Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
10-4,0-0CUSA
GCU
10-3,2-0WAC
Lady Raiders fall to Lopes 68-59 in the desert
12/30/2023 4:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Middle Tennessee fell to Grand Canyon 68-59 on Saturday afternoon at the Global Credit Union Arena.
Right out of the gate, the Lady Raiders (10-4, 0-0 CUSA) found themselves in a battle with the Lopes (10-3, 2-0 WAC) trailing by nine at the first media break. MTSU chipped away at the GCU lead and entered the second period down 17-20. The Lopes opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run to extend their lead to nine, however, the Lady Raiders continued to attack the paint and entered the half down 33-35.
Coming out of the locker room GCU jumped out to a 42-38 lead. Both squads continued to battle with the Lopes taking a 49-44 lead into the fourth. GCU quickly extended its lead to 13 and despite a late effort by the Lady Raiders would go on to win 68-59.
Savannah Wheeler led all scorers with 23 points and five rebounds. She was followed by Ta'Mia Scott who tallied 10 points, while both Anastasiia Boldyreva and Courtney Whitson posted eight boards.
By the Numbers
41-27: The Lady Raiders out-rebounded the Lopes 41-27 on the night, including 16-5 offensive boards which resulted in 12 second-chance points.
20-7: Points of turnovers hurt MTSU on the afternoon. GCU tallied 20 points off of 16 turnovers by the Lady Raiders
17-2: The Lopes logged 17 fast break points compared to the Lady Raiders' two.
Lady Raider Notes
• With a pair of triples, Wheeler became just the 16th player in Conference USA history to eclipse 200 career three-point field goals. The senior is also four points away from cracking the top 10 in all-time CUSA scoring leaders.
• Double-Digits: Wheeler logged her 101st career double-figure scoring performance and 34th career 20-point outing, while Scott logged her ninth.
Up Next
The Lady Raiders open up league play against the LA Tech Lady Techsters in Ruston, Louisiana on Wednesday, Jan. 10. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. CT and the game will broadcast on ESPN+.
