March Madness: What to know about Middle Tennessee State women's basketball
Middle Tennessee State women's basketball earned a No. 11 seed and will begin NCAA Tournament play on Saturday, facing No. 6 seed Colorado in Durham, North Carolina.
The Lady Raiders (28-4) won both the Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles to earn the automatic bid to March Madness.
They defeated Western Kentucky 82-70 Saturday to secure an automatic berth.
MORE:March Madness bound: MTSU women's basketball beats Western Kentucky for C-USA Championship
Here are three things to know about the Lady Raiders:
Rick Insell a women's basketball coaching legend
Rick Insell of MTSU is one of the winningest and most decorated basketball coaches in the country.
The 71-year-old Insell surpassed 1,200 career wins, combining high school and college, this season. He won 775 games as a high school coach starting in 1977, turning Shelbyville into a national power. The Golden Eaglettes won 10 state championships, once won 110 consecutive games and were named national champions by USA TODAY in 1989 and 1991.
Since taking over at MTSU in 2005, Insell has won more than 430 games and has led the Lady Raiders to 17 consecutive postseason appearances, including 11 NCAA Tournament berths and six WNIT appearances.
He has been selected to the Hall of Fame of numerous organizations, including the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association, the National High School, Tennessee Sports, Women's Basketball, Blue Raider Sports and Basketball Coaches Association of Tennessee. He's also a recipient of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Morgan Wootten Award for Lifetime Achievement For High School Girls Basketball.
Lady Raiders' NCAA Tournament history
This is MTSU's 20th NCAA Tournament appearance, having won five games. The last win came in 2007, as the fifth-seeded Lady Raiders defeated No. 12 Gonzaga 85-46 before falling to 13 seed Marist 73-59 in the second round.
The Lady Raiders have been a No. 5 seed twice, a No. 6 seed once and a No. 8 seed twice. MTSU has never reached the Sweet 16.
MTSU would match a program-best (30-4 in 2006-07) in wins with two more victories. The Lady Raiders have won at least 20 games in 15 of Insell's 17 seasons. The 2020-21 season, in which several games were canceled because of COVID-19, is one of the two years they didn't reach that mark, going 17-8.
Statistically speaking
MTSU has a balanced lineup with four players scoring in double figures. Senior forward Kseniya Malashka leads the team at 15.2 points per game, is second at 5.9 rebounds, second with 43 steals and leads the team with 53 blocks, despite starting just three games.
Junior guard Savannah Wheeler (15.1), sophomore guard Jalynn Gregory (13.7) and junior forward Courtney Whitson (10.4) are also averaging double figures in scoring.
Whitson leads the team in rebounding (7.9) while Wheeler's 89 assists and Gregory's 53 steals leads the squad.
The Lady Raiders are averaging 74 points while allowing just 57 a game. They've forced 544 turnovers.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: March Madness: Things to know about MTSU women's basketball
