2023–24 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball team

2023–24 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball
Conference USA regular-season & tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceConference USA
Record30–5 (16–0 C-USA)
Head coach
Associate head coachMatt Insell
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMurphy Center
Seasons
← 2022–23
2024–25 →
2023–24 Conference USA women's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Middle Tennessee † 16 – 0   1.000 30 – 5   .857
Liberty 11 – 5   .688 18 – 16   .529
FIU 11 – 5   .688 21 – 12   .636
Louisiana Tech 7 – 9   .438 14 – 19   .424
Jacksonville State 7 – 9   .438 12 – 17   .414
New Mexico State 6 – 10   .375 13 – 18   .419
Western Kentucky 6 – 10   .375 15 – 17   .469
UTEP 6 – 10   .375 12 – 19   .387
Sam Houston 2 – 14   .125 7 – 22   .241
† 2024 CUSA tournament winner

The 2023–24 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by 19th-year head coach Rick Insell, played their home games at Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee as members of Conference USA (C-USA).

Previous season

[edit]

The Blue Raiders finished the 2022–23 season 28–5, 18–2 in C-USA play, to finish as C-USA regular-season champions.[1] As the #1 seed in the C-USA tournament, they defeated #9 seed Charlotte in the quarterfinals,[2] #4 seed UTEP in the semifinals,[3] and #2 seed Western Kentucky to win the C-USA tournament championship to earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.[4] They received the #11 seed in the Seattle Regional 4,[5] where they lost to #6 region seed Colorado in the first round.[6]

Roster

[edit]
2023–24 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Sifa Ineza 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS So FIU Musanze, Rwanda
C 2 Anastasiia Boldyreva 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Jr Twice Named Hero of the Soviet Union Moscow, Russia
G 3 Gracie Dodgen 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) RS So White County High School Sparta, TN
G 4 Savannah Wheeler 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Sr Marshall Catlettsburg, KY
F 9 Dora Van Rijs 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Obudai Arpad Gimnazium Budapest, Hungary
G 10 Jalynn Gregory 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Macon County High School Lafayette, TN
G 12 Gracie Hamby 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) RS Fr Blackman High School Murfreesboro, TN
G 15 Ta'Mia Scott 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Clarksville Northwest High School Clarksville, TN
F 22 Jada Grannum 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) RS Jr Lincoln Prep Mississauga, ON
G 23 Jada Harrison 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr Westview High School Martin, TN
G 31 Zahira Arizmendi Rubio 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Fr CB Leganés Madrid, Spain
F 33 Courtney Whitson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) GS Dobyns-Bennett High School Kingsport, TN
C 40 Meioshe Mason 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) RS Fr Lebanon High School Lebanon, TN
F 42 Stanislava Kabernick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Olympic Reserve School Number 1 Saint Petersburg, Russia
C 55 Iullia Grabovskaia 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) So Rostov Regional School of Olympic Reserve Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: January 27, 2024

Season summary

[edit]

Middle Tennessee relied heavily on their starters during the season, and five players—Savannah Wheeler, Courtney Whitson, Jalynn Gregory, Ta'Mia Scott and Anastasiia Boldyreva—appeared in all 35 games and played over 1,000 minutes. Wheeler led the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game and was named the C-USA Player of the Year. The Blue Raiders went 16–0 in the C-USA regular season to win the conference regular-season championship. They then won the conference tournament championship. In the NCAA tournament, they won their first-round game, their first NCAA tournament win since 2007. They lost in the second round. Middle Tennessee finished their season with an overall record of 30–5. It was their first 30-win season since 2006–07.

