Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
COLUMN: “It’s not as easy as it looks”
2/11/2024 2:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball
After back-to-back blowout wins against the other top three teams in CUSA, MTSU Women’s Basketball is comfortably the class of the league. But the margins between good and great are much smaller than they appear.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Courtney Whitson hears her classmates talk about the Lady Raiders. Like those who know the reputation of Middle Tennessee women's basketball, there's plenty of positive things to say about the 19-4, 9-0 in CUSA, Lady Raiders.
But there's one sentiment her classmates share that frustrates the fifth-year forward.
"Some of our school mates are like, 'Dang, y'all just blow people out. We're not coming to the game,'" Whitson said.
Those who attended MTSU's 81-55 drubbing of Liberty on Thursday, or the Lady Raiders' 73-54 dismantling of FIU on Saturday in the Murphy Center, or watched online at ESPN+ or listened to the Old Pro Dick Palmer and Kyle Turnham on the Blue Raider Radio Network this week will understand that not every blowout is made equal. Facing off against the other two of the top three teams in Conference USA, Liberty and FIU both showed what made each of them dangerous through the first half of league play.
For the Lady Flames, it was a front court that had size only MTSU could match, coupled with smart perimeter players that could knock down shots and funnel drivers towards the rim protection near the basket. For the Panthers, it was an athletic backcourt that could drive and shoot on offense, coupled with offensively gifted forwards that have helped FIU average over 70 points a game.
"This is what Division I basketball is about," head coach Rick Insell said after the Liberty game on Thursday. "Playing games like the ones we played tonight."
It was not a surprise then that Liberty only trailed by seven at halftime, while FIU managed to keep the deficit to just five points. Both teams led for extended periods of time in the first half of each contest. It was a pair of good basketball teams challenging the Lady Raiders.
"We're not going to beat people by 30 or 20 in the first minute," Whitson said, relaying the message Associate Head Coach Matt Insell has emphasized in recent weeks. "It's their biggest game. It's our next game, but it's their biggest game... If we're going to get punched in the mouth, we've got to be able to sustain it so that when we look up in the fourth quarter, we're up 20."
The second half of each game showed what's made MTSU great, instead of good, and what's made them the runaway favorite in Conference USA this season, where the Lady Raiders lead the conference in both points per game and in points allowed per game over halfway through conference play.
The Lady Raiders' conditioning wore out the other team's starters, who were not accustomed to playing all 40 minutes like nearly all of MTSU's starting five does almost every night, almost assuredly playing a role in MTSU's prolonged third quarter runs that gave them space in both game's offensively, a 15-2 run against the Lady Flames and a 11-0 run against the Panthers.
The defensive excellence MTSU possesses, having not one but two shutdown wing defenders (Jalynn Gregory and Ta'Mia Scott) along with the best rim protector in the league (Anastasiia Boldyreva) almost causes one to miss the benefits the team gains from having two fifth-year players (Savannah Wheeler and Whitson) that can read the game as fast as anyone in the country, rarely being in the wrong spot for help or out of position on the swing cross court. MTSU held both opponents to making just a third or fewer shots in the second half both nights.
It's perhaps understandable to look at just the final score and think MTSU ran away with another game in the Murphy Center, as they've done so many times under Rick Insell and with Courtney Whitson on the court. Even those who watched will likely remember the feeling of dominance that came at the end rather than the physical, back-and-forth basketball that defined the first half of each game.
But Whitson's broader point to the student body? The Lady Raiders need their help too. Because there's so much work going on to make moments like this weekend possible.
"There's a lot of work that goes into blowing people out," Whitson said. "It's not as easy as it looks."
It takes Anastasiia Boldyreva, studying more film than any other player on the roster heading into her matchup against Liberty's fellow 6-foot-6 center Bella Smuda, that helped her drop 20 points on the only player in the league even close to Boldyreva's block numbers this season. It's Ta'Mia Scott and Jalynn Gregory combining to hold FIU forward Mya Kone to just 3-for-9 from the field, despite each wing giving up plenty of height to the 6-foot-2 Kone.
It's Savannah Wheeler putting in hours in the gym, getting up shots so there's not a spot on the court she can't score from at any given moment, helping lead her to 31 points on Saturday afternoon. It's little plays, like Courtney Whitson tipping out the ball for her 1,001st career rebound with just enough time on the clock to flip it to the corner for Wheeler, who drilled it just before the buzzer through the foul.
It's players like Sifa Ineza, Iullia Grabovskaia and Jada Grannum, who each might have the trickiest role of any player on the team, needing to stay constantly ready to provide quality minutes, whether they're needed for two minutes, four minutes or 14 minutes on a given night off the bench. The preparation and mental toughness needed to do that specific role well? It can't be understated.
And of course, as Whitson pointed out on Thursday, it's all the little things we don't know about behind the scenes, all the day-to-day challenges that come outside of the world of sports, that can come with being a college student, a daughter, a sister. Through it all, the Lady Raiders have found a way to keep winning. And to keep blowing teams out. Though Whitson said that's never been the goal.
