Rutherford Times

No. 21/23 Middle Tennessee women's basketball attempted season-high 75 field goal attempts, including a program record 54 3-point attempts, but couldn't get enough shots to fall in a 53-58 loss to UTSA Saturday afternoon.
 
The Lady Raiders held a tight lead for the majority of the first half. A 14-4 run to start the second stretched the MTSU lead to 36-25 at the 4:54 mark in the third quarter. After the Roadrunners erased the deficit, the two teams exchanged shares of the lead for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter until a late 8-0 run put UTSA in front for the final 3:54.
 
Courtney Whitson recorded her 10th career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Eight of Whitson's boards were on the offensive glass. Savannah Wheeler finished with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals and Kseniya Malashka added nine points, five rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
 
By The Numbers
 
19: Offensive rebounds recorded by the Lady Raiders, which was a season high and the most since grabbing 18 Nov. 15, 2021 vs. Vanderbilt.
 
11: Lead changes and five ties between the Lady Raiders and Roadrunners this afternoon.
 
20: Turnovers forced by the Lady Raiders. It's the ninth game this season Middle Tennessee has forced 20-plus turnovers.
 
Game Notes
 
-       The Lady Raiders fell to 9-1 all-time vs. UTSA.
-       Alexis Whittington's nine rebounds tied a season high.
 
Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell
 
"We didn't deserve to win again. We had a 10-point lead there in the third quarter and we started playing individual ball instead of team ball. We had 10 rebounds, got outrebounded 50-40. They have the best player in the league. Jordyn Jenkins is the best player in the league. She's a pro. No if ands or buts about it. When she got the ball, she fouled out almost everybody we had.
 
"We didn't make good decisions. Everytime we went inside, they blocked the ball and got a layup. That lead to their momentum."

Original source can be found here