Schedule and results

[edit]
Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 27, 2023*
6:00 p.m. 		UT Southern W 97–44  –
   –      –      –    Murphy Center 
Murfreesboro, TN
October 30, 2023*
6:30 p.m. 		Cumberlands W 103–53  –
  24 – Boldyreva   8 – Boldyreva   10 – Wheeler  Murphy Center (2,004)
Murfreesboro, TN
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Memphis W 67–47  1–0
  23 – Boldyreva   12 – Boldyreva   5 – Whitson  Murphy Center (3,505)
Murfreesboro, TN
November 9, 2023*
10:30 a.m., ESPN+ 		Florida A&M W 93–48  2–0
  23 – Wheeler   8 – Grabovskaia   6 – Wheeler  Murphy Center (6,000)
Murfreesboro, TN
November 12, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Princeton L 60–65  2–1
  21 – Gregory   7 – Whitson   3 – Whitson  Murphy Center (3,015)
Murfreesboro, TN
November 18, 2023*
4:00 p.m., FloHoops 		vs. Michigan
Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals 		L 49–63  2–2
  23 – Boldyreva   7 – Boldyreva   5 – 2 tied  Imperial Arena (393)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 19, 2023*
6:30 p.m., FloHoops 		vs. DePaul
Battle 4 Atlantis consolation 2nd round 		W 71–69  3–2
  20 – Scott   8 – 2 tied   7 – Wheeler  Imperial Arena (400)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 20, 2023*
4:00 p.m., FloHoops 		vs. Memphis
Battle 4 Atlantis 5th-place game 		W 64–57  4–2
  25 – Boldyreva   13 – Boldyreva   5 – Wheeler  Imperial Arena (113)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 26, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at SIU Edwardsville W 81–74  5–2
  21 – Scott   7 – Grabovskaia   6 – Wheeler  First Community Arena (303)
Edwardsville, IL
November 29, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Houston W 70–45  6–2
  22 – Wheeler   11 – Scott   9 – Wheeler  Fertitta Center (698)
Houston, TX
December 3, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Belmont L 57–71  6–3
  20 – Scott   8 – Boldyreva   3 – 2 tied  Curb Event Center (1,365)
Nashville, TN
December 6, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		vs. Tennessee W 73–62  7–3
  22 – Gregory   10 – Wheeler   4 – Whitson  Von Braun Center (5,015)
Huntsville, AL
December 10, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Tennessee Tech W 63–47  8–3
  25 – Gregory   15 – Boldyreva   5 – Wheeler  Eblen Center (1,107)
Cookeville, TN
December 17, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Stephen F. Austin W 72–47  9–3
  25 – Wheeler   8 – Wheeler   5 – Gregory  Murphy Center (3,359)
Murfreesboro, TN
December 20, 2023*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Northern Kentucky W 83–42  10–3
  34 – Wheeler   10 – Scott   3 – 2 tied  Murphy Center (3,314)
Murfreesboro, TN
December 30, 2023*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Grand Canyon L 59–68  10–4
  23 – Wheeler   8 – 2 tied   2 – 2 tied  Global Credit Union Arena (623)
Phoenix, AZ
C-USA regular season
January 10, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Louisiana Tech W 64–61 OT 11–4
(1–0) 		 32 – Boldyreva   14 – Scott   2 – 2 tied  Thomas Assembly Center (1,632)
Ruston, LA
January 13, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Sam Houston W 87–55  12–4
(2–0) 		 16 – Wheeler   10 – Boldyreva   7 – Wheeler  Bernard Johnson Coliseum (396)
Huntsville, TX
January 18, 2024
5:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UTEP W 81–70  13–4
(3–0) 		 18 – Wheeler   16 – Grabovskaia   4 – 2 tied  Murphy Center (3,313)
Murfreesboro, TN
January 20, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		New Mexico State W 85–48  14–4
(4–0) 		 30 – Wheeler   10 – 2 tied   5 – Wheeler  Murphy Center (3,605)
Murfreesboro, TN
January 24, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Jacksonville State W 67–45  15–4
(5–0) 		 27 – Boldyreva   15 – Boldyreva   4 – 2 tied  Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,024)
Jacksonville, AL
January 27, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at FIU W 92–62  16–4
(6–0) 		 26 – 2 tied   10 – Scott   11 – Wheeler  Ocean Bank Convocation Center (325)
Miami, FL
February 3, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Western Kentucky W 80–48  17–4
