Paige Mast
Elina Arike looks to make a move against Kennesaw State at Propst Arena on March 12, 2025.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – All season long, the strength of MTSU women’s basketball has been its defense.
Middle Tennessee houses the second-ranked defensive unit in the country, holding opponents to 51.6 points per game according to the NCAA. The Lady Raiders’ focal point was on full display against Kennesaw State in Wednesday’s Conference USA quarterfinals matchup.
MSTU spends countless hours working on its defense as it’s something that takes priority, senior center Anastasiia Boldyreva said.
The Lady Raiders held Kennesaw State to eight points in the first half while keeping the Owls scoreless in the second quarter.
“The key was our coaching staff, when we played them the last time, we came up with a gameplan that we felt did a pretty good job,” MTSU head coach Rick Insell said following the victory.
Associate head coach Matt Insell and assistant coach Nina Davis tweaked the defense from the last game against Kennesaw State and adjusted it even more before the tournament matchup, Rick Insell said.
Kennesaw State rediscovered its offense in the second half while outscoring the Lady Raiders but were unable erase the first half deficit.
Boldyreva and forward Elina Arike led Middle Tennessee on the afternoon with 29 and 13 points respectively. Arike, who averages five points a game, scored 11 points in the first half with two critical three-pointers.
While at UTEP in 2023, Arike scored 15 points against Louisiana Tech and 23 points against Middle Tennessee in the CUSA tournament.
“It’s been something that we have been working on for the whole year, but especially this week,” Arike said. “Our coaches have preached the fact that I’m a good tournament player and been a good tournament player and I’ve got to find that out here.”
MTSU’s next game is scheduled for Friday, March 14, at 8:00 p.m. CDT against the winner of No. 6 seed Florida International and No. 3 seed Western Kentucky.
Middle Tennessee will use the ‘day off’ to get back in the gym and scout WKU and FIU as the team still isn’t thrilled about losing to Liberty by 20 points last Thursday, Rick Insell said.
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