MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Thanks to a pair of stellar performances by senior Anastasiia Boldyreva and junior Ta'Mia Scott, Middle Tennessee defeated WKU 73-63 on Saturday afternoon at the Murphy Center.

The Blue Raiders (19-6, 11-1 CUSA) jumped out to an early lead over the Lady Toppers (17-7, 8-4 CUSA) but trailed 20-24 after the opening frame after WKU went 6-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first 10 minutes; however, MTSU rallied back in the second quarter, using a 9-0 run to take a 36-35 lead into the half. 

Coming out of the locker room, the Blue Raiders continued to feed Boldyreva down low and Scott continued to have the hot hand and MTSU extended its lead to seven entering the fourth quarter. In the final frame, MTSU continued to attack WKU leading to a pair of Lady Toppers picking up their fifth fouls. Down the stretch, senior Courtney Blakely, Boldyreva and Scott proved to be too much for WKU to handle as Middle Tennessee would go on to win 73-63.

Scott led all scorers with 24 points, five rebounds, four steals, three assists and a pair of blocks. She was followed by Boldyreva, who tallied a 21-point, 12-rebound double-double. She also added five blocks, while Blakely posted 15 points, five assists, four boards and three steals and senior Jalynn Gregory notched 10 points.

By the Numbers  
35: With the win, the Blue Raiders are riding a 35-game home win streak in CUSA play and improve to 53-2 at home over the previous three seasons.
32: Middle Tennessee outscored WKU 32-18 on points in the paint.
3: Coming into the game, WKU averaged 11.8 steals per game – second-best in the league. However, the Lady Topper only forced three steal on the day and turned the ball over 17 times, resulting in 17 points for MTSU.

Blue Raider Notes  
• Ta'Mia Scott logged her fourth consecutive game with 20 or more points.
• Anastasiia Boldyreva tallied her 20th double-figure outing of the season, her eighth double-double, and her 10th game with five or more blocks.
• Courtney Blakely recorded her 12th double-figure performance and her 12th game, dishing out five or more assists.
• With Jalynn Gregory posting 10 points, four Blue Raiders scored in double figures in back-to-back games.

Thoughts from Head Coach Rick Insell  
"Heck of a game, guys… If you paid your money to get in today, you saw a heck of a game. They played hard. We played hard. That is what it's all about. I'm really proud of our girls. We had to make some adjustments, but I'm very proud of what went on today."

Up Next  
The Blue Raiders head Ruston, Louisiana to face LA Tech on Thursday, Feb. 20. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will broadcast on ESPN+.