(7–0) 		 26 – Scott   15 – Whitson   7 – Wheeler  Murphy Center (4,806)
Murfreesboro, TN
February 8, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Liberty W 81–55  18–4
(8–0) 		 20 – Boldyreva   8 – Whitson   6 – Wheeler  Murphy Center (4,505)
Murfreesboro, TN
February 10, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		FIU W 73–54  19–4
(9–0) 		 31 – Wheeler   7 – Boldyreva   11 – Wheeler  Murphy Center (4,428)
Murfreesboro, TN
February 15, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at New Mexico State W 73–37  20–4
(10–0) 		 27 – Wheeler   12 – Boldyreva   4 – Gregory  Pan American Center (1,045)
Las Cruces, NM
February 17, 2024
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UTEP W 56–41  21–4
(11–0) 		 16 – Wheeler   9 – Boldyreva   4 – Wheeler  Don Haskins Center (1,411)
El Paso, TX
February 21, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Jacksonville State W 66–40  22–4
(12–0) 		 27 – Boldyreva   8 – Whitson   7 – Whitson  Murphy Center (3,613)
Murfreesboro, TN
February 24, 2024
11:00 a.m., ESPNU 		at Western Kentucky W 59–41  23–4
(13–0) 		 18 – Wheeler   14 – Boldyreva   4 – Boldyreva  E. A. Diddle Arena (2,015)
Bowling Green, KY
March 2, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Sam Houston W 93–62  24–4
(14–0) 		 26 – Scott   9 – Boldyreva   8 – Wheeler  Murphy Center (3,712)
Murfreesboro, TN
March 6, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Liberty W 67–52  25–4
(15–0) 		 21 – Wheeler   9 – Boldyreva   7 – Wheeler  Liberty Arena (980)
Lynchburg, VA
March 9, 2024
9:30 a.m., ESPN+ 		Louisiana Tech W 79–58  26–4
(16–0) 		 18 – 3 tied   13 – Blodyreva   9 – Wheeler  Murphy Center (4,227)
Murfreesboro, TN
C-USA tournament
March 13, 2024
11:30 a.m., ESPN+ 		(1) vs. (8) UTEP
Quarterfinals 		W 78–50  27–5
  21 – Whitson   10 – Scott   6 – Wheeler  Von Braun Center (570)
Huntsville, AL
March 15, 2024
5:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		(1) vs. (4) Louisiana Tech
Semifinals 		W 62–56  28–4
  22 – Wheeler   16 – Boldyreva   4 – Wheeler  Von Braun Center (2,701)
Huntsville, AL
March 16, 2024
4:30 p.m., CBSSN 		(1) vs. (2) Liberty
Championship 		W 67–51  29–4
  21 – Boldyreva   16 – tied   9 – Wheeler  Von Braun Center (4,301)
Huntsville, AL
NCAA tournament
March 22, 2024*
12:30 p.m., ESPN2 		(11 A2) vs. (6 A2) No. 23 Louisville
First round 		W 71–69  30–4
  24 – Gregory   12 – Boldyreva   4 – Gregory  Pete Maravich Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, LA
March 24, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ABC 		(11 A2) at (3 A2) No. 8 LSU
Second round 		L 56–83  30–5
  21 – Wheeler   10 – tied   5 – Wheeler  Pete Maravich Assembly Center (12,632)
Baton Rouge, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
A2=Albany 2.
All times are in Central.

Sources:[7][8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  2. ^ Doughton, Sam (March 9, 2023). "No. 25 Lady Raiders cruise in C-USA quarterfinals". Middle Tennessee State University Athletics. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  3. ^ Bloomquist, Bret (March 10, 2023). "C-USA tournament: No. 25 Middle Tennessee holds off UTEP in final minute of semifinals". El Paso Times. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  4. ^ Joyce, Cecil (March 11, 2023). "March Madness bound: MTSU women's basketball beats Western Kentucky for C-USA Championship". The Daily News Journal. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  5. ^ "2023 Division I Women's Basketball Official Bracket". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  6. ^ "Colorado drains 13 threes to top MTSU in NCAA Tournament opener". Pac-12. March 18, 2023. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  7. ^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Middle Tennessee State University Athletics. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  8. ^ "Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders 2023-24 Regular Season NCAAW Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2023–24_Middle_Tennessee_Blue_Raiders_women%27s_basketball_team&oldid=1238523773"