Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Thursday, January 23
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
6:30 p.m.
Middle Tennessee
13-6,5-1CUSA
66
vs
38
Sam Houston
8-9,1-6CUSA
1
2
3
4
F
Sam Houston
8
6
10
14
38
Middle Tenn.
18
10
23
15
66
Blue Raiders shut down Sam Houston in 66-38 win
1/23/2025 9:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. –Sometimes, just getting back to basics and doing what you do best is the best remedy to get back in the win column. Middle Tennessee State (13-6, 5-1 CUSA) did just that in a 66-38 win over Sam Houston State (8-9, 1-6 CUSA). The Blue Raiders showed their elite defensive prowess, holding the Bearkats to just 11-of-57 shooting from the field including just 1-of-10 from behind the arc.
In the first quarter point guard Courtney Blakely and forward Ta'mia Scott led the charge for the Blue Raiders. Blakley got her first two shots of the game to fall and had an assist and two steals to go along with seven total points. Scott, Middle Tennessee's leading scorer on the year, got out of the gate quickly with nine points, four rebounds and a blocked shot. Anastasiia Boldyreva had three blocked shots to help hold Sam Houston to a lowly 20% shooting and help Middle Tennessee grab an 18-8 lead heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter featured a lot of defense and not much in the scoring department from either team. Middle Tennessee took a 28-14 lead into the locker room, holding Sam Houston to just 4-of-27 shooting from the field including 0-of-7 from three-point range in the first half. As a team, Middle Tennessee blocked six shots and had two steals and forced seven Bearkat turnovers. Sam Houston was able to force 10 Middle Tennessee turnovers and had five steals. The Blue Raiders didn't allow a Sam Houston field goal over the final 5:12 seconds of the half.
Similarly to the opening quarter, Courtney Blakely and Ta'mia Scott led the charge again for Middle Tennessee to help Middle Tennessee to a comfortable 51-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Blakely provided 11 points, a rebound, steal and an assist in the third while Scott had five with one block. Stanislava Kabernick checked into the game for the first time in the third quarter and hit a three, grabbed two rebounds and tallied an assist in six minutes of action off the bench.
Jaylynn Gregory tied now assistant Courtney Whitson's record with her 300th career three-pointer with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter to put Middle Tennessee up by an even 30 points at 56-26. Gregory finished the game with 12 points and had four rebounds and two assists.
Courtney Blakely led the Blue Raiders with 18 points and had three rebounds and four assists. Ta'mia Scott contributed 14 points and grabbed four rebounds. Emily Monson made her first career start and had three points with two rebounds. Jada Grannum had six points and two rebounds and an assist in five minutes of play. Jada Harrison and Savannah Davis also got on the scoreboard, with two and four points, respectively.
Defense was the name of the game, however, as Middle Tennessee held Sam Houston to a mere 18% shooting, the lowest percentage the Blue Raiders have allowed to an opponent this year. Anastasiia Boldyreva was a big part of that effort, grabbing 15 rebounds and swatting seven shots, the second-best total of her career. As a team, the Blue Raiders blocked 13 shots and nabbed five steals and forced 17 Bearkat turnovers.
By the Numbers
300: The program record for number of three-pointers made by Jalynn Gregory in her career. Gregory joins Courtney Whitson as one of two players in program history to eclipse the 300 three-point field goals made milestone.
1: Murfreesboro native Emily Monson made her first career start tonight. The Blackman High School alum has played in 10 games so far this season.
2: Buzzer-beaters tonight for the Blue Raiders. Jada Grannum hit a shot at the buzzer just before halftime and Courtney Blakely stole a Bearkat inbound pass and nailed a layup to end the third quarter.
19%: The shooting percentage tonight for Sam Houston, the lowest shooting percentage allowed this season by Middle Tennessee.
38: The least amount of points Sam Houston has scored in a game since the 2012-13 season.
Blue Raider Notes
Following tonight's win, Middle Tennessee has now won 31 straight games at home against CUSA opponents, with the last loss coming against a Savannah Wheeler led Marshall team on March 4, 2021.
Jalynn Gregory sits just five three-pointers shy of passing Marshall's Shayna Gore for the Conference USA record for career three-pointers made.
Tonight marks the least amount of points scored for Sam Houston since the 2012-13 season when the Bearkats lost 63-31 at No. 10 Delaware.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"I'm proud of our basketball team," said Insell. "We were able to do some good coaching tonight and get a lot of players in the game. We accomplished some things I wanted to accomplish tonight. We accomplished some things we saw from some other players, and I think I saw that tonight. (Stanislava) Kabernick and Emily (Monson) battled all week for who was going to start tonight, and we though Emily won so we went with her early and (Kabernick) late. Both of them did a great job. Both of them had to be nervous, and they played great. Savannah (Davis) I thought played great. We all know she can shoot the ball, but she's working on things like fighting over screens and battling on defense. I'm excited about her improvement with things like that."
Player's Perspective: Sophomore Guard/Forward Emily Monson
"I was really excited and once the game started, I was good," Monson said. "We were really intentional with practice this week. We (beat ourselves) against WKU, so we had to correct that stuff tonight. We focused on communication and toughness on defense tonight. The other things take care of themselves when we do those things. It doesn't matter if you're one or fifteen on the team, if we all communicate, things will go well."
