Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Saturday, December 14
St. Josephs, Mo.
5 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
48
vs
74
Kansas State
Blue Raiders’ Upset Bid Falls Short in 74-48 Loss to No. 13 Kansas State
12/14/2024 7:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Jalynn Gregory led all scorers with 18 points in the loss
ST. JOSEPHS, Mo. – The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders' (7-4) strong defensive first half was not enough to overcome a dominant second half by the Kansas State Wildcats (11-1), resulting in a 74-48 win for the country's 13th-ranked team in the Bill Snyder Women's Basketball Classic at St. Joseph Civic Arena.
The back-and-forth scoring first half between the Blue Raiders and the Wildcats started early with both sides creating scoring opportunities on the interior and from beyond the arc. Middle Tennessee controlled a 15-13 lead after the end of the first quarter after a layup from Ta'Mia Scott. Jalynn Gregory scored 11 of her 18 points in the opening quarter to lead all scorers.
The Blue Raiders led by five at both the 5:06 and 2:35 minute-marks of the second quarter, their largest leads of the night. Middle Tennessee came up with a defensive stand at the end of the first half, maintaining their narrow, one-point lead heading into the halftime break.
After an evenly-matched first half, the second was controlled in its entirety by Kansas State, outscoring Middle Tennessee 49-22 over the final 20 minutes. The 13th-ranked Wildcats' second half dominance on both the offensive and defensive end helped them secured their 11th win of the season, defeating the Blue Raiders 74-48.
Three Blue Raiders finished in double figures, Gregory with 18 points, her third-highest total of the season, Anastasiia Boldyreva with 12 and Scott with 10. As a team, Middle Tennessee shot 28.3% from the field, the team's second-lowest mark of the season, and 27.8% from three. The Wildcats outrebounded the Blue Raiders 43-37, but MTSU finished +2 on the offensive glass.
By the Numbers
38.9: The Blue Raiders held the nation's highest-rated offense to 38.9% shooting from the field, the Wildcats lowest mark of the season thus far.
18: Jalynn Gregory led all scorers tonight with 18 points, shooting 5-13 from the floor, including three triples.
16: Kansas State assisted on 16 of their 21 made field goals led by Serena Sundell with 11.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"We can't go 5-22 from our primary post player and win ball games. Can't do it. Maybe two or three of those were blocked, but the others were uncontested at the rim. They outrebounded us 43-37. We did get to the boards a little better we have been. But again, we had 12 turnovers. We can live with that. The difference in the game was the fact that Nas shot 5-22, and she's better than that."
"Kansas State is one of the better teams we've played this year, and we've played some good basketball teams. We battled. I was proud of our group."
Blue Raider Notes
Middle Tennessee falls to 0-2 against ranked opponents through the first 11 games of the 2024-25 season, and 1-3 against Power 4 teams.
Up Next
Up next for the Blue Raiders is a trip to Riverside, Calif. for a meeting with the Cal Baptist Lancers on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. at the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center in the
WAC/CUSA Challenge.
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).
The back-and-forth scoring first half between the Blue Raiders and the Wildcats started early with both sides creating scoring opportunities on the interior and from beyond the arc. Middle Tennessee controlled a 15-13 lead after the end of the first quarter after a layup from Ta'Mia Scott. Jalynn Gregory scored 11 of her 18 points in the opening quarter to lead all scorers.
The Blue Raiders led by five at both the 5:06 and 2:35 minute-marks of the second quarter, their largest leads of the night. Middle Tennessee came up with a defensive stand at the end of the first half, maintaining their narrow, one-point lead heading into the halftime break.
After an evenly-matched first half, the second was controlled in its entirety by Kansas State, outscoring Middle Tennessee 49-22 over the final 20 minutes. The 13th-ranked Wildcats' second half dominance on both the offensive and defensive end helped them secured their 11th win of the season, defeating the Blue Raiders 74-48.
Three Blue Raiders finished in double figures, Gregory with 18 points, her third-highest total of the season, Anastasiia Boldyreva with 12 and Scott with 10. As a team, Middle Tennessee shot 28.3% from the field, the team's second-lowest mark of the season, and 27.8% from three. The Wildcats outrebounded the Blue Raiders 43-37, but MTSU finished +2 on the offensive glass.
By the Numbers
38.9: The Blue Raiders held the nation's highest-rated offense to 38.9% shooting from the field, the Wildcats lowest mark of the season thus far.
18: Jalynn Gregory led all scorers tonight with 18 points, shooting 5-13 from the floor, including three triples.
16: Kansas State assisted on 16 of their 21 made field goals led by Serena Sundell with 11.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"We can't go 5-22 from our primary post player and win ball games. Can't do it. Maybe two or three of those were blocked, but the others were uncontested at the rim. They outrebounded us 43-37. We did get to the boards a little better we have been. But again, we had 12 turnovers. We can live with that. The difference in the game was the fact that Nas shot 5-22, and she's better than that."
"Kansas State is one of the better teams we've played this year, and we've played some good basketball teams. We battled. I was proud of our group."
Blue Raider Notes
Middle Tennessee falls to 0-2 against ranked opponents through the first 11 games of the 2024-25 season, and 1-3 against Power 4 teams.
Up Next
Up next for the Blue Raiders is a trip to Riverside, Calif. for a meeting with the Cal Baptist Lancers on Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. at the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Events Center in the
WAC/CUSA Challenge.
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).
Players Mentioned
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