Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Liberty
Blue Raiders hit the road to face Liberty and Delaware
2/25/2026 1:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Thursday, Feb. 26 | 6 p.m. | Liberty Arena | Lynchburg, Va. |
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MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 14-12, 9-5 CUSA |
at | LIBERTY LADY FLAMES 14-12, 8-7 CUSA |
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| WATCH: ESPN+ | STATS: LINK | RADIO: WGNS (LINK) | MEDIA CENTER: LINK | ||||
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Middle Tennessee will continue CUSA play on the road this week when it takes on the Liberty Lady Flames on Thursday, Feb. 26, inside Liberty Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and broadcast on ESPN+.
GAME 27
» Thursday, February 26 - 6 p.m.
» Liberty Arena
» Lynchburg, Virginia
SERIES HISTORY
» This marks the eighth meeting in series history between the Blue Raiders and Lady Flames.
» MTSU owns a 5-2 lead over Liberty in the all-time series.
» The Blue Raiders won the previous meeting 63-54 earlier this season on January 23, 2026, in Murfreesboro – Coach Insell's 500th career win.
» A trio of Blue Raiders scored in double-figures: Blair Baugus led Middle Tennessee with 22 points in 38 minutes, shooting an efficient 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from three, while adding eight rebounds, a career high six steals and a block. Alayna Contreras finished with 15 points in 39 minutes, knocking down three triples, and contributed four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Macie Phifer added 13 points in 32 minutes, going 4-of-8 from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 at the line, while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out three assists.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES
» MTSU enters the matchup coming off a 70-65 road setback to WKU. A trio of Blue Raiders scored in double-figures: Macie Phifer led the Blue Raiders with 21 points in 39 minutes, shooting 6-of-15 from the field and 3-of-7 from three, while adding six rebounds and a block. Blair Baugus finished with 13 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in 40 minutes, contributing two assists, two steals and three blocks. Kirston Verhulst added 13 points in 32 minutes, going 4-of-8 from the floor, while pulling down six rebounds and dishing out three assists.
» Continuing her standout freshman season, Middle Tennessee guard Macie Phifer was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Week – her third of the season and the programs 11th (a CUSA record).
» MTSU has enjoyed great success on the road under Head Coach Rick Insell. The Blue Raiders are 185-101 overall on the road under Insell, for a 66 percent winning ledger. Insell's teams are 80-26 on the road in CUSA play (76 percent), and 138-37 (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 154-18 (.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 FLAMES
» Liberty enters the matchup with a 14-12, 8-7 CUSA record. The Lady Flames split last week, defeating Missouri State on the road 55-43 before falling to FIU 66-45.
» A pair of Lady Flames are averaging double figures: Avery Mills (15.7) and Emmy Stout (13.8).
» Ify Nwaobi is grabbing a team-high 9.7 rebounds per game, while Claudi Acin is handing out a team-best 4.0 assists per game.
» Liberty was picked to finish second in the league's preseason poll. A season ago, the Lady Flames finished in a tie for first with a 16-2 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).
Saturday, Jan. 28 | 4 p.m. | Bob Carpenter Center | Newark, Del. |
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MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 14-12, 9-5 CUSA |
at | DELAWARE BLUE HENS 12-15, 6-9 CUSA |
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| WATCH: ESPN+ | STATS: LINK | RADIO: WGNS (LINK) | MEDIA CENTER: LINK | ||||
NEWARK, Del. – Middle Tennessee will remain on the road to face the Delaware Blue Hens on Saturday, Feb. 28, inside the Bob Carpenter Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and broadcast on ESPN+.
GAME 28
» Saturday, February 28 - 4 p.m.
» Bob Carpenter Center
» Newark, Delaware
SERIES HISTORY
» This marks the second meeting in series history between the Blue Raiders and Blue Hens.
» Delaware owns a 1-0 lead over MTSU in the all-time series.
» The Blue Raiders lost the previous meeting 61-48 earlier this season on January 22, 2026, in Murfreesboro – first home CUSA loss since 2021.
» Alayna Contreras led Middle Tennessee with 14 points in 39 minutes, knocking down five field goals and three free throws, while adding four steals and an assist. Nicole Dominguez was perfect from the field, scoring a career high nine points on 4-of-4 shooting in 11 minutes, and grabbed a career best eight rebounds. Savannah Davis added eight points in 40 minutes, going 5-of-5 at the free-throw line, with four rebounds and a steal. Macie Phifer finished with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds in 39 minutes, while also dishing out two assists, recording two steals and a block. .
SCOUTING THE BLUE HENS
» Delaware enters the matchup with a 12-15, 6-9 CUSA record. The Blue Hens dropped their last two games, falling to FIU and Missouri State on the road.
» Four Blue Hens are averaging double figures in scoring: Ande'a Cherisier (12.7), Kailah Correa (10.6), Lay Fantroy (10.5), and Safi Kolliegbo (10.0).
» Fantroy is grabbing a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game, while Correa is handing out a team-best 2.5 assists per game.
» Delaware was picked to finish 11th in the league's preseason poll in their first year in the league.
