Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Saturday, February 25
Ruston, LA
1 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
at
Louisiana Tech
Regular Season Road Finale Takes Place Saturday for No. 25 Lady Raiders
2/24/2023 10:58:00 AM | Women's Basketball
RUSTON, La.—With the Conference USA Regular Season Championship clinched, No. 25 Middle Tennessee women's basketball hits the road for the final time in the regular season to Louisiana Tech. Tipoff Saturday is set for 1 p.m. inside Thomas Assembly Center.
The game will air on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Network.
LAST TIME OUT
Middle Tennessee women's basketball attacked the rim all afternoon and outscored FIU 42-18 in the paint in an 85-46 stomping of FIU Saturday.
With the win, the Lady Raiders (22-4, 15-2 C-USA) claimed at least a share of the 2023 Conference USA WBB Regular Season Championship.
MTSU shot 54 percent from the field and led by as many as 40 in their fourth straight win.
MTSU never looked back against the Panthers (12-13, 7-9 C-USA) after its 11-2 first quarter run. Scoring nine points in the opening frame, Jalynn Gregory finished the first with an emphatic and-one to beat the buzzer and put the Lady Raiders up 16-8.
A 12-1 run to close out the half extended the MTSU lead to 15 (35-20) at the break as the Lady Raiders shot 61 percent (8-for-13) from the floor in the second quarter.
Two pairs of layups by Savannah Wheeler and Courtney Whitson jumpstarted a 17-2 run three minutes into the second half. With the Lady Raiders continuing to roll, their lead grew to 40 (83-43) with 1:44 left to play on consecutive 3-pointers from Whitson and Gregory.
Courtney Blakely impressed all afternoon, scoring a season-high 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field. Blakely also added three assists and two rebounds.
Gregory made four 3s and scored a game-high 20 points, along with four steals and three assists. Whitson made seven of nine attempts from the field while finishing with 19 points and six rebounds. Savannah Wheeler added 14 points, five rebounds and two assists.
ON THE COURT
Overall Stat Leaders
Points - Savannah Wheeler (16.3 PPG)
Rebounds - Courtney Whitson (7.8 RPG)
Assists - Savannah Wheeler (3.2 APG)
Steals - Jalynn Gregory (1.8 SPG)
LADY RAIDER NOTES
SCOUTING LA TECH
The game will air on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Network.
LAST TIME OUT
Middle Tennessee women's basketball attacked the rim all afternoon and outscored FIU 42-18 in the paint in an 85-46 stomping of FIU Saturday.
With the win, the Lady Raiders (22-4, 15-2 C-USA) claimed at least a share of the 2023 Conference USA WBB Regular Season Championship.
MTSU shot 54 percent from the field and led by as many as 40 in their fourth straight win.
MTSU never looked back against the Panthers (12-13, 7-9 C-USA) after its 11-2 first quarter run. Scoring nine points in the opening frame, Jalynn Gregory finished the first with an emphatic and-one to beat the buzzer and put the Lady Raiders up 16-8.
A 12-1 run to close out the half extended the MTSU lead to 15 (35-20) at the break as the Lady Raiders shot 61 percent (8-for-13) from the floor in the second quarter.
Two pairs of layups by Savannah Wheeler and Courtney Whitson jumpstarted a 17-2 run three minutes into the second half. With the Lady Raiders continuing to roll, their lead grew to 40 (83-43) with 1:44 left to play on consecutive 3-pointers from Whitson and Gregory.
Courtney Blakely impressed all afternoon, scoring a season-high 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field. Blakely also added three assists and two rebounds.
Gregory made four 3s and scored a game-high 20 points, along with four steals and three assists. Whitson made seven of nine attempts from the field while finishing with 19 points and six rebounds. Savannah Wheeler added 14 points, five rebounds and two assists.
ON THE COURT
Overall Stat Leaders
Points - Savannah Wheeler (16.3 PPG)
Rebounds - Courtney Whitson (7.8 RPG)
Assists - Savannah Wheeler (3.2 APG)
Steals - Jalynn Gregory (1.8 SPG)
LADY RAIDER NOTES
- For the 20th time in program history and the second time as a member of Conference USA, Middle Tennessee women's basketball has clinched a regular season conference title after WKU's loss to Louisiana Tech Thursday night.
- Middle Tennessee is ranked in the Associated Press Women's Basketball Top 25 Poll for the third week this season. Receiving 29 votes, the Lady Raiders are tied for 25th. MTSU is the lone representative of Conference USA and the state of Tennessee in this week's poll.
- The Lady Raiders have shot over 50 percent from the floor in three of their past four games, including both games last week in Florida.
- Alexis Whittington, Courtney Whitson and Jalynn Gregory have been named to the 2022 College Sports Communicators' Academic All-District Women's Basketball Team, announced Tuesday. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve with at least a 3.5 GPA.
SCOUTING LA TECH
- The Lady Techsters have won five games in a row and are coming off a win over WKU Thursday night.
- Louisiana Tech leads the league in 3-point percentage (33.8) and free throw attempts per game (15.3) while ranking second in both field goal percentage (44.5), field goal percentage defense (38.8) and scoring defense (60.6).
- Keiunna Walker is second in the league in scoring at 17.6 points per game. Walker averages 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Anna Larr Roberson is averaging 12.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest.
Players Mentioned
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