HUNTSVILLE, Ala – Despite coaching 652 games at the college level, Friday night’s Conference USA semifinal victory pressured Middle Tennessee women’s basketball in ways that 19-year head coach Rick Insell had never seen.
“What a game, what a game,” Insell said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a game where there was that much pressure from the beginning of it all the way through since I’ve been coaching.”
Middle Tennessee took down Western Kentucky to advance to the CUSA championship game for the third straight season.
The Lady Toppers mounted pressure all night long, going on multiple runs to separate themselves from the Lady Raiders. Despite falling down as much as nine at times, Middle Tennessee relied on its veteran leadership while getting crucial minutes from youth.
After an early run gave WKU a 17-9 lead and forward Elina Arike got in early foul trouble, freshman Savannah Davis checked into the game and immediately made an impact for MTSU. A quick Davis three-pointer at the 1:30 mark of the first quarter sparked a 10-1 run from Middle Tennessee to close the period.
“He [Insell] called me off the bench to go in and I just wanted to go in and play my role and that’s to knock down shots and not let my person score,” Davis said. “Struggled a little bit with that, but just kind of bringing the energy is what I look to do, and I feel like I did that tonight.”
Davis hit her first five shots of the game, finished 5-7 from the field and with a career-high 13 points. While Davis added a much-needed boost to the Lady Raiders early, the team relied on its veterans late.
In the fourth quarter MTSU took advantage of WKU’s defensive strategy. With the Lady Toppers going under ball screens guard Jalynn Gregory finally had the green light to shoot the three ball, Insell said.
With the score tied at 56 with 3:08 remaining in the game, Gregory took over. The senior hit three three-pointers within two and half minutes to put the Lady Raiders on a 9-3 run down the stretch. Trailing for most of the second half, Gregory’s surge secured the win for Middle Tennessee.
“Our energy I feel like picked up in the second half and that’s something that we were struggling with to close the first half,” Gregory said. “I think just us picking up our energy and just staying together is what pulled us through this game.”
Not to be forgotten amidst Davis and Gregory’s big-time performances was junior guard Ta’Mia Scott. Scott led the way for the Lady Raiders scoring a team high 17 points on the night.
Between the youth of Davis and the veteran experience of players like Gregory and Scott, MTSU didn’t crack under pressure. With a third-straight championship berth secured, No. 2 tournament seed Middle Tennessee is set to face No. 1 Liberty in the CUSA women’s basketball championship on Saturday, March 14 at 4:30 p.m. CDT.
In the years Insell’s been coaching, the hardest games have typically been the ones the team just got through, he said.
“This game coming up tomorrow night, the kids are just going to play, play hard, just stay with what we do,” Insell said. “Just be Middle Tennessee, that’s what we’re going to do.”
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