MTSU women’s basketball (4-6) fell on the road to the University of Southern Indiana (6-2), 59-76, after a slow first quarter from the Lady Raiders. 

The Lady Raiders were outscored by just two points in the second half, but the slow starts and fouls from the first quarter would come back to bite Middle Tennessee, as Southern Indiana came out on top by 17 points.  

Despite the loss, Middle Tennessee showed improved offensive rhythm and resilience in the second half as freshman guard Macie Phifer led all Middle Tennessee scoring with a career-high 20 points, while tallying 11 rebounds for her first career double-double. Fellow freshman guard Blair Baugus added 11 points to the Lady Raiders’ effort. 

Freshman guard Yu Han Lin started the scoring with a jumper, and one made free throw to put the Lady Raiders up 3-0.  

Shortly after the scoring opened for the Lady Raiders, Southern Indiana jumped on top halfway through the first quarter, scoring 13 unanswered points to close out the first quarter with a 19-7 lead. 

Middle Tennessee amped up the scoring in the second quarter as Baugus made a layup to end Middle Tennessee’s five-minute scoring drought. 

The Lady Raiders pulled a little closer to the Screaming Eagles with a pair of three-pointers from sophomore guard Savannah Davis and Phifer, as well as five points in the quarter from Baugus before half.  

MTSU went into halftime trailing by double digits but showed increased defensive pressure coming out of the locker room.  

Middle Tennessee forced several key stops in the third quarter that briefly cut into the deficit and sparked momentum on both ends of the floor, playing the Screaming Eagles nearly even over the final two quarters.  

Middle Tennessee will look to regroup and clean up early-game execution as it prepares for its next home matchup against the University of Auburn (8-3) on Dec. 16, and then a road matchup against Wichita State University (2-9) on Dec. 20. 

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