A trio of double-digit scorers led Middle Tennessee to a win over an old rival Thursday.
The Lady Raiders (3-1) and Tennessee Tech (2-2) met for the 82nd time, and senior Charity Savage and sisters Aislynn and Anastasia Hayes guided MT to a 64-58 win.
The victory also was the Lady Raiders' 450th all-time win at Murphy Center.
Middle Tennessee now holds a 43-39 all-time advantage over its longtime in-state rival.
"It was not pretty ... but we'll take it," MT Head Coach Rick Insell said. "They do what they've got to do. They're winners, all of them."
It was another classic between the two teams, with the Golden Eagles making a 9-0 run to tie things at 55 with 3:24 left.
The Lady Raiders suffered a scoring drought of just under five minutes before Savage hit a free throw to inch back ahead 56-55, and after a miss on the other end, Taylor Sutton hit a dagger.
Anastasia Hayes came streaking down the court off the missed Tennessee Tech shot and found the sophomore in the right corner. Sutton buried the 3-pointer to put MT up two possessions with 1:44 left, and the Lady Raiders would stay ahead from there.
Sutton scored eight points, none more important than the three down the stretch. The Lady Raiders were led by freshman Aislynn Hayes, who scored a career-high 22 to go with six rebounds, three assists and four steals. She shot 6-for-13 in her first start, including 4-of-6 from distance.
"I was most definitely nervous," she said. "Once the game got flowing, I felt comfortable."
Savage added a career-high 18 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and a block, and Anastasia Hayes had 14 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Savage extended her double-digit rebounding streak to four games to start this season with her second double-double. She's just the second player in program history to have at least 10 boards in the first four games of a season, joining Alysha Clark in 2009. No player has done it in five straight to start a season.
"It wasn't easy - we fought really hard," Savage said. "Hard work has paid off. [This season] has been really enjoyable."
Middle Tennessee put on a defensive clinic in front of the home fans, forcing 25 turnovers, 13 of them steals.
Freshman Courtney Whitson also put on a rebounding seminar, ripping down a career-high 14 boards, seven on the offensive end.
"Courtney is just a great kid," Insell said. "We have to start scoring from the post, but I think we will."
Despite missing 15 of their 28 free throws, Insell saw plenty to be proud of from his Lady Raiders.
"We make mistakes ... but we play hard," he said. "I don't have to ask them to play hard.
"The more we have like this, the more confidence we're going to get. ... I can't fault their effort. Their effort has been there all the way."
They'll try to keep the good feeling going when Furman comes to the Murphy Center on Sunday. Tipoff is 2 p.m.
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