MTSU women’s basketball (14-11, 9-4 CUSA) held a double-digit lead to sweep Kennesaw State University (12-12, 5-8 CUSA) in the regular season, 71-53.
Senior Alayna Contreras led the Lady Raiders scoring a career-high 28 points with six three-pointers to lead all scorers.
“I think I had a rough [shooting night] the last game,” Contreras said. “I think games like that motivates me for the next game, I try to not put pressure on myself, and it worked.”
Kennesaw State jumped out to an early lead, 2-0, before point guard Kirston Verhulst made a three-point jumper to start a back-and-forth scoring match, which resulted in five lead changes. After Macie Phifer scored a six-foot jumper to go up, 10-8, MTSU held the lead for the rest of the game.
Middle Tennessee’s field goal percentage dropped significantly in the second quarter but ramped up three-point production. The Lady Raiders converted 4-of-7 in three-point territory, with Contreras scoring on 3-of-4 made shots.
“I think we can shoot a little better,” head coach Rick Insell said. “The second half, we shot 35%, 42%. We can do better than that. [We had] 14 turnovers again.”
Additionally, foul trouble by the Owls allowed for eight free throw attempts for Middle Tennessee. The Lady Raiders went on an 11-point run at the end of the quarter to lead the Owls 39-22 at halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Lady Raiders committed several sloppy turnovers and fouls, allowing the Owls to build momentum. However, halfway through the quarter, MTSU changed its pace and started to connect on its shots, led by Contreras and Blair Baugus.
“It was our inability to make good reads,” Insell said. “To be honest with you, there was about one in the first quarter, three or four uncontested mistakes that we shouldn’t have made.”
In the last quarter of action, MTSU gained its biggest lead of the night at 23, after a three-point shot by Baugus with 8:03 remaining.
MTSU will continue its Conference USA run in the 100 Miles of Hate matchup against Western Kentucky on Saturday, Feb. 21. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. CDT at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
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