Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
14-4,4-0CUSA
NM State
7-10,1-3CUSA
Lady Raiders dominate Aggies to stay undefeated in Conference USA
1/20/2024 5:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MTSU led by as many as 42 points in a thrashing of new CUSA foe New Mexico State
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee women's basketball welcomed New Mexico State to Conference USA basketball in the Murphy Center in classic Lady Raider style on Saturday, dominating at both ends of the court in an 85-48 victory.
The Lady Raiders (14-4, 4-0 CUSA) more than doubled their opponent's point total at halftime, leading 40-19 at the break. The Aggies (7-10, 1-3 CUSA) managed to score just five points in the game's first quarter, at one point allowing MTSU to go on a 20-0 run between both frames of the first half. The Lady Raiders scored 17 of their points in the first half off of nine NMSU turnovers.
MTSU continued its offensive onslaught in the third quarter, scoring 27 points in the frame while shooting 60 percent (9-for-15) from the field while getting to the free throw line nine times, knocking down eight of those attempts at the charity stripe. The hot shooting continued into the fourth quarter, with the Lady Raiders ending Saturday's game shooting 54.7 percent from the field while holding the Aggies to just 29.5 percent from the floor.
Savannah Wheeler put together another dominant offensive performance on Saturday, scoring 30 points on 8-for-12 shooting, including a 13-for-14 day at the free throw line. The fifth-year guard also dished out five assists and swiped two steals. Anastasiia Boldyreva again paced the Lady Raiders in the paint, scoring 18 points while shooting 80 percent (8-for-10) from the floor, grabbing 10 rebounds to pick up the double-double. She also swatted away three blocks, just one more than wing Ta'Mia Scott, who had a pair of blocks on the perimeter to go with nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Courtney Whitson was a made three away from a double-double, scoring seven points while grabbing 10 rebounds.
By the Numbers
5: Points scored by New Mexico State in the first quarter, the lowest point total in a quarter for a Lady Raider opponent this season. The previous low quarter came on December 20, 2023, when Northern Kentucky was held to just seven points in the fourth quarter of MTSU's 83-42 win over the Norse.
1005: Career points for Jalynn Gregory, who became the 34th Lady Raider to join the 1000-point club with her first made basket of the day on Saturday, a second quarter three-pointer.
579: Career made free throws for Savannah Wheeler, who passed Tulane's Grace Daley and Houston's Chanda Jones to become Conference USA's all-time leader in made free throws. Wheeler made 13-of-14 free throws on Saturday to take the record by one made free throw (and counting).
Lady Raider Notes
• With eight points on the afternoon, Gregory became just the 34th Lady Raider in program history to join the 1,000-point club.
• With 13 made free throws, Wheeler became the all-time leader in Conference USA history with 579 career free throws.
• Middle Tennessee is 144-3 when scoring 80 or more points under Coach Insell.
• Wheeler logged her ninth career 30-point performance.
• Boldyreva tallied her sixth double-double of the season (18 points and 10 rebounds).
• This marked the second game on conference play that two Lady Raiders posted 10 or more rebounds (Boldyreva & Whitson, 10).
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"I hadn't really got any negatives whatsoever on any of my players today. I thought all of them gave us everything they had. They got into the scouting report. They knew that New Mexico (State) was pretty good. They just beat Western (Kentucky) at Western. That was probably the best thing that happened for us is when they won that game at Western. They knew that coming in here, we were going to have to be ready, and I thought our players were."
Player's Perspective – Jalynn Gregory
"My main focus is being that defensive person and then hitting my shots when I'm open. With losing (Alexis Whittington), we lost that defensive aspect. Somebody had to step up and start guarding that best player. It's just a role I've taken. Points don't really matter to me, but I know it's something that I have to knock down my shots for my team."
Up Next
The Lady Raiders hit the road next week in Conference USA play, taking a two-game road trip to finish the month of January. The first of those two games comes on Wednesday at Jacksonville State. Tipoff in set for 6:30 p.m. CT 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).
