Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
FIU
Blue Raiders to conclude the regular season against FIU and Missouri State
3/4/2026 4:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Thursday, Mar. 5 | 6:30 p.m. | Murphy Center | Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
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MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 15-13, 10-6 CUSA |
vs | FIU PANTHERS 17-10, 10-6 CUSA |
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| WATCH: ESPN+ | STATS: LINK | RADIO: WGNS (LINK) | MEDIA CENTER: LINK | ||||
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee returns to the Glass House for its final two games of the regular season. The Blue Raiders will open the week when they host the FIU Panthers on Thursday, March 5, inside the Murphy Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and broadcast on ESPN+.
GAME 29
» Thursday, February 5 - 6:30 p.m.
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, Tennessee
SERIES HISTORY
» This marks the 51st meeting in series history between the Blue Raiders and Panthers.
» MTSU owns a 39-11 lead over FIU in the all-time series.
» The Blue Raiders lost the previous meeting 60-58 earlier this season on February 7, 2026, in Miami.
» A trio of Blue Raiders scored in double-figures: Alayna Contreras finished with a team-high 17 points in 38 minutes, adding six assists and four steals while knocking down six field goals and three free throws. Savannah Davis scored 12 points in 40 minutes, going 4-of-10 from the field and from three-point range, while pulling down seven rebounds. Yu Han Lin contributed 10 points in 21 minutes, shooting 4-of-6 from the floor and adding three assists.
BLUE RAIDER NOTES
» MTSU enters the matchup coming off a 67-53 road win over Delaware. Macie Phifer led Middle Tennessee with a career-high 22 points in 40 minutes, shooting an efficient 9-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from three, while addingsix steals, five rebounds and three assists. Blair Baugus posted 18 points and 11 rebounds in 36 minutes, finishing 9-of-17 from the floor and adding four assists, a block and a steal. Savannah Davis scored nine points in 39 minutes, knocking down three triples and contributing three assists. Alayna Contreras added nine points in 39 minutes, while dishing out four assists and grabbing three rebounds. Kirston Verhulst finished with nine points in 35 minutes, going 3-of-7 from the field, and chipped in four rebounds and three assists.
» The Glass House has been one of the toughest places to play, with Middle Tennessee posting a 64-6 home record across the last four seasons.
» Middle Tennessee ranks 23rd nationally in average home attendance at 4,578 fans per game. The Blue Raiders are filling the Murphy Center at a 40% clip through 10 games — a testament to one of the most loyal and engaged fan bases in the country, who continue to show up and create a true home-court advantage. "This is the first time we've travelled in the state where it hasn't really felt like we had a home crowd, so that says a lot about their fan base." - Kim Caldwell (Tennessee)
» 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 PANTHERS
» FIU enters the weekend with a 17-10, 10-6 CUSA record. The Panthers dropped their only game last week, falling to Missouri State on the road 69-39.
» Rhema Collins is leading the Panthers in scoring with 17.3 points per game, while Parris Atkins is the only other player averaging double figures (16.8 PPG).
» Collins is also grabbing a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game, while Grecia Ferrer Leal is handing out a team-best 3.8 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.
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, Mar. 7 | 2 p.m. | Murphy Center | Murfreesboro, Tenn. |
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MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS 15-13, 10-6 CUSA |
vs | MISSOURI STATE LADY BEARS 18-11, 10-6 CUSA |
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| WATCH: ESPN+ | STATS: LINK | RADIO: WGNS (LINK) | MEDIA CENTER: LINK | ||||
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee will close out the regular season against the Missouri State Lady Bears on Saturday, March 7, inside the Murphy Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT. The game will air on the Blue Raider Network and broadcast on ESPN+.
GAME 30
» Saturday, March 7 - 2 p.m.
» Murphy Center
» Murfreesboro, Tennessee
SERIES HISTORY
» This marks the fifth meeting in series history between the Blue Raiders and Lady Bears.
» MTSU owns a 3-1 lead over Missouri State in the all-time series.
» The Blue Raiders dropped the previous meeting 60-54 earlier this season on Feb. 5, 2026, in Springfield.
SCOUTING THE LADY BEARS
» Missouri State enters the matchup with an 18-11, 10-6 CUSA record. The Lady Bears swept last week, defeating Sam Houston 60-55 and FIU 69-38. Missouri State will travel to Bowling Green, Kentukcy to face WKU on Thursday, Mar. 5 at 6:30 p.m. before travle to Murfreesboro to face the Blue Raiders on Saturday.
» A pair of Lady Bears are averaging double figures in scoring: Kaemyn Bekemeier (17.4) and Lainie Douglas (13.6).
» Bekemeier is also grabbing a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game, while Maycee James is handing out a team-best 2.7 assists per game.
» Missouri State was picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason poll in its first year in the league.
