The Middle Tennessee women's basketball team earned a first-round bye at the Conference USA Championships this season. The team earned a fourth place seeding in the contest following UAB, WKU and Louisiana Tech.
Middle Tennessee has matched up against Rice the last two seasons in the C-USA women's basketball quarterfinals. The Lady Raiders hold a 2-0 edge over the Owls in C-USA Championship play and won each contest by ten or more points.
After Southern Miss snuck past FIU, 69-68, to open the Conference USA Tournament on Wednesday night, the Blue Raiders will face the ninth-seeded Golden Eagles in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The Blue Raiders (24-6, 16-2) and Eagles (15-17, 7-11) have met twice this season already, with Middle Tennessee clinching a 69-49 win in Murfreesboro and bringing home a 72-62 win from Hattiesburg.
The Blue Raider frontcourt played key roles in both match-ups, as senior forward Brandon Walters boasted 19 points and eight rebounds in the first meeting while fellow senior post man Nick King logged a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double in the second contest.
The Blue Raiders are now 9-1 all-time against the Golden Eagles with the two teams meeting on a neutral site for the first time.
