Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Missouri State
Blue Raiders travel to Missouri State and FIU
2/4/2026 4:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Thursday, Feb. 5 | 6:30 p.m. | Great Southern Bank Arena | Springfield, Mo. |
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MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 12-9, 7-2 CUSA |
at | MISSOURI STATE LADY BEARS 13-8, 5-3 CUSA |
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| WATCH: ESPN+ | STATS: LINK | RADIO: WGNS (LINK) | MEDIA CENTER: LINK | ||||
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Middle Tennessee will travel to Springfield, Missouri, to take on the Missouri State Lady Bears on Thursday, Feb. 5, inside Great Southern Bank Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and broadcast on ESPN+.
GAME 22
» Thursday, February 5 - 6:30 p.m.
» Great Southern Bank Arena
» Springfield, Missouri
SERIES HISTORY
» This marks the fourth meeting in series history between the Blue Raiders and Lady Bears.
» MTSU owns a 3-0 lead over Missouri State in the all-time series.
» The Blue Raiders won the previous meeting 79-54 on Nov. 26, 2022, in the Las Vegas Thanksgiving Invitational. .
BLUE RAIDER NOTES
» MTSU enters the matchup coming off a 81-58 home win over WKU. 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.
» Continuing her standout freshman season, Middle Tennessee guard Blair Baugus was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Week – her seventh CUSA Freshman of the Week award this season.
» MTSU has enjoyed great success on the road under Head Coach Rick Insell. The Blue Raiders are 185-98 overall on the road under Insell, for a 66 percent winning ledger. Insell's teams are 80-23 on the road in CUSA play (76 percent), and 138-34 (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 BEARS
» Missouri State enters the matchup with a 13-8, 5-3 CUSA record. The Lady Bears split last week, defeating Delaware on the road 79-54 before falling to Liberty 60-52.
» A pair of Lady Bears are averaging double figures in scoring: Kaemyn Bekemeier (17.8) and Lainie Douglas (13.2).
» Bekemeier is also grabbing a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game, while Maycee James is handing out a team-best 2.6 assists per game.
» Missouri State was picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason poll in its first year in the league.
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, Feb. 7 | 12 p.m. | Ocean Bank Convocation Center | Miami, Fla. |
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MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 12-9, 7-2 CUSA |
at | FIU PANTHERS 12-8, 5-4 CUSA |
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| WATCH: ESPN+ | STATS: LINK | RADIO: WGNS (LINK) | MEDIA CENTER: LINK | ||||
MIAMI, Fla. – Middle Tennessee will remain on the road to face FIU on Saturday, Feb. 7, inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and broadcast on ESPN+.
GAME 23
» Saturday, February 7 - 12 p.m.
» Ocean Bank Convocation Center
» Miami, Florida
SERIES HISTORY
» This marks the 50th meeting in series history between the Blue Raiders and Panthers.
» MTSU owns a 39-10 lead over FIU in the all-time series.
» The Blue Raiders won the previous meeting 65-44 on March 8, 2025, in Miami, to clinch their third consecutive CUSA Regular Season Championship.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
» FIU enters the weekend with an 12-8, 5-4 CUSA record. The Panthers split last week, defeating Liberty on the road 74-61 before falling to Delaware 51-48. FIU will host WKU on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 7 p.m. before taking on the Blue Raiders on Saturday.
» Rhema Collins is leading the Panthers in scoring with 18.6 points per game, while Parris Atkins is the only other player averaging double figures (17.4 PPG).
» Collins is also grabbing a team-high 9.9 rebounds per game, while Grecia Ferrer Leal is handing out a team-best 3.9 assists per game.
» FIU was picked to finish sixth in the league's preseason poll. A season ago, the Panthers finished in sixth with a 7-11 conference mark.
