2017–18 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball team

The 2017–18 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball team represents Middle Tennessee State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by thirteenth year head coach Rick Insell, play their home games at the Murphy Center and were third year members of Conference USA. They finished the season 18–13, 10–6 in C-USA play to finish in a 4 way tie third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the C-USA women's tournament to Rice. They received an at-large bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Ball State in the first round.

2017–18 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball
WNIT, First Round
Conference	Conference USA
Record	18–13 (10–6 C-USA)
Head coach	Rick Insell (13th season)
Assistant coaches	Kim Brewton Tom Hodges Shalon Pillow
Home arena	Murphy Center

2017–18 Conference USA women's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UAB	13	–	3		.813			27	–	7		.794
Western Kentucky †	12	–	4		.750			24	–	9		.727
Rice	10	–	6		.625			23	–	10		.697
Louisiana Tech	10	–	6		.625			19	–	12		.613
Middle Tennessee	10	–	6		.625			18	–	13		.581
Charlotte	10	–	6		.625			14	–	16		.467
UTEP	7	–	9		.438			17	–	14		.548
Florida Atlantic	7	–	9		.438			13	–	15		.464
Southern Miss	7	–	9		.438			15	–	15		.500
North Texas	6	–	10		.375			17	–	14		.548
UTSA	6	–	10		.375			9	–	21		.300
Old Dominion	6	–	10		.375			8	–	23		.258
FIU	5	–	11		.313			8	–	21		.276
Marshall	3	–	13		.188			9	–	20		.310
† 2018 C-USA Tournament winner As of 20 March 2018 Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

They finished the season 23–11, 15–3 in C-USA play to finish in second place. They advanced to the semifinals of the C-USA women's tournament where they lost to Southern Miss. They received an automatic bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Morehead State and Wake Forest in the first and second rounds before losing to Georgia Tech in the third round.

Roster

2017–18 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Alex Johnson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Jr Blackman HS Murfreesboro, TN G 2 Zeynep Canbaz 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Ozel Bostanci Doga Anadolu Lisesi Western Nebraska CC Istanbul, Turkey G 3 Kyla Allison 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Wekiva HS Orlando, FL G 5 Abbey Sissom 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Cannon County HS Woodbury, TN C 11 Jadona Davis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Fr Wayne County HS Buckatunna, MS G 12 Jess Louro 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr St. Rose HS Wall, New Jersey F 13 Jordan Majors 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS So Martin Luther King HS Nashville, TN G 14 Katie Collier 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Webb School of Knoxville Knoxville, TN G 15 Anna Jones 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Jackson HS Jackson, TN F 21 LaSonja Edwards 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr Fort Pierce Central HS Gulf Coast State Fort Pierce, FL F 23 Gabby Lyon 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Science Hill HS Johnson City, TN F 24 Rebecca Reuter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Bradley Central HS Cleveland, TN F 35 Charity Savage 5 ft 0 in (1.52 m) So Barlett HS Memphis, TN C 43 Kara Meadows 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Fr Clarkrange HS Jamestown, TN	Head coach Rick Insell (Middle Tennessee) Assistant coach(es) Kim Brewton (Liberty) Tom Hodges (Tennessee Tech) Shalon Pillow (Tennessee) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 27, 2017

