Photo by Tyler Lamb / Sports Editor
It was a hot February for the Middle Tennessee Lady Raiders (18-9, 13-3), winners of six of their seven games. They’re now headed into the final two games of the regular season, sitting firmly in second place in the conference.
MTSU trails only Western Kentucky for the top of the conference. The Lady Hilltoppers gave them their only loss in February.
With the Blue Raiders carrying so much momentum, coach Rick Insell has to keep his team pushing.
“We need to maintain our focus and get invested in what’s in the scouting reports,” Coach Insell said. “We really need to keep up our conditioning where it is, and take care of ourselves health wise.”
Coach Insell really stressed the off-court issues, knowing not much can be changed on the court.
“We can take care of our bodies, eat right and get plenty of rest,” Coach added.
The last two games for Middle Tennessee will be against the bottom two teams in the conference. The Lady Raiders have to stay focused against Florida Atlantic and Florida International to make sure they hold their number two seeding in C-USA.
“Florida International has got to win,” Coach Insell said about motivating the team. “If they don’t win, they don’t make the tournament… Both those games are catch games.”
Coach Insell insists however that his team will play “Lady Raider Basketball.”
Middle Tennessee will have to play well together if they expect to keep the their strong play going.
“Right now, just about everybody we have will have to show up or be ready to show up,” Coach Insell said. ”You never know what can happen.”
The first game of the week will be in Miami against Florida International on Thursday at 6 p.m. For the second and final game, the Lady Raiders will travel to Boca Raton to take on Florida Atlantic at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Follow MTSU Lady Raider beat writers David Chamberlain (@D_Chamberlain_), Jonathan Clark (@JonDemetries) and Keenan Taylor (@keenantaylor_) on Twitter for more coverage.
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To contact Sports Editor Tyler Lamb (@Tlamb35), email sports@mtsusidelines.com.
