Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
13-4,3-0CUSA
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UTEP
6-10,1-2CUSA
Balanced offense paces Lady Raiders past Miners
1/18/2024 7:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Five Lady Raiders scored in double figures on Thursday against UTEP
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Five different Lady Raiders finished the night in double figures scoring on Thursday, as Middle Tennesse women's basketball eased past UTEP 81-70 in the Murphy Center.
The Lady Raiders (13-4, 3-0 CUSA) took a 35-30 lead into the locker room at halftime, using a dominant outing on the offensive glass to power their way to the lead over the Miners (6-10, 1-2 CUSA). MTSU scored 16 second chance points in the first 20 minutes off nine offensive rebounds. Iullia Grabovskaia has seven of those offensive boards, recording a double-double off the bench before even the end of the first half, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
An offensive outburst in the third quarter pushed the Lady Raiders' lead to as much as 22 points, with MTSU finding ways to push the Miners out of their box-and-1 defense with prolific outside shooting in the third frame. The Lady Raiders made 6-of-13 shots beyond the arc in the 29-point third quarter. UTEP would counter, however, with an offensive outburst of their own in the fourth, scoring 13 of their 27 fourth quarter points at the free throw line. But quick offense (nine points in less than five minutes) and made free throws (four) in the closing minutes from Savannah Wheeler closed the game out easily for Middle Tennessee.
Wheeler led all Lady Raiders with 18 points, going 5-for-9 from the field and 7-for-9 at the free throw line. The point guard also added seven rebounds and four assists. Ta'Mia Scott trailed closely behind with 16 points, making 4-of-7 seven shots for three while also grabbing seven rebounds. Graboskaia finished her first career double-double with 11 points and a team-high 16 rebounds. Courtney Whitson (14 points) and Jalynn Gregory (13 points, four assists, three steals) rounded out the double-digit scorers for MTSU.
By the Numbers
2008: Career points for Savannah Wheeler, who passed 2000 career points with a free throw at the 4:51 mark of the fourth quarter. 715 of those points have been scored in a Lady Raider uniform. Wheeler is the 10th player in Conference USA history to reach 2000 career points.
25: Second Chance points for the Lady Raiders. MTSU grabbed 17 offensive rebounds as a team on Thursday, nine of which were brought down by Iullia Grabovskaia.
16:7: Assists to Turnovers for MTSU on Thursday, their best ratio of the 2023-24 season. Seven turnovers is the fewest turnovers the Lady Raiders have had in a win this season.
Lady Raider Notes
• Grabovskaia logged her first career double-double (11 points, 16 rebounds).
• Five Lady Raider scored in double figures for the second consecutive game.
• Middle Tennessee has thrived under Coach Insell, posting a 141-18 record when making 10 or more shots from beyond the arc.
• MTSU is 143-3 when scoring 80+ points under Coach Insell.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"We didn't use our heads defensively. We tried to get in the gaps, we didn't get in the gaps. And then we didn't close out good. So, there's some things we've got to work on, and we'll work on them tomorrow, even though we're trying to get ready for New Mexico State. You look on the offensive end, we didn't play as good on the offensive end as we need to, but we had one, two, three, four, five kids in double figures and Anastasiia should've been."
"We won a game we didn't play good, we had a lot going on. They did too. You've got to give them their pat on the back because they had a lot of things going on getting here and the weather and all that. We know they're a lot better team than their record is showing. They've got size, their big kids can move, they can shoot the three. It just shows our team what type of game it's going to be when we go back down there."
Player's Perspective – Savannah Wheeler
On Scoring 2,000 career points...
"It definitely means a lot to me. Basketball has been a big part of who am starting at a young age. I'm just very fortunate to be around great people and great coaches."
Up Next
The Lady Raiders will stay at home for the weekend, hosting New Mexico State in Conference USA action on Saturday. The game time has been moved up to 2 p.m. to account for winter weather in the Murfreesboro area. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Blue Raider Radio Network.
Follow the Lady Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTSUWBB), X (Formerly known as Twitter) (@MT_WBB) and Instagram (@mt_wbb).