Up Next
Middle Tennessee is set to host the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CDT at the Murphy Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard on WGNS radio.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTSUWBB), X (Formerly known as Twitter) (@MT_WBB) and Instagram (@mt_wbb).
In the first quarter point guard Courtney Blakely and forward Ta'mia Scott led the charge for the Blue Raiders. Blakley got her first two shots of the game to fall and had an assist and two steals to go along with seven total points. Scott, Middle Tennessee's leading scorer on the year, got out of the gate quickly with nine points, four rebounds and a blocked shot. Anastasiia Boldyreva had three blocked shots to help hold Sam Houston to a lowly 20% shooting and help Middle Tennessee grab an 18-8 lead heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter featured a lot of defense and not much in the scoring department from either team. Middle Tennessee took a 28-14 lead into the locker room, holding Sam Houston to just 4-of-27 shooting from the field including 0-of-7 from three-point range in the first half. As a team, Middle Tennessee blocked six shots and had two steals and forced seven Bearkat turnovers. Sam Houston was able to force 10 Middle Tennessee turnovers and had five steals. The Blue Raiders didn't allow a Sam Houston field goal over the final 5:12 seconds of the half.
Similarly to the opening quarter, Courtney Blakely and Ta'mia Scott led the charge again for Middle Tennessee to help Middle Tennessee to a comfortable 51-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Blakely provided 11 points, a rebound, steal and an assist in the third while Scott had five with one block. Stanislava Kabernick checked into the game for the first time in the third quarter and hit a three, grabbed two rebounds and tallied an assist in six minutes of action off the bench.
Jaylynn Gregory tied now assistant Courtney Whitson's record with her 300th career three-pointer with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter to put Middle Tennessee up by an even 30 points at 56-26. Gregory finished the game with 12 points and had four rebounds and two assists.
Courtney Blakely led the Blue Raiders with 18 points and had three rebounds and four assists. Ta'mia Scott contributed 14 points and grabbed four rebounds. Emily Monson made her first career start and had three points with two rebounds. Jada Grannum had six points and two rebounds and an assist in five minutes of play. Jada Harrison and Savannah Davis also got on the scoreboard, with two and four points, respectively.
Defense was the name of the game, however, as Middle Tennessee held Sam Houston to a mere 18% shooting, the lowest percentage the Blue Raiders have allowed to an opponent this year. Anastasiia Boldyreva was a big part of that effort, grabbing 15 rebounds and swatting seven shots, the second-best total of her career. As a team, the Blue Raiders blocked 13 shots and nabbed five steals and forced 17 Bearkat turnovers.
By the Numbers
300: The program record for number of three-pointers made by Jalynn Gregory in her career. Gregory joins Courtney Whitson as one of two players in program history to eclipse the 300 three-point field goals made milestone.
1: Murfreesboro native Emily Monson made her first career start tonight. The Blackman High School alum has played in 10 games so far this season.
2: Buzzer-beaters tonight for the Blue Raiders. Jada Grannum hit a shot at the buzzer just before halftime and Courtney Blakely stole a Bearkat inbound pass and nailed a layup to end the third quarter.
19%: The shooting percentage tonight for Sam Houston, the lowest shooting percentage allowed this season by Middle Tennessee.
38: The least amount of points Sam Houston has scored in a game since the 2012-13 season.
Blue Raider Notes
Following tonight's win, Middle Tennessee has now won 31 straight games at home against CUSA opponents, with the last loss coming against a Savannah Wheeler led Marshall team on March 4, 2021.
Jalynn Gregory sits just five three-pointers shy of passing Marshall's Shayna Gore for the Conference USA record for career three-pointers made.
Tonight marks the least amount of points scored for Sam Houston since the 2012-13 season when the Bearkats lost 63-31 at No. 10 Delaware.
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
"I'm proud of our basketball team," said Insell. "We were able to do some good coaching tonight and get a lot of players in the game. We accomplished some things I wanted to accomplish tonight. We accomplished some things we saw from some other players, and I think I saw that tonight. (Stanislava) Kabernick and Emily (Monson) battled all week for who was going to start tonight, and we though Emily won so we went with her early and (Kabernick) late. Both of them did a great job. Both of them had to be nervous, and they played great. Savannah (Davis) I thought played great. We all know she can shoot the ball, but she's working on things like fighting over screens and battling on defense. I'm excited about her improvement with things like that."
Player's Perspective: Sophomore Guard/Forward Emily Monson
"I was really excited and once the game started, I was good," Monson said. "We were really intentional with practice this week. We (beat ourselves) against WKU, so we had to correct that stuff tonight. We focused on communication and toughness on defense tonight. The other things take care of themselves when we do those things. It doesn't matter if you're one or fifteen on the team, if we all communicate, things will go well."
Up Next
Middle Tennessee is set to host the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CDT at the Murphy Center. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and can be heard on WGNS radio.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Basketball on social media on Facebook (/MTSUWBB), X (Formerly known as Twitter) (@MT_WBB) and Instagram (@mt_wbb).
Team Stats
SHSU
MTSU
FG%
.193
.472
3FG%
.100
.385
FT%
.789
.733
RB
36
40
TO
17
17
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
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