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Middle Tennessee advanced into the semifinals of a national postseason tournament for the first time in program history with a thrilling 73-71 overtime win against Toledo in the quarterfinals of the WNIT here Monday night.
The Lady Raiders (27-7) will play host to Seton Hall (22-12) in the WNIT Semifinals Thursday at 6:30 p.m. All tickets are general admission and can be purchased for $20 each.
Middle Tennessee answered all challenges amid an electric atmosphere to escape against a Toledo (29-6) team that entered the game 14-1 at Savage Arena, which had 4,063 partisan fans fill the arena for the quarterfinal matchup.
The riveting matchup included 17 lead changes and 15 ties and the largest lead for either team was eight in the first quarter.
The 27 wins are fourth most in a single season for the Lady Raiders, and the four postseason wins are the most in program history.
"Great, great game between two quality teams," Lady Raider Head Coach Rick Insell said. "This was a great atmosphere and that's what you expect when you reach this point of a postseason tournament. We knew it would take a great effort to come in here and win against a very good and well-coached Toledo team. I'm excited for our team, our fans, but I'm proud of how this team responded tonight."
Freshman center Anastasiia Boldyreva came up huge as she produced the best game of her young collegiate career. Boldyreva poured in 28 points on 13-of-20 shooting. The points and field goals were both career highs, and she also added three blocked shots.
Boldyreva did the bulk of her damage when it mattered most as she helped rally the Lady Raiders with a dominant second half. Boldyreva scored 23 of her 28 in the second half on 11-of-15 shooting from the field.
"(Boldyreva) was a horse inside," Insell said. "She took the game over. The young lady got into a rhythm and just put the team on her back. She has made such great strides all season and that was on display tonight. (Boldyreva) played with such great confidence."
Courtney Whitson tallied 18 points and seven rebounds, while Kseniya Malashka also contributed double figures with 12 points, six rebounds and added two steals. Dor Saar finished with eight points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals in a stat-sheet stuffing performance.
Middle Tennessee trailed 62-60 late in the fourth quarter when Jalynn Gregory was fouled driving to the basket with seven seconds remaining. The freshman guard calmly sank both free throws, and Nan Garcia's potential game-winner was off the mark at the end of regulation.
The Lady Raiders never trailed in overtime, although the contest was tied twice in the extra frame.
Malashka got the scoring started in overtime with a driving reverse layup with 3:25 remaining. After Toledo tied the game, 64-64 on a pair of free throws from Sammi Mikonowicz with 3:13 remaining, Saar delivered a clutch step-back 3-pointer to push the Lady Raider advantage to 67-64 with 2:44 remaining.
Toledo came back with a layup to pull to within one before Saar drained a 12-footer to put the Lady Raiders back in front by three, 69-66 with 1:49 remaining. Mikonowicz answered with a 3-pointer of her own to tie the score, 69-69, for the final time with 1:36 remaining.
Boldyreva scored three of the final four points for Middle Tennessee and Toledo's desperation 3-pointer was off the mark as the final horn sounded.
