Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Thursday, March 2
Murfreesboro, TN
6 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
-244,172 CUSA
72
vs
45
North Texas
-1118,811 CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
North Texas
6
13
15
11
45
Middle Tenn.
20
17
16
19
72
.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Team Stats
UNT
MTSU
FG%
.370
.537
3FG%
.143
.286
FT%
.333
.571
RB
27
40
TO
15
14
STL
9
9
Game Leaders
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballC
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Photo by: Matt Posey/MT Athletic Communications
Strong start and finish pushes No. 24 MTSU to dominant win over North Texas
3/2/2023 9:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Lady Raiders outscore the Mean Green by 22 combined points in the first and fourth quarter
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — No. 24 Middle Tennessee women's basketball started on a roll and finished on a run, blitzing past visiting North Texas 72-45 thanks to dominant first and fourth quarter performances on Thursday night in the Murphy Center.
The Lady Raiders (24-4, 17-2) outscored the Mean Green (11-18, 8-11) by 14 points in the first quarter (20-6), ending the frame on a 13-2 run while holding North Texas to just 18.8 percent shooting in the quarter. The Mean Green would keep pace better in the middle two quarters, only trailing the combined second and third quarters by five points, but a late 9-0 run from the Lady Raiders in the fourth quarter eliminated all doubt in a game in which MTSU never trailed.
Middle Tennessee was efficient offensively, shooting 53.7 percent from the field, while dominating the Mean Green on the defensive end, holding North Texas to just 37.0 percent shooting for the game, including a 2-for-14 night beyond the arc.
Jalynn Gregory led a balanced scoring attack for the Lady Raiders, scoring 12 of her 15 points from three. Anastasiia Boldyreva and Kseniya Malashka both had big nights in the paint, each scoring 12 points in 18 minutes on the court. Courtney Blakely and Savannah Wheeler were strong in breaking North Texas' press, scoring 12 and 10 points respectively. Courtney Whitson just missed out on a double-double in a game where she was on triple-double watch at halftime, scoring seven points while hauling in 11 rebounds and nabbing five steals (with all steals coming in the first half).
By the Numbers
5: Lady Raiders in double figures scoring, led by 15 points from Jalynn Gregory. Four of those scorers (Boldyreva, Gregory, Malashka and Blakely) made five field goals each.
5: Steals for Courtney Whitson on Thursday night, a new career-high for a single game. The Kingsport, Tenn. native's previous career high was set earlier this season against Florida Atlantic on January 26, when Whitson snagged four steals from the Owls.
5: Assists for Savannah Wheeler, leading all players on either side of the court. It's the eighth game of the 2022-23 season the Marshall transfer dished out at least five dimes.
Lady Raider Notes
"Pretty satisfied as a whole. I thought we got out, what'd we score, 20-6 in the first quarter. That's always good for this team to do that. We let up a little bit in the second quarter, we came back out and we've just got to score the basketball with them. We ended up kind of coasting in on a win.
"(North Texas) is a very aggressive, a very good basketball team. They've got four young ladies that are in the top 15 in the conference in steals. So we knew we were going to have take care of the ball. We ended up having 14 turnovers and that's not what we've been having. We've been having anywhere from 8-11, so they were create some havoc.
"But pretty proud of this win, another victory at home. Now we've got one more to go with UTEP coming in. Of course, UTEP beat us (at UTEP) and I hope we'll have a good crowd. Because it's going to be a heck of a game and plus afterwards you've got senior night, after that you've got the presentation of the conference championship trophy to the team."
Player's Perspective – Courtney Whitson
"Right now, we just have a different mindset. Really just focusing, even in our practices, focusing on finishing as strong as we start and vice versa. So I think we put a lot of focus on that and it gives us some momentum going into Saturday."
Up Next
The Lady Raiders finish their 2022-23 regular season at home this Saturday in the final scheduled home game of Alexis Whittington's and Kseniya Malashka's careers. Tipoff against UTEP is at 2 p.m, with coverage on ESPN+ 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).
The Lady Raiders (24-4, 17-2) outscored the Mean Green (11-18, 8-11) by 14 points in the first quarter (20-6), ending the frame on a 13-2 run while holding North Texas to just 18.8 percent shooting in the quarter. The Mean Green would keep pace better in the middle two quarters, only trailing the combined second and third quarters by five points, but a late 9-0 run from the Lady Raiders in the fourth quarter eliminated all doubt in a game in which MTSU never trailed.
Middle Tennessee was efficient offensively, shooting 53.7 percent from the field, while dominating the Mean Green on the defensive end, holding North Texas to just 37.0 percent shooting for the game, including a 2-for-14 night beyond the arc.
Jalynn Gregory led a balanced scoring attack for the Lady Raiders, scoring 12 of her 15 points from three. Anastasiia Boldyreva and Kseniya Malashka both had big nights in the paint, each scoring 12 points in 18 minutes on the court. Courtney Blakely and Savannah Wheeler were strong in breaking North Texas' press, scoring 12 and 10 points respectively. Courtney Whitson just missed out on a double-double in a game where she was on triple-double watch at halftime, scoring seven points while hauling in 11 rebounds and nabbing five steals (with all steals coming in the first half).
By the Numbers
5: Lady Raiders in double figures scoring, led by 15 points from Jalynn Gregory. Four of those scorers (Boldyreva, Gregory, Malashka and Blakely) made five field goals each.
5: Steals for Courtney Whitson on Thursday night, a new career-high for a single game. The Kingsport, Tenn. native's previous career high was set earlier this season against Florida Atlantic on January 26, when Whitson snagged four steals from the Owls.
5: Assists for Savannah Wheeler, leading all players on either side of the court. It's the eighth game of the 2022-23 season the Marshall transfer dished out at least five dimes.
Lady Raider Notes
- Middle Tennessee won its sixth game in a row, its 13th straight home game and its 30th consecutive home regular season win.
- At least five Lady Raiders scored in double figures for the sixth time this season.
- The Lady Raiders have shot above 50 percent from the floor in four of their last six games.
"Pretty satisfied as a whole. I thought we got out, what'd we score, 20-6 in the first quarter. That's always good for this team to do that. We let up a little bit in the second quarter, we came back out and we've just got to score the basketball with them. We ended up kind of coasting in on a win.
"(North Texas) is a very aggressive, a very good basketball team. They've got four young ladies that are in the top 15 in the conference in steals. So we knew we were going to have take care of the ball. We ended up having 14 turnovers and that's not what we've been having. We've been having anywhere from 8-11, so they were create some havoc.
"But pretty proud of this win, another victory at home. Now we've got one more to go with UTEP coming in. Of course, UTEP beat us (at UTEP) and I hope we'll have a good crowd. Because it's going to be a heck of a game and plus afterwards you've got senior night, after that you've got the presentation of the conference championship trophy to the team."
Player's Perspective – Courtney Whitson
"Right now, we just have a different mindset. Really just focusing, even in our practices, focusing on finishing as strong as we start and vice versa. So I think we put a lot of focus on that and it gives us some momentum going into Saturday."
Up Next
The Lady Raiders finish their 2022-23 regular season at home this Saturday in the final scheduled home game of Alexis Whittington's and Kseniya Malashka's careers. Tipoff against UTEP is at 2 p.m, with coverage on ESPN+ 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).
2025 MTSU Basketball tickets on sale now - October 1st
Wednesday, October 01
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
Rick Insell Conference USA Hall of Fame Announcement
Wednesday, July 09
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
