Nancy Mulkey scored 24 points and No. 24 Rice rallied in the second half to defeat Middle Tennessee 69-54 in the Conference USA championship game on Saturday for the Owls' third NCAA Tournament berth and school-record 21st straight win.
Point guard Anastasia Hayes, the 2018 SEC Sixth Woman of the Year who was dismissed from Tennessee in August for a "violation of team rules" has committed to transfer to Middle Tennessee State.
Alysha Clark was an undersized post who led the nation in scoring as a college senior. But to make it in the WNBA, the wing had to remake her game.
INSELL vs INSELL! Get to know this father/son combo w/Cara Capuano & Christy Thomaskutty. Middle Tennessee vs Ole Miss tonight 8ET SEC Network
Green Bay replaced South Dakota State on the top line, but No. 3 New Mexico made the biggest jump in espnW's biweekly rankings. Middle Tennessee and Belmont round out the top five.
With Macy Miller back after a knee injury sidelined her for most of last season, South Dakota State holds the top spot in our first poll of the season. Northern Colorado, Green Bay, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky round out the top five.
Can Middle Tennessee pull off another stunner? ESPN's BPI gives the Blue Raiders little more than a 30 percent chance of knocking off No. 4 seed Butler – a far departure from the last round, when BPI gave MTSU nearly a 50 percent chance of upsetting Minnesota.
Middle Tennessee made 55 percent of its 2s and 58 percent of its 3s, by far the best shooting of any Michigan State opponent this season.
The battle for the first NCAA tournament bid is in overtime. The Tennessee State & Tenn-Martin women's teams need extra time to decide the Ohio Valley Conference. Live on WatchESPN
Middle Tennessee has dismissed forward Cheyenne Parker from its team for what the school described as violations of athletic department policy.
From players to watch and potential upsets to the best games in the first round, espnW breaks down each region of the women's NCAA tournament.
Connecticut stays No. 1 in The Associated Press poll Monday after cruising to easy wins this week.
Connecticut remains No. 1 in The Associated Press poll after two easy victories while Middle Tennessee makes it first appearance in the poll since 2009.
At 10-0 and No. 17 in the AP Top 25, it's no wonder Dayton leads this week's mid-major rankings.
Whether she's on the court averaging a double-double or explaining physics to friends, there's just no stopping Middle Tennessee post Ebony Rowe.
Dayton, Middle Tennessee and Delaware rule the top three spots in espnW's latest mid-major top-10 rankings.
As the curtain closed on the opening weekend of games, it's clear that there might not be a better race for bragging rights than the one in the state of Tennessee.
The 2011-12 season is going to be a hard act to follow for the mid-major community. But Delaware starts out on top of the preseason top-10 rankings.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 16-0 | - | 28-4 |
| UAB | 12-4 | 4 | 26-7 |
| Middle Tennessee | 11-5 | 5 | 23-11 |
| Western Kentucky | 11-5 | 5 | 20-15 |
| Old Dominion | 10-6 | 6 | 21-11 |
| Marshall | 10-6 | 6 | 17-15 |
| Charlotte | 9-7 | 7 | 18-13 |
| Southern Miss | 9-7 | 7 | 18-14 |
| North Texas | 7-9 | 9 | 18-16 |
| Louisiana Tech | 6-10 | 10 | 14-16 |
| UTEP | 5-11 | 11 | 9-22 |
| UTSA | 2-14 | 14 | 7-21 |
| Florida Int'L | 2-14 | 14 | 5-24 |
| Florida Atlantic | 2-14 | 14 | 5-25 |
