Featured photo by Erin Douglas
Story by Calvin White
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BATON ROUGE, La- All season, Middle Tennessee women’s basketball has flexed its ability to avoid getting too high or too low in critical moments. When the Blue Raiders trailed by as much as 18 in the first half against Louisville on Friday afternoon, head coach Rick Insell didn’t have the slightest look of panic on his face. MTSU’s level heads have proved to be its greatest asset.
It’s the same level headedness that won MTSU 20 consecutive games, with its last loss coming in a 68-59 stumble at Grand Canyon on Dec. 30 in the final game of non-conference play. After that loss, MTSU won 17 of its next 20 by double digits.
The Blue Raiders don’t get rattled. They’ve never seen an opposing arena that intimidated them. To some, the 13,000 fans that are expected to flood the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Sunday would be nightmare fuel. But Insell’s squad plays in their own bubble. When the ball tips, it’s just them, the opponent, a ball and a hoop.
“I’d say that coming into tomorrow, our team will pay less attention to the crowd than any team they’ve had in here, including a lot of SEC teams,” Insell said. “They don’t seem to get rattled and they may get rattled tomorrow, and if they do that’ll be a first.”
Whether they are a heavy favorite or the underdog, MTSU’s attention to detail stays the same. When Louisville jumped out to an 18-point lead, the faith never wavered in the MTSU huddle. Insell said he didn’t even notice that his team was down 18 points.
The Blue Raiders erased an 18-point deficit in the NCAA Tournament against one of the best programs in women’s basketball in a game where Anastasiia Boldyreva, Courtney Whitson and Ta’Mia Scott combined for just 25 points. Jalynn Gregory kept MTSU alive in the first half and Savannah Wheeler got the Blue Raiders over the hump in the second half. Mix some good defense somewhere in between and MTSU propelled itself to the fourth-largest comeback in women’s NCAA Tournament history.
Throughout the Conference USA Tournament, MTSU got off to a couple slow starts. Other than a scare in the semifinals from Louisiana Tech, Insell and company cruised to their third CUSA Tournament title in three years. A slow start on offense is what put MTSU in an 18-point hole against Louisville. The Blue Raiders take on the defending national champions on Sunday where a slow start will likely send them home.
Although MTSU preaches to take things one game at a time, Insell acknowledges that they cannot take their next opponent lightly.
“I think that’s coach speak,” Insell said. “Most coaches say, ‘Hey, one game at a time, one play at a time.’ We’re guilty of doing that too. But I don’t think you take tomorrow’s game as one game at a time. You’re playing to get into the Sweet 16. You’re playing an extremely talented team. You’re playing them at home. Everything’s got to be landing in their favor, and we know that.”
With a win, MTSU will advance to its first Sweet 16 in program history. Potentially knocking off the defending national champions would only make it that much sweeter.
This is the point in the season where almost no one outside of its own fan base has seen MTSU play, but the Blue Raiders aren’t exactly flying under the radar anymore. LSU head coach Kim Mulkey acknowledged the challenges that Insell’s squad can give the Tigers if given the opportunity.
“You know they’re going to shoot the 3-ball,” Mulkey said. “They all shoot the 3-ball. We have to be very respectful of the 3-ball but they also have size. They win, they win. December was the last time they lost a game so they’re very confident, they’re very talented, they’re very good. The stuff they run will be very difficult for us to defend.”
Now sitting at a 30-4 overall record, MTSU has a chance to extend its winning streak to 21 games. Their current position rivals the kinds of opportunities that children dream about. Everyone has dribbled a ball in their driveway and imagined playing in a sold-out arena. As a kid, it’s the stuff of legend. For the Blue Raiders, it’s rapidly become reality.
Win or lose on Sunday, MTSU has already made its mark on program and NCAA Tournament history. The Blue Raiders aren’t supposed to compete with the likes of Louisville and LSU. But don’t tell them that.
Calvin White is the sports editor for MTSU Sidelines. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, and follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on X and Instagram at @mtsusidelines. Also, sign up for our weekly newsletter here.
