Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
WKU
Lady Raiders dominate Lady Toppers to stay unbeaten in CUSA
2/3/2024 5:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball
A 16-0 first quarter run and 17-0 fourth quarter run blasted MTSU past WKU, 80-48
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee women's basketball continued its winning ways over its Conference USA rival on Saturday, winning for the eighth time in nine tries over Western Kentucky with its most dominant win over the Lady Toppers in the series history, winning 80-48 in front of 4806 fans in the Murphy Center.
The Lady Raiders (17-4, 7-0 CUSA) controlled the game early in the first half, going onto a 16-0 run in the middle of the first quarter while holding the Lady Toppers (13-10, 4-4 CUSA) to three field goals in the first ten minutes. Dominant on the glass and defensive, MTSU stretched its lead to 40-22 at the break, holding WKU to just 9-for-35 (25.7 percent) from the field and 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) from beyond the arc at halftime.
WKU kept the margin around 18 points most of the third quarter but were never able to get any closer than 15 points down and were held scoreless across the final 6:14 of play, allowing MTSU to go on a 17-0 run to close the game.
All five starters for MTSU scored at least nine points on Saturday, led by 26 points from Ta'Mia Scott, who also had seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Jalynn Gregory was close behind with 19 points, including a trio of three-pointers and eight made free throws. The sharp shooting guard was fouled three different times on three-point attempts in the contest. Savannah Wheeler scored 15 points while dishing out seven assists, while Courtney Whitson grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds while scoring nine points.
By the Numbers
32: The margin of victory for MTSU on Saturday, the biggest margin of victory of the Lady Toppers in program history for the Lady Raiders and tied for the largest margin of victory in any game between the two schools. WKU defeated MTSU by 32 points on December 9, 1987, when the Lady Raiders fell on the road 83-51. MTSU's previous biggest win over WKU was a 26-point thrashing of the Lady Toppers in the Murphy Center on March 1, 2009.
26: Points for Ta'Mia Scott, the second game in a row Scott has scored exactly 26 points (at FIU, January 27, 2024). The 26 points Scott scored on Saturday tied her career-high.
42-34: The rebounding advantage for MTSU on the afternoon. MTSU led 17-7 in that stat after the end of the first quarter.
Lady Raider Notes
• With 26 points on the afternoon, Ta'Mia Scott logged her second consecutive career-high 26-point performance.
• Courtney Whitson logged a season high 15 rebounds on the afternoon. Here previous high was 11 against Jax State.
• Coming into today's game, WKU lead CUSA in Steals per game (10.8). MTSU held the Lady Toppers to a season low two steals.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"I thought our defense was pretty good. I hadn't even seen what we shot yet. Forty-five percent? I thought we could've shot a little better, we missed some chip shots. Overall, I'm pretty proud of our basketball team. We lost our head a little bit there late when we got a technical. You just can't do that, you can't get caught up into that kind of stuff. But real proud of our basketball team.
"I think (WKU) were on the their heels wondering if they could play with us. They just got beat by Sam Houston. So in their minds, they were probably wondering if they could play with us. And we were able to get out (to a lead), then they kind of got a little mad and got to playing better."
Player's Perspective – Ta'Mia Scott
"I just knew that we had to throw all the records out when it came to this game. I knew our crowd was going to be in it with us. We just needed to show them what we could do."
Up Next
The Lady Raiders continue a three-game home stretch next week in CUSA play, taking on Liberty on Thursday, February 8 to complete the first half of the conference round robin. Tipoff in Murphy Center is set for 6:30 p.m. 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).
