Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
-274,182 CUSA
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
UTEP
-2011,128 CUSA
No. 25 Lady Raiders reach C-USA title game
3/10/2023 9:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Middle Tennessee holds off UTEP, 68-62
FRISCO, Texas — No. 25 Middle Tennessee women's basketball found a way, battling through early foul trouble and cold shooting spells, while attacking the boards and playing suffocating defense to get past UTEP 68-62 on Friday in the Conference USA Tournament semifinals.
The Lady Raiders (27-4) led nearly the entire game against the Miners (20-11), at one point leading by as many as 15, leading 29-14 in the second quarter, when early fouls to a plethora of players opened the door for UTEP to cut the lead to just five at the half, despite the Lady Raiders to holding them to 23.1 percent from the floor in the quarter.
Middle Tennessee's lead was cut by one more point at the end of the third, allowing UTEP to start the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run to take the lead. But Alexis Whittington roared back with a layup through contact, drawing the foul and completing the and-1 to put MTSU up for good, as clutch free throws from Jalynn Gregory and clutch 3-pointers from Courtney Whitson kept the game on ice late.
Gregory led the Lady Raiders with 22 points as the Lafayette, Tenn. native was active both driving and spot up shooting, making a trio of three-pointers and hauling seven rebounds, four of which came on offense. Whitson scored 18 points, leading the team with a 5-of-11 night from beyond the arc. Kseniya Malashka ate in the post, scoring 18 points while hauling in 14 rebounds, including six offensive rebounds.
By the Numbers
16: Offensive rebounds for Middle Tennessee, resulting in 19 second chance points for the Lady Raiders. MTSU outrebounded UTEP 43-30 overall on the evening, limiting the Miners to just seven offensive boards.
30: Points in the paint for MTSU, outscoring UTEP by 12 in the stat. The Lady Raiders relied on Malashaka in the post and adjusted to the double teams, dishing out three assists to the MTSU shooters.
62: Points for UTEP. It's the 11th time in 12 Conference Tournament semifinal wins for Rick Insell that the Lady Raiders held an opponent under 65 points.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"What a great game. We had everything going our way and we got kind of out of sorts with the rebound foul and the technical where Courtney (Whitson) clapped her hands. That's very uncharacteristic for her. She's been with me nearly half her life, to be honest with you, and I've never seen her get that emotional.
"But we overcame it. I was really proud of our other kids. I was really proud of Jalynn. There's not one of them that played that didn't do a really good job. Courtney Blakely did a good job, Savannah, Whitson came back in and ended up with 18 points. Kseniya, a double-double, one of her better games. So I was really proud of our young ladies. We live to play another day. We play for the championship, and that's what we came here for."
Player's Perspective – Jalynn Gregory
"They just told us to keep shooting and we've been doing really good staying on the boards. There was a couple that we missed that Courtney and Kseniya and everybody else was just crashing the boards. If we're missing the shots and we're still getting the rebounds, it kind of makes up for it."
Up Next
Middle Tennessee will play in the C-USA Championship game against No. 2 seed Western Kentucky at 4:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. Coverage will be provided by the CBS Sports Network and the Blue Raider Radio Network.
Follow the Lady Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTSUWBB), Twitter (@MT_WBB) and Instagram (@mt_wbb).
