Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Grand Canyon
Blue Raiders set to host GCU in home opener
11/7/2024 1:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Friday, Nov. 8 | 6:30 p.m. | Murphy Center | Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
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MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 1-0, 0-0 CUSA |
vs | GRAND CANYON LOPES 1-0, 0-0 WAC |
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| WATCH: ESPN+ | STATS: LINK | RADIO: WGNS (LINK) | MEDIA CENTER: LINK | ||||
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee will host Grand Canyon in its 2024-25 home opener on Friday, November 8 at the Murphy Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and broadcast on ESPN+.
GAME TWO
» Monday, November 8 - 6:30 p.m.
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, Tennessee
SERIES HISTORY
» This marks the second meeting in series history between the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and Grand Canyon Lopes.
» Grand Canyon owns a 1-0 lead over MTSU in the all-time series.
» The Lopes won the previous meeting 68-59 in Phoenix, Arizona last December.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES
» Middle Tennessee will take on Grand Canyon in its home opener on Friday, Nov. 8, at 6:30 p.m. (CT) at the Murphy Center.
» MTSU is 33-16 all-time in home openers and 13-6 all-time in home openers under Head Coach Rick Insell.
» Middle Tennessee defeated Memphis 64-57 in last season's home opener on Nov. 6, 2023. The last time the Blue Raiders lost a home opener was on Dec. 6 2020 - MTSU fell to Belmont 64-70.
» Last season, the Blue Raiders fell on the road to GCU 59-68 to conclude non-conference action. MTSU would go on to win 20 consecutive games afterwards before falling to LSU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
» Middle Tennessee is 42-2 over the previous three season at home. The Blue Raiders only losses have come against Seton Hall in the WNIT semifinals in 2022-23 and against Ivy League power house Princeton in 2023-24.
» The Blue Raiders return 10 players, including three starters, from the 2023-24 squad that went 30-5 and won the CUSA regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.
» Senior Anastasiia Boldyreva is MTSU's leading returning scorer (14.5 ppg) and leading returning rebounder (8.5). The 6-7 center also led the team, shooting 61 percent from the field this past season.
» Middle Tennessee will play a tough non-conference slate highlighted neutral sites matchups with Iowa State, Kansas State and Purdue, and a trip down I-40 to take on the Tennessee Lady Vols. The Blue Raiders will face eight teams that finished in the top 150 of the NET Rankings last season, including seven that finished in the top 100 and four that finished in the top 40 before heading into league play.
» Head Coach Rick Insell has led the Lady Raiders to 17 consecutive post-seasons. He has tallied a 464-156 record at his alma mater.
SCOUTING THE LOPES
» The Lopes' returners are headlined by senior guard Trinity San Antonio, the WAC Preseason Player of the Year who averaged 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.3 steals last season. Her 63 steals led the squad, earning her WAC All-Defensive Team honors.
» Graduate Tiarra Brown enters her fifth and final year of eligibility, all of which have come at GCU under head coach Molly Miller. Brown was Miller's first recruit at GCU and will look to only improve her outstanding legacy that she has built as one of the best to ever do it at GCU.
» A team that ranked 40th in the nation and first in the WAC in field goal percentage last season, leading shooter Laura Erikstrup returns for her final year after leading the team with a 60% clip. Erikstrup averaged 6.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.0 minutes per game off the bench and earned WAC Sixth Woman of the Year honors a season ago.
» The 2024-25 Lopes have seven new players, including six transfers and a true freshman in Naomi White. The transfers include Alyssa Durazo-Frescas and Nneka Obiazor (UNLV), Kaitlyn Elsholz (CSUN), Bridget Mullings (Utah State), Lucy Ghaifan (Omaha) and Ale'Jah Douglas (Oklahoma State).
» GCU was picked to finish first in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll, earning four first-place votes and 59 voting points. The Lopes were the only team to have two players listed on the Preseason All-WAC Team as Tiarra Brown and Trinity San Antonio received the accolade.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTSUWBB), X (Formerly known as Twitter) (@MT_WBB) and Instagram (@mt_wbb).
