Middle Tennessee women’s basketball (12-11, 7-4 CUSA) could not find a way to win against Florida International (14-8, 7-4 CUSA) Saturday afternoon in Miami, losing 60-58. This marks the Lady Raiders’ sixth loss on the road and second in a row.
Middle Tennessee looked to bounce back from its Thursday loss to Missouri State. The Lady Raiders led by double digits in the second half but it was not enough to stop FIU as Rhema Collins and Parris Atkins led the Panthers with 15 points and Grecia Ferrer Leal with 13.
Middle Tennessee started off slow in the first quarter with 10 points and nine turnovers, including a three-minute scoring drought to end the quarter. Things changed in the second when MTSU scored 24 points, including Savannah Davis’ three triples, and Alayna Contreras’ 13 points, which gave Middle Tennessee a 34-24 lead at the break.
The Lady Raiders shot 21-55 from the field and 8-23 from beyond the arc, out rebounding FIU 41 to 36 but lost the turnover battle 25 to 17 and out fouling them 25 to 20.
“You can’t win basketball games with 25 turnovers…that’s elementary school,” head coach Rick Insell said on WGNS radio.
Contreras led the team in points with 17, Davis had 12, with all her points from behind the three-point line, and Yu Han Lin, who came off the bench had, 10 points. Macie Phifer and Blair Baugus led the team in rebounds with eight and Contreras led in assists with six.
In the second half, FIU outscored Middle Tennessee 21-9 with a 15-0 run and a six-minute scoreless drought for MTSU. The Panthers press caused trouble Middle Tennessee forcing 25 turnovers, which led to 22 points for FIU.
“I told the team that this is a big girl game, and we’ve got to go out there and embrace the physicality and embrace the moment,” FIU head coach Jesyka Burks-Wiley said on ESPN.
Foul trouble was a key factor down the stretch with Kirston Verhulst and Phifer fouling out with five minutes to go and later Baugus with 1:44 remaining. FIU turned the Lady Raiders foul trouble into 22 points from the charity strip.
The game was still close in the final minutes as both teams traded the lead back and forth. The Lady Raiders trailed by three points with less than 15 seconds, coming out of a timeout.
Middle Tennessee drew up a three-point play for Davis that was short off the front of the rim, but the put back basket cut the lead to one.
FIU went 1-of-2 from the line after MTSU’s intentional foul with Lin missing a game tying attempt at the buzzer.
MTSU returns home to face Jacksonville State on Thursday, Feb. 12 in an important game for standings in Conference USA.
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