Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
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UTEP
Lady Raiders set to face UTEP in quarterfinals of CUSA Championship
3/12/2024 8:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wednesday, Mar. 13 | 11:30 a.m. | Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center | Huntsville, Ala. |
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MIDDLE TENNESSEE LADY RAIDERS 26-4, 16-0 CUSA |
at | UTEP MINERS 13-18, 6-10 CUSA |
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| WATCH: ESPN+ | STATS: LINK | RADIO: WGNS (LINK) | MEDIA CENTER: LINK | ||||
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Middle Tennessee is set to face UTEP in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Conference USA Championship at Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CT. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and broadcast on ESPN+.
GAME 31
» Wednesday, March 13 – 11:30 a.m. CT
» Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center
» Huntsville, Ala.
SERIES HISTORY
» This marks the 17th meeting in series history between the Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders and UTEP Miners.
» MTSU won the previous meeting against UTEP this season 56-411 on the road. In one of the toughest battles of the season, Middle Tennessee used a 14-0 run to pull away from the Miners and close out the game.
LADY RAIDER NOTES
JOBS NOT FINISHED
Middle Tennessee Clinched the 2023-24 Conference USA Regular Season Title. This marks the second consecutive and 21st overall regular season championship in program history.
LAST TIME OUT
The Lady Raiders are coming off a 79-58 win over LA Tech. MTSU had players score in double figures led by Anastasiia Boldyreva's 18-point, 13-rebound double-double.
SAVANNAH LAND
Savannah Wheeler becomes just the ninth Lady Raider overall to be named conference player of the year and the third to be named CUSA Player of the Year. The guard has been sensational this season, leading the league in scoring (17.5 ppg), assists (150), assist/ turnover ratio (2.1), and minutes (37.8). Already the CUSA all-time free throw record holder, Wheeler also recently cracked into the top three on the all-time leader scorers list. The recent graduate and five-time CUSA Player of the Week also earned First Team All- Conference honors.
NOT IN HER HOUSE
Anastasiia Boldyreva burst onto the scene this season and established herself as one of the top rim protectors in the nation en rout to being the first Lady Raider to be named CUSA Defensive Player of the Year.
She currently leads the league and ranks fourth in the nation with 88 blocks on the season – a Lady Raider single-season record. The junior also earned First Team All-Conference and All-Defensive Team honors. She has played a crucial part in the Lady Raiders having a top 10 defense nationally. MTSU is currently holding opponents to just 51.8 points per game and scoring 75.1 for an average scoring margin of 23.3.
The junior has tallied 186 blocks in her career which ranks second all-time in program history. Boldyreva's eight blocks against Jax State ranks third all-time in blocks per game by a Lady Raider.
PLAYING WITH THE LEAD
• MTSU has been outstanding with the lead and closing games out under HC Rick Insell.
• MTSU is 391-39 all-time when leading at the half under Insell.
• MTSU is 429-20 when leading at the 5-minute mark under Insell.
ROAD RAIDERS
• MTSU has enjoyed great road success under HC Rick Insell.
• The Lady Raiders are 171-87 overall on the road under Insell, for a 65 percent winning ledger.
• Insell's teams are 70-20 on the road in CUSA play (76 percent), and 128-31 (79 percent) in conference road games overall (CUSA & Sun Belt).
A MTSU WIN WOULD...
• MTSU would move to 1,025-454 all-time.
• MTSU would move to 18-5 all-time in the CUSA Tournament
• MTSU would advance to the semifinals of the 2024 CUSA Championship.
SHOOTERS SHOOT
The Lady Raiders are 145-18 (.885) under Head Coach Rick Insell when connecting on 10 or more Three-Point Field Goals in a game.
CAREER LEADERS
Savannah Wheeler ranks fourth in the nation in career free throws made (629) and sixth in career free throw attempts (742).
The graduate also ranks eighth in nation in scoring among active career leaders with 2271 career points.
MENTOR VS. MENTEE
Memphis Head Coach Alex Simmons, Tennessee Head Coach Kellie Harper and NM State Head Coach Jody Adams each played for Head Coach Rick Insell prior to their collegiate careers.
Simmons played for Insell at Shelbyville Central HS, while Adams and Harper played AAU ball for Insell at the Shelbyville Sports Shop.
Insell went a perfect 5-0 against his former players in 2023-24, with a pair of wins over Memphis, a neutral site win over Tennessee and a pair of wins over NM State.
POINTS. POINTS. POINTS.
With 18 points against UTEP, Savannah Wheeler became the 10th player in Conference USA history to eclipse 2,000 career points.
With eight points against NM State, Jalynn Gregory became just the 34th Lady Raider in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points.
FOR THE LOVE OF CHARITY
With 13 free throws against NM State, Savannah Wheeler became the Conference USA all-time leader in career free throws made with 579.
SHARPSHOOTERS
With a pair of triples against GCU, Wheeler became just the 16th player in CUSA history to eclipse 200 career made three-point field goals.
With four three-point field goals against Sam Houston, Courtney Whitson became the all-time record holder at Middle Tennessee with 260.
With eight three-point field goals against Jax State, Jalynn Gregory became the 17th player in CUSA history to eclipse 200 career made three-point field goals.
QUEEN ON THE BOARDS
Courtney Whitson became just the fourth Lady Raider in program history to surpass 900 career rebounds in MTSU' 70-45 win over Houston.
The graduate became just second Lady Raider in program history to eclipse 1,000 career boards -joing Ebony Rowe.
RACE TO 1,000
Middle Tennessee became just the 25th school in NCAA Division I women's basketball history and the third in Conference USA to reach 1,000 program wins on Thursday, Nov. 9 when the Lady Raiders defeated the Florida A&M Rattlers 93-48.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
MTSU has seven international players on its 2023-24 roster, spanning from Canada, Hungary, Russia and Spain. Middle Tennessee's has the third most international student-athletes on its roster (seven) and the thrid most countries represented (six).
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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