Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
25-4,15-0CUSA
Liberty
15-15,10-5CUSA
Lady Raiders extinguish Lady Flames 67-52
3/6/2024 10:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – In the final road contest of the season, Middle Tennessee defeated Liberty 67-52 on Wednesday evening at Liberty Arena.
The Lady Raiders (25-4, 15-0 CUSA) and Lady Flames (15-15, 10-5 CUSA) were in a battle early with MTSU holding a one-point advantage at the first media break. After a rather defensive opening period, Liberty took a 16-15 lead into the second. Ta'Mia Scott gave the Lady Raiders an offensive spark to open the next period. The junior tallied a quick eight points to give MTSU an eight-point lead at the halfway mark. The Lady Raiders finished the quarter on a 14-3 run and took a 34-23 lead into the half.
Coming out of the locker room, Middle Tennessee used tempo, scoring a trio of fast break baskets, to extend its lead and force an early Liberty timeout, however, the Lady Flames closed out the third period on a 9-2 run. The Lady Raiders led 48-40 heading in the fourth. In the final stanza, Liberty quickly cut the lead to six. MTSU responded, rebuilding a 13-point advantage. The Lady Raiders would have their way in the closing minutes, going on to win 67-52.
Savannah Wheeler led all scorers with 21 points, seven assists and three steals. She was followed by Scott with 13 points and seven rebounds, Anastasiia Boldyreva with 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, and Jalynn Gregory with nine points and two steals.
By the Numbers
14-2: Middle Tennessee logged 14 fast break points on the night compared to Liberty's two.
28: In a battle that featured the best interior players in Conference USA, each team posted 28 points in the paint. MTSU had a slight edge in block 5-3.
26: The Lady Raiders took advantage of poor ball handling, tallying 26 points off of 13 turnovers by the Lady Flames.
Lady Raider Notes
• Despite an uncharacteristic offensive performance but the Lady Raiders, Middle Tennessee shot over 40 percent from the field for the 22nd time this season. The Lady Raiders are 22-0 with shooting over a 40 percent clip.
• With four blocks on the night, Anastasiia Boldyreva is just two blocks shy of eclipsing the single season record held by Cheyenne Parker (88). The junior is up to 186 career blocks, just six shy of surpassing the career record held by Kay Wilbanks (191).
• Double Digits: Savannah Wheeler logged her 114th career double-figure scoring performance on the night, while Anastasiia Boldyreva tallied her 39th and Ta'Mia Scott posted her 18th.
Head Coach Rick Insell
"Four turnovers is all we had… You have to point to that, and then you have to look at points in transition. We ended up with 14, they ended up with two. I really challenged Ta'Mia (Scott) defensively, and I thought she really stepped up. (Emma) Hess ended the night with only seven points. Ta'Mia did a tremendous job on her down the stretch and then (Asia) Boone ended up with just two, so two of Liberty's best players has a combined nine points. Jalynn (Gregory) and Ta'Mia Scott… I challenged both of them defensively and they did an outstanding job tonight."
Up Next
The Lady Raiders return to Murfreesboro for their final game of the regular season against the LA Tech Lady Techsters on Saturday, March 9. Due to the TSSAA State Tournament, tipoff is slated for 9:30 a.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).
