The first four losses this season for the University of Tennessee women’s basketball team came against ranked foes, and the last of those — Sunday at home to Ohio State — dropped the Lady Volunteers out of the polls Monday.
The fifth loss came to an opponent that had never beaten Tennessee before in 22 tries and dropped the Lady Vols below .500.
Jalynn Gregory had 22 points with five 3-pointers to lead four scorers in double figures for Middle Tennessee State University, and the Lady Blue Raiders beat Tennessee 73-62 on Wednesday at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama, which will host the Conference USA tournament in March.
The Lady Raiders (7-3) are still a month away from tipping off their C-USA schedule, but they impressed by taking down the Lady Vols, a traditional Southeastern Conference power and eight-time national champion that has struggled in the first month-plus of the season with star scorer Rickea Jackson sidelined by injury since averaging 22 points over the first two games.
The Lady Raiders were coming off a 71-57 loss to Belmont on Sunday in Nashville, but they were solid throughout their test against Tennessee. They finished the game with a 37-30 edge in rebounds, and after the first quarter ended tied at 20, they held leads of 37-33 at halftime and 50-45 entering the fourth quarter.