4) has made its way to the semifinals of the WNIT for the first time in program history after defeating Toledo in overtime, 73-71. Now, the Lady Raiders are tasked with the Seton Hall Pirates (23-12) that have a 7-5 record on the road this year.
Offensively the Pirates rank in the top half of the nation when it comes to three-point shooting. As a team, they shoot a .346 clip from deep which ranks 41st in the nation. Lauren Park-Lane leads the pirates shooting 41.7% from three with over 177 attempts this season. The big matchup to watch in tomorrow's game will be whoever is matched up for the Lady Raiders on Park-Lane. Lauren lacks no energy, having the most minutes played in the nation this season. She averages 18.3 points per game and is fourth in the nation with 7.0 assists per game. Seton Hall has two other players scoring double-digits in Sidney Cooks and Andra Espinoza-Hunter with 15.6 ppg and 15.2 ppg respectively.
On the defensive side for the Pirates, they have four players that average over a steal per game in Espinoza-Hunter (1.8 spg), Park-Lane (1.6 spg), Mya Bembry (1.1 spg), and Mya Jackson (1.1 spg). Seton Hall's scoring defense allows over 67 ppg on 42.7% from the field. The 6'4" center Cooks leads the team in blocks per game (1.6) and also in rebounds with 7.9 per game.
The Pirates have won 15 of their last 17 games and look to continue that as they play a Middle Tennessee that is on a 17-0 streak in the Glass House. This will be the first time the two schools have ever matched up in women's basketball.
Last Time Out – March 28 at Toledo – (W, 73-71) RECAP
Middle Tennessee answered all challenges amid an electric atmosphere to escape against a Toledo (29-6) team that entered the game 14-1 at Savage Arena, which had 4,063 partisan fans fill the arena for the quarterfinal matchup. The riveting matchup included 17 lead changes and 15 ties and the largest lead for either team was eight in the first quarter.
Freshman center Anastasiia Boldyreva came up huge as she produced the best game of her young collegiate career. Boldyreva poured in 28 points on 13-of-20 shooting in just 27 minutes played. The points and field goals were both career highs, and she also added three blocked shots to those totals.
"(Boldyreva) was a horse inside," Insell said. "She took the game over. The young lady got into a rhythm and just put the team on her back. She has made such great strides all season and that was on display tonight. (Boldyreva) played with such great confidence."
Courtney Whitson tallied 18 points and seven rebounds, while Kseniya Malashka also contributed double figures with 12 points, six rebounds, and added two steals. Dor Saar finished with eight points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals in a stat-sheet stuffing performance.
Follow Along on Game Day
Watch on ESPN3.
Follow for live tweets throughout the game @MT_WBB.
Audio will be available on WGNS 1450 AM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM, or at GoBlueRaiders.com/Watch.
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