Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
WKU
Blue Raiders travel to Bowling Green to face WKU
2/20/2026 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Saturday, Feb. 21 | 2 p.m. | E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky. |
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MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 14-11, 9-4 CUSA |
at | WKU LADY TOPPERS 6-18, 2-11 CUSA |
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| WATCH: ESPN+ | STATS: LINK | RADIO: WGNS (LINK) | MEDIA CENTER: LINK | ||||
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Middle Tennessee will hit the road this weekend to take on the WKU Lady Toppers on Saturday, Feb. 21, inside E.A. Diddle Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and broadcast on ESPN+.
GAME 26
» Saturday, February 21 - 2 p.m.
» E.A. Diddle Arena
» Bowling Green, Kentucky
SERIES HISTORY
» This marks the 80th meeting in series history between the Blue Raiders and Lady Toppers.
» MTSU owns a 46-33 lead over WKU in the all-time series.
» The Blue Raiders won the previous meeting 81-58 earlier this season on January 31, 2026, in Murfreesboro.
» Four Blue Raiders scored in double-figures: Alayna Contreras poured in a season-high 25 points in 37 minutes, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 5-of-10 from three, while dishing out six assists. Macie Phifer recorded a career-high 20 points and seven rebounds in 36 minutes, going 6-of- 13 from the floor, 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and a perfect 5-of-5 at the line. Blair Baugus posted her ninth double-double with 15 points and a career-best 17 rebounds in 37 minutes, adding a block and two steals. Kirston Verhulst finished with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three, in 33 minutes, along with four rebounds and two assists.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES
» MTSU enters the matchup coming off a 71-53 win over Kennesaw State. A pair of Blue Raiders scored in double-figures: Alayna Contreras poured in a season-high 28 points in 39 minutes, shooting an efficient 10-of-14 from the field and 6-of-8 from three, while adding two steals. Macie Phifer added 18 points and eight rebounds in 39 minutes, going 6-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-5 at the free-throw line, with three steals and two blocks.
» Middle Tennessee swept the Conference USA weekly awards as Alayna Contreras was named Player of the Week and Macie Phifer earned Freshman of the Week honors following a 2–0 week in league play.
» MTSU has enjoyed great success on the road under Head Coach Rick Insell. The Blue Raiders are 185-100 overall on the road under Insell, for a 66 percent winning ledger. Insell's teams are 80-25 on the road in CUSA play (76 percent), and 138-36 (79 percent) in conference road games overall (Sun Belt and CUSA).
» With a 63-54 win over Liberty, Coach Insell earned his 500th career NCAA Division I victory, becoming one of just six active coaches with 500 Division I wins at a single school — and the only coach nationwide with 500+ Division I and 500+ high school wins.
» The Blue Raiders are 153-18 (.893) under Head Coach Rick Insell when connecting on 10 or more Three-Point Field Goals in a game.
» Middle Tennessee is one of only a handful of Division I programs that do not feature a single returning starter on the roster. According to available national data, Santa Clara is the only program in the country bringing in more newcomers while also returning zero starters.
» Senior Alayna Contreras was selected to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team. The Minneapolis, Minn., native started all 33 games last year and led UMKC in scoring (17.3 ppg), minutes, field goals made, three-pointers made and free throws made.
» Middle Tennessee was picked third in the CUSA preseason poll. This marks only the sixth time in Rick Insell's 21 seasons — and just the fourth time in CUSA — that the Blue Raiders have not been selected as the preseason favorite.
SCOUTING THE LADY TOPPERS
» WKU enters the matchup with a 6-18, 2-11 CUSA record. The Gamecocks split last week, falling to Kennesaw State 55-51 before defeating Jax State 56-41.
» No Lady Toppers are averaging double figures: Salma Khedr (9.9), Trinity Rowe (9.2), Zsofia Telegdy (8.9) and Torri James (8.0).
» Telegdy is grabbing a team-high 4.7 rebounds per game, while Rowe is handing out a team-best 4.8 assists per game.
» WKU was picked to finish fifth in the league's preseason poll. A season ago, the Lady Toppers finished in third with a 13-5 conference mark
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).
