Blue Raiders take down Lady Toppers in the Murphy Center

Saturday, January 31

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

12 p.m.

Middle Tennessee

12-9,7-2CUSA

WKU

5-15,1-8CUSA

Western Ky.

Middle Tenn.

1/31/2026 2:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

By: Anthony Fiorella, MTSU Athletic Communications

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A win in CUSA play is always sweet, especially as you draw into the end of January, marking just one month of regular season play left. For Middle Tennessee (12-9, 7-2 CUSA), a dominant 81-58 win over its' biggest rival Western Kentucky (5-15, 1-8 CUSA) could be just what the doctor ordered heading down the stretch toward the postseason. The Blue Raider faithful not only saw a lot of wide margins in intangible stats in favor of the home team, but many of it's players achieve new season and career-high marks.

Alayna Contreras didn't waste any time getting off the starting blocks, scoring 14 points in the opening quarter to help the Blue Raiders to a 26-15 lead after one. The senior guard shot 4-of-7, including three three-pointers and grabbed two rebounds. Middle Tennessee also had a 13-6 in the rebounding margin thanks in large part to Macie Phifer, who pulled down five rebounds, three of them offensive, to help get her five points and the Blue Raiders 10 second-chance points to start the afternoon.

Defensively, Middle Tennessee stifled the Hilltoppers in the second quarter to take a 46-23 lead at halftime. Western Kentucky scored just eight points in the second half and were shooting just 27% from the field as a team. Middle Tennessee held lengthy advantages in several intangible categories, including a +9 rebounding-margin, a +15 margin in second chance points, and +4 advantage in made three's. Contreras finished the half with 19 points, three rebounds and two assists while Kirston Verhulst had 13 points with two rebounds and two assists. Blair Baugus pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and had six points to put her near a double-double in just one half.

Baugus achieved the double-double by the end of the third quarter, finishing the period with 11 points and a career-high 17 rebounds to net her ninth double-double of the year, which leads all Division I freshman. Baugus finished with 15 points to go with her 17 boards. By the end of the game, several other Blue Raiders had garnered both season and career-high accolades.

Contreras' 25 points were a season-high and her five three's tied a career-high. As a team, the Blue Raiders tied the season-high for assists with 16, led by Contreras's season-high six assists. In turn, Middle Tennessee also turned it over a season-low 11 times. Phifer tied a season-high with 20 points and also had seven rebounds. Verhulst finished with 15 points and had three rebounds and two assists in the win.

Coach's Comments
We started the game off good, and shot the ball well. We shared the basketball, rebounded the ball, ran the floor, and played pretty good defense. We can't really complain about anything, but we got to be careful because we go down there in two weeks. They'll be a different team then.

By the Numbers
25, 20: Season-high in points for Alayna Contreras and Kirston Verhulst
5: Career-high in three-point baskets for Alayna Contreras.
9: Double-double's this year for Blair Baugus, the most among all Division I freshman.

UP NEXT
Middle Tennessee travels to Springfield, Missouri, to take on Missouri State on Thursday with tipoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on the Blue Raider Network.

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).