Charlotte women's basketball as they traveled to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to battle against Middle Tennessee on Dec. 29. The 49ers fell short 71-46 as they were dealt their second loss over the holiday break.
"I don't think the score is indicative of how well we played in stretches of this game," said Head Coach Cara Consuegra. "We had it down to three in the third quarter, came out really strong and executed our defensive game plan fairly well. We improved today; we need to take confidence from that and continue to improve."
First half
In under four minutes following tip-off, Charlotte took an 8-2 lead over the Blue Raiders.
Middle Tennessee responded well, gaining momentum and scoring five straight to narrow the deficit to just one. However, Charlotte was able to hold onto a lead for the entirety of the first and brought it back up to four just a minute and a half later.
After converting on an and-1 jump shot from the paint and draining the free throw, McMillian brought the 49er lead back up to six with 38 seconds remaining before the second quarter.
With 7:45 remaining in the second and down by five, the Blue Raiders took over as the momentum made a significant switch.
Middle Tennessee went on a 15-2 run against the 49ers to wrap up the quarter. The Blue Raiders led at halftime 31-23.
Second half
A return from the locker room saw Charlotte fighting back to bring the Middle Tennessee lead down, successfully narrowing the deficit to four.
After a few momentum changes, the 49ers trailed by just three with 02:21 remaining in the quarter, but the Blue Raiders finished the third strong, scoring seven straight to take a double-digit lead.
Middle Tennessee's momentum from the end of the third carried into the fourth quarter as they scored another seven in a row to take a 17-point lead.
Mya McGraw drained two free throws to temporarily interrupt the run before Middle Tennessee's Courtney Whitson scored eight straight with her two three-pointers in that span, both coming off of assists by Alexis Whittington. This gave the Blue Raiders a 23-point lead.
Charlotte managed to bring the Middle Tennessee lead down to 20 with 02:18 remaining in regulation, but the Blue Raiders scored six of the following eight points to take a 25-point victory, 71-46.
Coming Next
Charlotte will head south for Ruston, Louisiana, as they face Louisiana Tech University for a New Year's Eve afternoon matchup. Tip-Off starts at 3 p.m. eastern and will be available to stream on ESPN+.