Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
20-4,10-0CUSA
NM State
10-13,4-6CUSA
Lady Raiders roll past Aggies 73-37
2/15/2024 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Thanks to stout defense and impressive shooting from beyond the arc, Middle Tennessee defeated NM State 73-37 on Thursday evening at the Pan American Center.
The Lady Raiders (20-4, 10-0 CUSA) got hot from beyond the arc early and took a 26-10 lead over the Aggies (10-13, 4-6 CUSA) after the first 10 minutes of action in the desert. In the second period, MTSU extended its lead to 20 thanks in large part to going a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. The
Coming out of the locker room NM State used a 6-0 run to cut the Middle Tennessee lead to 14 with four, however, the Lady Raiders closed out the quarter with their own 6-0 run to take a 53-33 lead into the fourth. MTSU opened the final quarter of play with a 14-0 run and would go on to defeat NM State 73-37.
Savannah Wheeler led all scorers with 27 points and three assists on the evening. She was followed by Jalynn Gregory with 19 points, four assists and four steals, while Anastasiia Boldyreva tallied a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double.
By the Numbers
12: On the night the Lady Raiders hit 12 three-point field goals, six of which came in the opening quarter. The Lady Raiders only hit six three-pointers in the first meeting with the Aggies this season.
37: Middle Tennessee held NM State to just 37 points on the night. This marked the first time that MTSU has held an opponent to under 40 points since defeating Southern Illinois on the road 90-38 on Nov. 12, 2022.
27-7: The Lady Raiders had 27 points off turnovers on the evening compared to the Aggies seven.
Lady Raider Notes
• The Lady Raiders are 144-18 under Head Coach Rick Insell when they connect in 10 or more three-point field goals.
• With tonight's win, Middle Tennessee has posted 17 20+ wins season under Coach Insell in 19 seasons.
• With 14 points and 12 rebounds, Anastasiia Boldyreva logged her ninth career double-double and eighth of the season.
• Double Digits: Savannah Wheeler logged her 109th career double-digit scoring performance, while Jalynn Gregory tallied her 50th and Anastasiia Boldyreva notched her 35th.
Head Coach Rick Insell
"We played great defense tonight. NM State is one of the better defensive ball clubs. We were very concerned going into tonight. If you look at the conference stats, they are right at the top of almost every defensive category along with us. They had just won a big game over UTEP and They had a lot of momentum (going into tonight). We got out quick. Hit some big threes and got a couple of steals. I thought Jalynn (Gregory) did a great job. She guarded (Molly) Kaiser, who I think is one of the best players in our conference, and held her to 10 points. We felt like if we played good defensively, we could score enough to win."
Player Perspective - Savannah Wheeler
On the road win…
"When you play anybody on the road you have to bring your game. I thought we did a great job executing and running our offense. This was just another good road win. Now we have to get back on the road and go play UTEP."
Up Next
The Lady Raiders remain out west to take on the UTEP Miners on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m. CT and the game will broadcast on ESPN+.
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).
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