Blue Raiders host Austin Peay for Education Day game

For the first time in 23 days, Middle Tennessee returns to the friendly confines of the Murphy Center on Tuesday, Dec. 4. The Blue Raiders welcomehost Austin Peay in a special 11 a.m. tipoff for Education Day presented by Aaron's and Academy Sports+Outdoors.

GAME INFORMATION

Opponent: Austin Peay Lady Govs (2-5)
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Arena: Murphy Center (11,520)
Promotion: Education Day presented by Aaron's and Academy Sports+Outdoors
Tickets: GoBlueRaiders.com or call 1-888-YES-MTSU

SERIES INFORMATION

Overall: Middle Tennessee leads series, 56-9
At Home: MT leads series, 28-3
Last Meeting: MT 69, Austin Peay 63 - Murfreesboro, Tenn. - Dec. 6, 2011
Under Rick Insell: 6-1

VIDEO

Live Webstream: GoBlueRaiders.com
Radio: WMOT (89.5 FM)/WGNS 1450 AM, 100.5 FM, 101.9 FM
Play-by-Play: Dick Palmer

QUICK HITTERS

• MT (4-3) returns home for the first time in 23 days after a five game road stretch that totaled 5,000 miles. The Blue Raiders dropped a 63-56 decision at South Dakota State on Saturday. MT had three reach double-figures as Ebony Rowe scored a game-best 23 points in the loss.
• Rowe's three offensive rebounds at South Dakota State made her the all-time offensive rebounder in school history. The junior has grabbed 369 off the offensive glass, passing the previous mark of 368 set by Krystle Horton (2004-07).
• Tuesday's game is Education Day presented by Aaron's and Academy Sports+Outdoors. There are over 7,000 kids from Murfreesboro City Schools expected to attend.
• Three Raiders, all preseason First Team All-Sun Belt selections, are averaging double-figures in seven games so far: Ebony Rowe (20.1), Icelyn Elie (15.6) and Kortni Jones (15.6).

PHOTOS

Scouting Austin Peay

• Picked to finish fifth in the west division of the Ohio Valley Conference in the preseason, Austin Peay enters Tuesday's game with a 2-5 record. The Lady Govs snapped a three-game losing skid Saturday with a 79-66 win over Ball State. Austin Peay led 32-21 at the half and were up by as much as 23 points late in the game. Meghan Bussabarger led four Lady Govs in double-figure scoring with 20 points, making 8-of-11 shots from the field. Tiasha Gray and Leslie Martinez each had 11 points. Martinez added a game-high 10 rebounds off the bench.
• Martinez leads the Lady Govs in scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Bussabarger is second on the team in scoring with 10.1 points a contest. Austin Peay has shot 38.2% from the field in seven games, while its opponents have shot 47% from the floor. The Lady Govs have also been outrebounded by 11.4 boards a game so far this season. They are, however, forcing 21.7 turnovers per game.
• Head Coach Carrie Daniels is in her seventh season in Clarksville, compiling a career record of 74-121. She led Austin Peay to back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference tournament titles in 2009 and 2010, making appearances in the NCAA Tournament in both seasons.

Series with the Lady Govs

• Middle Tennessee leads the all-time series with Austin Peay 56-9, having won six in a row and eight of the last nine meetings. The Blue Raiders are 28-3 all-time against the Lady Govs at Murphy Center.
• Last season, Middle Tennessee hung on for a 69-63 win over Austin Peay on Dec. 6, 2011 at Murphy Center. Ebony Rowe led the Blue Raiders with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Kortni Jones added 17 points and five assists, making four three-pointers. Middle Tennessee led 33-19 at halftime after holding the Lady Govs to 26.1% shooting from the field in the first 20 minutes.

Blue Raiders vs. the OVC

• Middle Tennessee was a valuable member of the Ohio Valley Conference from 1978 until 2000. During that span, the Raiders had 232 wins and 77 losses with 7 NCAA Tournament appearances.
• The Blue Raiders collected 11 regular season championships and hold the best winning percentage ever (.751) as a Ohio Valley Conference member.
• Coach Rick Insell is 15-1 all-time against OVC competition with contests against Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech. Austin Peay is the only OVC foe to hand Insell a loss (69-71, Dec. 29, 2005).

