Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
1-0,0-0CUSA
Saint Louis
0-1,0-0Atlantic 10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Louis | 15 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 12 | 84 |
| Middle Tenn. | 24 | 19 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 91 |
11/2/2026 9:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee (1-0, 0-0 CUSA) women's basketball had to hold off a hard-charging St. Louis Billikens (0-1, 0-0 A10) in the second half to earn a 91-84 season-opening win, the first for Matt Insell as the Blue Raider Head Coach.
Down by three with 43 seconds to play, Blair Baugus grabbed her seventh, and perhaps biggest, offensive rebound of the night and hit a put-back layup and sunk a free throw to force overtime where Middle Tennessee outscored St. Louis 19-12 to salt it away.
Aside from the Blue Raiders second-half bench contributions, the ability to thoroughly outmatch St. Louis on the offensive glass and +11 margin to the good in the turnover department were key in a win where the opponent shot 53% from the field, including 41% from deep.
The Blue Raiders got off to a hot start thanks to newcomer Mya Kone, who hit a pair of early three-pointers and finished with 12 first-half points and four rebounds to give Middle Tennessee a 43-35 lead going into halftime. Baugus also had a big first half, finishing with 14 points and four rebounds.
In the second half, Middle Tennessee's depth helped them hold off a St. Louis attack where they outshout the Blue Raiders by 30% over the final three periods.
Middle Tennessee had four players off the bench that scored at least six or more points including Maayan Cohen, Stanislava Kabernick, Carsyn Swaney, Aaliyah Blanchard and Xai Whitfield. The Blue Raider bench outscored St. Louis' 31-13.
Whitfield led the charge in her Blue Raider debut with seven points in overtime. The Alabama native finished the night with 12 points and two rebounds. Kabernick scored nine points and had five boards, playing a lot of big minutes late with five fouls to help the Blue Raiders close it out. Blanchard had seven points and six rebounds in her collegiate debut.
Kabernick, Kone and Baugus were especially effective on the offensive glass, helping Middle Tennessee out-rebound St. Louis 23-3 on the offensive end, leading to a 22-5 advantage for the Blue Raiders in second-chance points.
Baugus, a double-double machine that finished with 15 last year, ended the night with 23 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the year. Kone nearly joined her, dropping 20 points with nine rebounds and four assists. Starting point guard Kirston Verhulst had a big overtime period, scoring six points to finish the night with 10.
As a team, the Blue Raiders shot 36-of-46 from the free-throw line, good for 78% and it also marked the most free throws made in a game since they hit 33 against former league foe Rice on January 11, 2023.
Coach's Comments
By the numbers:
1: Tonight mark's the first official win in the tenure of Head Coach Matt Insell.
6: Middle Tennessee has won six straight home openers dating back to the 2021-22 season.
20: More offensive rebounds for Middle Tennessee tonight than St. Louis had.
11: The Blue Raiders turned it over 11 less times than the Billikens.
36: Tonight was the first time since 2023 that the Blue Raiders hit 30-plus free throws in a game.
Up Next:
Middle Tennessee will take the trip west on I-40 this Friday for a 6:00 p.m. CDT tip with the Memphis Tigers. Coverage will be provided by the Blue Raider Network.
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