"People think that we're trying to run the score up, but that's not the case," Whitson said. "We're playing for something much bigger than what you see."
But there's one sentiment her classmates share that frustrates the fifth-year forward.
"Some of our school mates are like, 'Dang, y'all just blow people out. We're not coming to the game,'" Whitson said.
Those who attended MTSU's 81-55 drubbing of Liberty on Thursday, or the Lady Raiders' 73-54 dismantling of FIU on Saturday in the Murphy Center, or watched online at ESPN+ or listened to the Old Pro Dick Palmer and Kyle Turnham on the Blue Raider Radio Network this week will understand that not every blowout is made equal. Facing off against the other two of the top three teams in Conference USA, Liberty and FIU both showed what made each of them dangerous through the first half of league play.
For the Lady Flames, it was a front court that had size only MTSU could match, coupled with smart perimeter players that could knock down shots and funnel drivers towards the rim protection near the basket. For the Panthers, it was an athletic backcourt that could drive and shoot on offense, coupled with offensively gifted forwards that have helped FIU average over 70 points a game.
"This is what Division I basketball is about," head coach Rick Insell said after the Liberty game on Thursday. "Playing games like the ones we played tonight."
It was not a surprise then that Liberty only trailed by seven at halftime, while FIU managed to keep the deficit to just five points. Both teams led for extended periods of time in the first half of each contest. It was a pair of good basketball teams challenging the Lady Raiders.
"We're not going to beat people by 30 or 20 in the first minute," Whitson said, relaying the message Associate Head Coach Matt Insell has emphasized in recent weeks. "It's their biggest game. It's our next game, but it's their biggest game... If we're going to get punched in the mouth, we've got to be able to sustain it so that when we look up in the fourth quarter, we're up 20."
The second half of each game showed what's made MTSU great, instead of good, and what's made them the runaway favorite in Conference USA this season, where the Lady Raiders lead the conference in both points per game and in points allowed per game over halfway through conference play.
The Lady Raiders' conditioning wore out the other team's starters, who were not accustomed to playing all 40 minutes like nearly all of MTSU's starting five does almost every night, almost assuredly playing a role in MTSU's prolonged third quarter runs that gave them space in both game's offensively, a 15-2 run against the Lady Flames and a 11-0 run against the Panthers.
The defensive excellence MTSU possesses, having not one but two shutdown wing defenders (Jalynn Gregory and Ta'Mia Scott) along with the best rim protector in the league (Anastasiia Boldyreva) almost causes one to miss the benefits the team gains from having two fifth-year players (Savannah Wheeler and Whitson) that can read the game as fast as anyone in the country, rarely being in the wrong spot for help or out of position on the swing cross court. MTSU held both opponents to making just a third or fewer shots in the second half both nights.
It's perhaps understandable to look at just the final score and think MTSU ran away with another game in the Murphy Center, as they've done so many times under Rick Insell and with Courtney Whitson on the court. Even those who watched will likely remember the feeling of dominance that came at the end rather than the physical, back-and-forth basketball that defined the first half of each game.
But Whitson's broader point to the student body? The Lady Raiders need their help too. Because there's so much work going on to make moments like this weekend possible.
"There's a lot of work that goes into blowing people out," Whitson said. "It's not as easy as it looks."
It takes Anastasiia Boldyreva, studying more film than any other player on the roster heading into her matchup against Liberty's fellow 6-foot-6 center Bella Smuda, that helped her drop 20 points on the only player in the league even close to Boldyreva's block numbers this season. It's Ta'Mia Scott and Jalynn Gregory combining to hold FIU forward Mya Kone to just 3-for-9 from the field, despite each wing giving up plenty of height to the 6-foot-2 Kone.
It's Savannah Wheeler putting in hours in the gym, getting up shots so there's not a spot on the court she can't score from at any given moment, helping lead her to 31 points on Saturday afternoon. It's little plays, like Courtney Whitson tipping out the ball for her 1,001st career rebound with just enough time on the clock to flip it to the corner for Wheeler, who drilled it just before the buzzer through the foul.
#RevUpThe4Wheeler https://t.co/laZTluUTgn pic.twitter.com/lsLpe7jsd4
— Middle Tennessee Women's Basketball (@MT_WBB) February 10, 2024
It's players like Sifa Ineza, Iullia Grabovskaia and Jada Grannum, who each might have the trickiest role of any player on the team, needing to stay constantly ready to provide quality minutes, whether they're needed for two minutes, four minutes or 14 minutes on a given night off the bench. The preparation and mental toughness needed to do that specific role well? It can't be understated.
And of course, as Whitson pointed out on Thursday, it's all the little things we don't know about behind the scenes, all the day-to-day challenges that come outside of the world of sports, that can come with being a college student, a daughter, a sister. Through it all, the Lady Raiders have found a way to keep winning. And to keep blowing teams out. Though Whitson said that's never been the goal.
"People think that we're trying to run the score up, but that's not the case," Whitson said. "We're playing for something much bigger than what you see."
Players Mentioned
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