BATON ROUGE, La. — March 24, 2024 – Middle Tennessee women’s basketball fell in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, dropping the contest against Louisiana State 83-56.
The Lady Raiders (30-5) held the advantage at halftime, winning the second quarter 21-12 to take a 36-32 lead into the locker room at halftime against the Tigers (30-5). MTSU outrebounded LSU 25-18 in the game’s first 20 minutes, holding one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country to just three offensive rebounds at the break.
Second half foul trouble, however, would help the Tigers get back into the game. MTSU was called for nine fouls in the third quarter, compared to just four for LSU, resulting in the Tigers getting 12 trips to the free throw line, converting nine of them to take a 59-49 lead. LSU also took advantage of seven Lady Raider turnovers in the frame, scoring 12 points in the quarter off those turnovers. With several Lady Raider starters fouled out, LSU continued to dominate the second half in the fourth quarter, scoring 24 points in the final frame to cruise to the win late.
Savannah Wheeler led MTSU with 21 points in her final game of a Lady Raider, going a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line while hauling in seven rebounds. Courtney Whitson led the way with 10 boards for MTSU in her final game in the Blue and White, tying Jada Grannum for the team lead in boards. Ta’Mia Scott was the only other Lady Raider to score in double figures, she had 15 points before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.
