By: Zachary Lohn
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The MTSU Lady Raiders (18-5, 10-3 in C-USA) will look to keep their undefeated season at the “Glass House” going tonight as the Florida Atlantic Owls (5-19, 1-12 in C-USA) travel to Murfreesboro at 2p.m. MTSU has defeated FAU 22 straight times, and the Owls have never won at Murphy Center. The Lady Raiders defeated the Owls earlier this year in Boca Raton by a score of 60-56. In that game, FAU’s Sofia Galeron lead all scorers with 14 points.
The two teams are coming in on completely different streaks. Since they last met, MTSU has won six of their last 7 games, and the Owls have only won 1 of the 11 they have played. These streaks have placed MTSU at second in the East and FAU in last, respectively.
A player to watch out for in this game for Middle Tennessee is Anastasiia Boldyreva. Boldyreva comes into this week having won two of the previous three C-USA Freshman of the week awards. In conference play, she is averaging 10 points and 2 blocks per game. Boldyreva has been a big part of the second ranked defense in C-USA.
On the other side, the Owls have one of the best defensive rebounding machines in C-USA in Sofia Galeron. Galeron is number four in defensive rebounds (5.46) and number eight in rebounds per game (7.29) in all of C-USA. She is also a threat from deep as she ranks ninth in the conference in 3-pointers made per game with 1.75. FAU is going to need a big day out of her if they want to snap their six-game losing streak.
It is the time of the year where every game means a little more. The Lady Raiders have their eyes on the one seed as it is still very well in reach, and the Owls are looking to gain a little momentum as Frisco is right around the corner.
Today’s game can be seen on c-usa.tv as it will be put on the conference’s streaming platform. Live play-by-play radio coverage can also be heard on WGNS 100.5 and 101.9FM as well as 1450 AM. Live stats will be kept on GoBlueRaiders.com.