Road Trip Ends at Charlotte for Lady Raiders

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Middle Tennessee women's basketball has never started a conference season 8-0 in its nine seasons as a member of Conference USA. Thursday, the Lady Raiders have a chance to change that on the road against Charlotte at 5 p.m.

The Lady Raiders (14-2, 7-0 C-USA) have won 12 games in a row while the 49ers (7-9, 3-4 C-USA) have lost three of their last four. The game will air on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Network.

LAST TIME OUT

Kseniya Malashka and Savannah Wheeler combined to score 45 of Middle Tennessee's 76 points as the Lady Raiders handled UAB, 76-45.

With the win, the Lady Raiders (14-2, 7-0 C-USA) extended their winning streak to 12 games, which ties for the longest streak by the program since Dec. 27, 2013 to Feb. 10, 2014.

Middle Tennessee trailed briefly in the first quarter but a 12-3 end to the frame gave the Lady Raiders a 16-9 lead. UAB's (9-8, 1-7 C-USA) scoring in the first quarter came on three 3-pointers. Wheeler caught fire in the second quarter with eight points, including shooting 3-of-4 from the field to help MTSU extend its lead to 18 (38-20) at halftime.

As UAB cut the lead to single digits (41-32) at the 6:16 mark in the third, Wheeler continued to hit shots, Malashka found her groove in the second half. The redshirt senior forward scored nine points in the third quarter and 12 of MTSU's 17 points in the final period to finalize her season-high 26 points.

The Lady Raiders forced 19 turnovers while committing just eight themselves. MTSU scored 29 points off turnovers compared to UAB's seven. The Lady Raiders won the battle on the boards 42-34.

ON THE COURT

Overall Stat Leaders:
Points - Kseniya Malashka (16.9 PPG)
Rebounds - Courtney Whitson (8.1 RPG)
Assists - Savannah Wheeler (3.8 APG)
Steals - Jalynn Gregory (1.9 SPG)

LADY RAIDER NOTES

MTSU remains in the 18th spot of the NET rankings.
Middle Tennessee leads all of Conference USA and ranks 12th in the nation with a 19.6 scoring margin. In their 14 wins, the Lady Raiders are averaging a 22.8 point differential.
The 12-game winning streak ties for the longest streak by the program since Dec. 27, 2013 to Feb. 10, 2014 and is the nation's fifth longest active streak.
Savannah Wheeler has been named to the Midseason Watch List for the 2023 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, presented by Her Hoop Stats, Wednesday. One of 15 student-athletes on the list, Wheeler is averaging 15.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
After her 135th appearance Jan. 16 at UAB, Alexis Whittington is now the program's all-time leader in games played. In her fifth season, the Murfreesboro, Tenn., native has started 75 games. She enters Thursday's game with 789 career points, 153 steals and 527 rebounds in 3,530 minutes played.
Middle Tennessee has won its last four games by at least 19 points. The Lady Raiders have gone on a scoring run of at least 10 unanswered points in their last 11 games.
In national category rankings, the Lady Raiders rank second in free throws made per game (18) and ninth in fewest turnovers per game (12).

CHECKING IN ON CHARLOTTE (again)

Since its loss vs. Middle Tennessee, Charlotte is 2-3. The two wins came at Louisiana Tech Dec. 31 and vs. Florida Atlantic Jan. 7.
Dazia Lawrence continues to lead the team in scoring with 15.9 points per game. Lawrence scored 31 points vs. Florida Atlantic Jan. 7 after a 27-point performance vs. FIU Jan. 5.
Jada McMillian's 6.8 assists per game in conference play leads all of C-USA.
Charlotte ranks second in lowest opponent field goal percentage in conference play (38.2 percent) and holds teams to a league-low 24.8 percentage beyond the arc in seven C-USA games.
Middle Tennessee has lost just once in the 12 meetings between the two programs. The Loss came Feb. 6, 2021 at Charlotte. The Lady Raiders won both meetings last season by a combined margin of eight and defeated the 49ers 71-46 Dec. 29, 2022 at the Murphy Center.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jalynn Gregory

Kseniya Malashka

Savannah Wheeler

Courtney Whitson

Alexis Whittington

Middle Tennesee State University Athletics