No. 25 MTSU women win 8th straight, 84-53 over Charlotte

FRISCO, Texas — Savannah Wheeler scored 28 points, Alexis Whittington added 17 and No. 25 Middle Tennessee won its eighth straight game with an 84-53 victory over ninth-seeded Charlotte on Thursday in the Conference USA Tournament.

Middle Tennessee (26-4) advanced to the Friday semifinals for the fourth straight season and eighth time in nine years.

Middle Tennessee pulled away midway through the second quarter after a 18-2 run. Wheeler started the run with a three-point play and she added four more points as Charlotte went without a field goal for nearly five minutes. Whittington made 3-pointers on back-to-back MTSU possessions and Kseniya Malashka added a third in less than a minute for a 40-21 lead.

The Lady Raiders led 46-25 at the break behind 16 points from Wheeler. Charlotte didn't make a field goal in the final five minutes of the third quarter as MTSU extended its lead to 28 points.

Courtney Blakely had 11 points for Middle Tennessee. Whittington and Wheeler each finished with four 3-pointers. Wheeler reached 20-plus points for the eighth time this season.

Mya McGraw scored 14 points, Keanna Rembert had 12 and Dazia Lawrence added 10 for Charlotte (12-19). Charlotte went 1 of 14 from distance.

The Lady Raiders also swept the regular-season series, winning both games by an average of 24.5 points.