1,000-point Club Watch

• Two Blue Raiders are on the verge of becoming the 27th and 28th members of the MT 1,000-point club.
• Kortni Jones has 959 points and is just a 41 away from reaching the club.
• Senior Icelyn Elie is 67 points shy, as she has accumulated 933 points in three-plus seasons.
Insell vs. the Volunteer State
• Coach Rick Insell is 20-10 all-time against in-state competition since arriving on campus at MT in 2005. His squads have played eight different D1 teams in Tennessee.

Attendance Starting High

• Support is at all-time high for Middle Tennessee women's basketball. The Blue Raiders are averaging 4,540 fans per game in their first two home games.
• MT set the best attendance mark in the first two rounds of the Preseason WNIT. 5,806 fans packed the house on Nov. 9 against KSU, which ranks as the seventh largest in school history. The Raiders followed up with 3,273 against in-state foe Memphis on Nov. 11.

Long Road Trip is Over

• Middle Tennessee closed out a 5,000 mile, five game road swing last Saturday at South Dakota State. The journey began at Iowa (L, 69-63 OT) on Nov. 14, from there the Blue Raiders traveled to Tennessee Tech (W, 65-59 OT) and opened Sun Belt action at Louisiana (W, 72-45). To conclude the road swing, MT traveled east to Knoxville to play at Tennessee (L, 88-81 OT) and closed out the docket at SDSU (L, 63-56). MT finished 2-3 during that span. MT has three more two-game road trips this season.

Last Time Out

• A difficult shooting night perplexed the Blue Raiders as South Dakota State collected a 63-56 win at Frost Arena in Brookings. Ebony Rowe led all scorers with 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Her three offensive boards made her the school's all-time leader with 369 offensive boards. Kortni Jones and Icelyn Elie each had 13 points in the loss. MT shot just 28.6 percent, their lowest total since playing Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament last season. SDSU out-manned the Raiders 48-31 on the boards, as MT dropped its second consecutive contest.

Rowe Reaches New Heights

• Ebony Rowe broke the school record for offensive rebounds with her three grabs at South Dakota State last Saturday to have 369 in her career. The junior broke the previous mark of 369 set by Krsytle Horton during the 2004-07 seasons.
• Rowe is ninth all-time in career rebounding. She is 30 away from reaching eighth place currently held by Krystle Horton.

National Statistical Rankings

• The Blue Raiders are in the top 50 in four statistical categories as released by the NCAA on Monday, Dec. 4. MT is 42nd in scoring offense (72.3 ppg), 37th in free throw percentage (74.5%), 34th in 3-point field goals per game (7.0) and 31st in turnover margin (+5.86).
• Middle Tennessee has several players in the top 100. Rowe ranks 26th with 20.1 points per game and is 48th with 10.0 rebounds a contest. Senior Kortni Jones is 38th with 5.4 assists per game. Shanice Cason ranks 52nd with 3.14 steals, while Jones is 37th with 2.57 triples each game.

Tuesday is Education Day

MT Athletics and the Murfreesboro City Schools announced last month that the two institutions were partnering together for 'Education Day' on Tuesday, Dec. 4. Middle Tennessee's early 11 a.m. contest on Tuesday allows the 12 schools to bring thousands of students to cheer on the Blue Raiders. The event is sponsored by Aaron's and Academy Sports and Outdoors. Over 7,000 students are expected to attend.

At Home Under Insell and Nationally

• Middle Tennessee holds a remarkable 92-10 record under Coach Rick Insell inside the friendly confines of the Murphy Center.
• MT owns a 61-1 (.984) home conference record inside the historic Murphy Center under head coach Rick Insell, who took over the program prior to the 2005-06 campaign.
• The Blue Raiders have won 12 consecutive home games dating back to last season. That mark ranks 12th nationally. Stanford leads the NCAA with 81 consecutive home wins, followed by Baylor's 43. Kentucky and Ohio State are tied for third with 24 straight wins.

Continuing to Rowe

• Junior Ebony Rowe (1,210) passed Anne Marie Lanning's total of 1,183 points to take the No. 19 spot on MT's all-time scoring ledger. The Lexington, Ky., native is 13 points from reaching 18th held by Jolenda Buck.
• Rowe is the seventh player under Coach Insell to reach the Top 20.
• In 2011-12, Rowe joined Priscilla Robinson as the only Blue Raider to reach 1,000 in her sophomore campaign.
• Rowe is the 26th member of the 1,000-point club and the 10th to play at least one season under coach Rick Insell.