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
10/29/2017* 3:00 pm		Tennessee Wesleyan	W 89–34		Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, TN
11/02/2017* 5:30 pm		Trevecca Nazarene	W 88–41		Murphy Center  Murfreesboro, TN
Non-conference regular season
11/10/2017* 6:00 pm		at Vanderbilt	W 65–54	1–0	Memorial Gymnasium (2,866) Nashville, TN
11/14/2017* 6:30 pm		Tennessee Tech	W 58–44	2–0	Murphy Center (3,912) Murfreesboro, TN
11/19/2017* 2:00 pm		Lipscomb	W 72–48	3–0	Murphy Center (4,122) Murfreesboro, TN
11/26/2017* 1:00 pm		at UNC Asheville	W 72–57	4–0	Kimmel Arena (1,323) Asheville, NC
11/29/2017* 7:00 pm, SECN		at Ole Miss	L 56–65	4–1	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (1,112) Oxford, MS
12/03/2017* 12:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at Georgia Tech	L 45–48	4–2	Hank McCamish Pavilion (921) Atlanta, GA
12/05/2017* 11:00 am		Coppin State	W 69–39	5–2	Murphy Center (11,305) Murfreesboro, TN
12/09/2017* 6:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at No. 4 Louisville	L 26–80	5–3	KFC Yum! Center (6,752) Louisville, KY
12/14/2017* 6:30 pm		Troy	W 73–57	6–3	Murphy Center (3,986) Murfreesboro, TN
12/17/2017* 2:00 pm		at Tulane	L 44–62	6–4	Devlin Fieldhouse (545) New Orleans, LA
12/19/2017* 4:30 pm		vs. USC UTRGV Holiday Classic	L 57–72	6–5	UTRGV Fieldhouse (89) Edinburg, TX
12/20/2017* 4:30 pm		vs. Canisius UTRGV Holiday Classic	W 55–44	7–5	UTRGV Fieldhouse (94) Edinburg, TX
12/20/2017* 4:30 pm		Kentucky	W 62–57	8–5	Murphy Center (4,209) Murfreesboro, TN
Conference USA regular season
01/04/2018 7:00 pm, FCSA		at Western Kentucky	L 43–57	8–6 (0–1)	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,811) Bowling Green, KY
01/06/2018 6:00 pm		UAB	L 51–59	8–7 (0–2)	Murphy Center (3,940) Murfreesboro, TN
01/11/2018 11:00 am		at UTSA	W 62–47	9–7 (1–2)	Convocation Center (1,202) San Antonio, TX
01/13/2018 1:00 pm		at UTEP	W 54–45	10–7 (2–2)	Don Haskins Center (617) El Paso, TX
01/18/2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3		North Texas	W 56–48	11–7 (3–2)	Murphy Center (3,230) Murfreesboro, TN
01/20/2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3		Southern Miss	L 53–61	11–8 (3–3)	Murphy Center (3,470) Murfreesboro, TN
01/26/2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3		at Marshall	W 73–57	12–8 (4–3)	Cam Henderson Center (433) Huntington, WV
01/28/2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Charlotte	W 64–45	13–8 (5–3)	Murphy Center (3,441) Murfreesboro, TN
02/01/2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Louisiana Tech	L 49–66	13–9 (5–4)	Murphy Center (3,436) Murfreesboro, TN
02/08/2018 6:00 pm		at Florida Atlantic	W 69–65	14–9 (6–4)	FAU Arena (692) Boca Raton, FL
02/10/2018 1:00 pm, beIN		at FIU	W 63–59	15–9 (7–4)	FIU Arena (327) Miami, FL
02/15/2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3		Western Kentucky	L 60–76	15–10 (7–5)	Murphy Center (4,061) Murfreesboro, TN
02/17/2018 2:00 pm		Rice	W 51–41	16–10 (8–5)	Murphy Center (4,235) Murfreesboro, TN
02/22/2018 11:00 am		at UAB	L 43–57	16–11 (8–6)	Bartow Arena (1,011) Birmingham, AL
02/25/2018 12:00 pm, ESPN3		at Charlotte	W 54–53	17–11 (9–6)	Dale F. Halton Arena (789) Charlotte, NC
03/03/2018 3:00 pm		Old Dominion	W 65–47	18–11 (10–6)	Murphy Center (10,050) Murfreesboro, TN
Conference USA Women's Tournament
03/08/2018 11:30 am	(4)	vs. (5) Rice Quarterfinals	L 36–61	18–12	The Ford Center at The Star  Frisco, TX
WNIT
03/15/2018* 6:00 pm		at Ball State First Round	L 60–69	18–13	Worthen Arena (1,083) Muncie, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Regular Season Polls

Poll	Pre- Season	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14	Week 15	Week 16	Week 17	Week 18	Week 19	Final
AP																				N/A
Coaches

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		No Change
(RV)		Received Votes
(NR)		Not Ranked

See also

• 2017–18 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team