Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Memphis
Lady Raiders set to open the 2023-24 season Monday
11/5/2023 5:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Middle Tennessee hosts Memphis to officially open the 2023-24 season
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee women's basketball begins its 49th season Monday night against Memphis. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Murphy Center. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and be streamed on ESPN+.
The Lady Raiders were tabbed Conference USA preseason favorites for the 14th time in 19 seasons under Head Coach Rick Insell. Middle Tennessee returns nine players, including four starters, from the 2022-23 squad that went 28-4, won the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Game 1: Middle Tennessee (0-0, 0-0 CUSA) vs. Memphis (0-0, 0-0 AAC)
» Monday, November 6 - 5 p.m.
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, Tenn.
All-Time Against Memphis
» Monday's game marks the 19th overall meeting between the two teams.
» MTSU leads in the all-time series 10-8.
» The last time the two squads met, the Lady Raiders won 69-53 (12/10/22).
Lady Raider Notes
» The 2023-24 returning roster has:
- Scored 4,416 career points in 466 games played with 346 career starts
- Hit 584 career three-point field goals
- Shot 872-of-1081 free throws in their careers, 80.6 percent
» MTSU is 29-19 all-time in season openers and 32-16 all-time in home openers, including 9-9 in season openers and 12-6 in home openers under head coach Rick Insell.
» The last time the Lady Raiders opened the season at home was in 2021-22. MTSU took East Carolina on Nov. 9 and won 70-49.
» For the third consecutive season, Middle Tennessee returns four of the top five leading scorers from the previous season
» The 2023-24 roster boasts seven international players: Jada Grannum (Canada); Dora Van Rijs (Hungary); Anastasiia Boldyreva, Iullia Grabovskaia and Stanislava Kabernick (Russia); Sifa Ineza (Rwanda); Zahira Arizmendi (Spain). Entering this season the Lady Raiders have only had 10 international players in program history.
» Alongside South Carolina, MTSU is one of just two teams in the nation to finish the regular season with a perfect record at home in each of the last two seasons.
» Currently sitting at 998 wins, Middle Tennessee will soon join an elite list of women's basketball programs in the nation to secure 1,000 wins.
» Head Coach Rick Insell has led the Lady Raiders to 17 consecutive post-seasons. He has tallied a 433-151 record at his alma mater.
Scouting the Tigers
» The Tigers come into the 2023-24 season with a whole new team and outlook.
» Monday's game will be the first under Alex Simmons and crew.
» Memphis Head Coach Alex Simmons played for Rick Insell at Shelbyville Central HS and served on his staff at Middle Tennessee from 2010-13. This marks the first time that Coach Insell has squared off against a former player at the collegiate level. Simmons also served on Associate Head Coach Matt Insell's staff at Ole Miss from 2013-18.
» Madison Griggs returns for her 5th year with the Tigers while Destyne Jackson, Hannah Riddick, Aliyah Green, Tanyuel Welch, and Shelbee Brown all make their return to the Bluff City.
» Memphis welcomes nine new faces this year, including five true freshmen.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTSUWBB), X (Formerly known as Twitter) (@MT_WBB) and Instagram (@mt_wbb).