Nice Ice

• Senior Icelyn Elie posted her 13th career double-figure rebounding perfomance with 11 grabs at Iowa.
• The forward reached the top 25 in rebounding by corraling four at Tennessee Tech.
• The Lebanon product ranks 25th with 508 rebounds and she is 15 shy of tying Jolenda Buck (523) for 24th all-time.

Set the Sights on 20

• Ebony Rowe has reached 20 points on 22 occasions during her career. MT is a remarkable 19-3 when she scores 20-plus points in a game.

Doubling History

• Ebony Rowe moved into fifth all-time in career double-doubles at Iowa (24 p, 16 r). She added her 35th double-double and her third this season at No. 16/14 Tennessee with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
• Rowe has 35 double-figure rebounding games and has totaled 68 double-figure scoring contests during her career.

70+ is the Standard

• Since Rick Insell's arrival, the Blue Raiders have been lethal when scoring 70-plus points in a game. Middle Tennessee holds a 121-9 record when reaching the 70 point plateau. MT is 3-1 this season when scoring 70 or more.

Overtime Frenzy

• Middle Tennessee leads the nation with three overtime battles this season. The Raiders have taken part in an extra period game in three of the last four contests. MT dropped a 69-63 contest at Iowa before rebounding with a 65-59 win at Tennessee Tech. Last Wednesday, Middle Tennessee fell 88-81 to No. 16/14 Tennessee.
• The three OT games are the most for a Blue Raider squad since tallying four in the 2001-02 season under head coach Stephany Smith.

A Jones-ing for the Record Books

• Kortni Jones continues to ink her historic mark in the record books.
• The senior ranks seventh with 191 made triples and is five away from reaching sixth.
• Jones is ninth in assists with 374 in her career and is two away from moving into eighth.
• Jones played her 100th career game at Tennessee on Nov. 28.

Insell Inching Closer to All-Time Mark

• Rick Insell now stands just four victories shy of tying Lewis Bivens for the all-time record.
• Insell joins current Blue Raider men's coach, Kermit Davis, in a race to catch Bivens as the winningest basketball coach in school history. Davis became the winningest men's coach last season, surpassing Jimmy Earle.

Celebrating Title IX

The MT Athletic Department will remember 40 years of Title IX in a celebration during the Blue Raiders game against Xavier on Thursday, Dec. 4. Since the arrival of Title IX in 1972, the Blue Raiders have hoisted many conference championships, including 20 women's basketball titles. Several Blue Raider legends will be on hand to partake in the ceremony.

Rowe Rules Court, Classroom

• Ebony Rowe was recently featured in an ESPN.com article on Nov. 28 that highlighted the junior's strenuous work ethic on the hardwood and in the classroom. The Physics major from Lexington, Ky., spends numerous hours per day studying for classes such as thermodynamics and utilizes the rest of her time preparing to lead the Blue Raiders to victory. Fans can view the article online at http:// es.pn/10To7AI.

Give Me the Freebies

• The Raiders are 3-1 when shooting 70-plus percent from the charity stripe. The Raiders' three wins have also come from shooting more freebies than their opponent. Collectively, MT has knocked down 75 percent (73-of-98) of their attempted freebies this year.

MT Reaches Elite Status

• Middle Tennessee is just one of 25 programs to reach the NCAA Tournament in six of the last seven years. The Raiders have earned a berth to the NCAAs during the last four years.

Blue Raiders Join Conference USA

Middle Tennessee President Sidney A. McPhee announced on Thursday, Nov. 29 that the University has entered into a membership agreement to join Conference USA for intercollegiate athletics beginning no later than July 1, 2014. Conference USA is an established, nationally recognized FBS conference that sponsors 20 sport championships. C-USA teams and individuals have made nearly 700 NCAA championship appearances since the league's inception in 1995-96. Sixty-seven football programs have earned bowl bids, 90 men's basketball teams have participated in NCAA and NIT postseason play and 47 women's basketball squads have appeared in the NCAA Tournament. Conference USA members also enjoy significant national and regional television exposure and revenue sharing through a multi-tiered package that includes partnerships with CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports Media Group and ESPN.

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