Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
6-2,0-0CUSA
Houston
4-1,0-0Big 12
Lady Raiders shutdown Cougars 70-45 on the road
11/29/2023 10:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HOUSTON, Texas – After a back-and-forth opening quarter, Middle Tennessee posted a dominant defensive performance and defeated Houston 70-45 on Wednesday evening at the Fertitta Center.
The Lady Raiders (6-2) found themselves in a battle with the Cougars (4-1) right out of the gate, with Houston leading 19-18 after one-quarter of action. MTSU quickly grabbed the lead to begin the second period and thanks to some lights-out defense, took a 37-27 lead into the break.
Coming out of the half, the Lady Raiders continued to shut down the Cougars offensively and jumped out to a 57-38 lead after three-quarters of play. Middle Tennessee
Savannah Wheeler led MTSU with 22 points and a career-high nine assists. She was followed by Ta'Mia Scott who posted an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double and Anastasiia Boldyreva who logged 18 points and seven boards.
By the Numbers
98: Coming into tonight's game, the Houston Cougars averaged 98 points per game. MTSU held them to a season-low 45 points. This marked the most lopsided home loss for the Cougars since they fell to No. 4 UConn 92-40 on Feb. 29, 2020.
43-31: The Lady Raiders out rebounded the Cougars 43-31 on the evening.
52.6: Middle Tennessee shot 52.6 percent from the field while holding Houston to 29.8 percent.
Lady Raider Notes
• Ta'Mia Scott logged her first career double-double in MTSU's 70-45 win over Houston.
• Courtney Whitson entered the game with 895 career rebounds. With her eight boards on the evening, she became just the fourth Lady Raider to surpass 900 career rebounds.
• Double-Digits: Savannah Wheeler logged her 96th career double-digit outing, while Anastasiia Boldyreva tallied her 26th and Ta'Mia Scott notched her sixth.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"From the get to, it was pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure… They lead the nation in turnovers, forcing around 33 a night and we ended up with 20. We knew coming in that they were going to be tough. We knew that had some pretty good shooters and we did a good job defending them. We kept their big kids off the boards and out rebounded them 43-31. That's big… Savannah (Wheeler) had a tremendous game. She had nine assists and 22 points. Courtney (Whitson) got her 900th rebound and Ta'Mia Scott had a double-double. You can't forget about little ol' Jalynn (Gregory). She had to defend Houston's best player… I'm just really proud of our players."
Up Next
The Lady Raiders travel back to the Volunteer State to take on the Belmont Bruins on Sunday, Dec. 5. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Follow the Lady Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTSUWBB), X (Formerly known as Twitter) (@MT_WBB) and Instagram (@mt_wbb).
