Middle Tennessee State women's basketball flirted with a Sweet 16 appearance last season after beating Louisville in the first round and then leading LSU at halftime of the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Raiders, who have reached the NCAA Tournament three of the past four seasons, tied a program best with 30 wins and went unbeaten in Conference USA. MTSU received nine of 10 first-place votes in being the preseason favorite in the conference this season.

Can Rick Insell's squad, which is ranked No. 38 in the initial USA Today Sports Coaches poll, repeat or improve on that success in 2024-25, the program's 50th season?

Here are things to know about the Blue Raiders before their season opener at Northern Kentucky Monday:

MTSU women's basketball return wealth of talent

The Blue Raiders lost two key components from last year's 30-5 squad in five-year starter Courtney Whitson and Conference USA Player of the Year Savannah Wheeler.

Whitson is now on the MTSU staff as Coordinator of Basketball Relations and Wheeler is playing professionally overseas.

While those are huge losses for MTSU, Insell's squad brings back a wealth of talent and depth, including returning starters Anastasiia Boldyreva, Jalynn Gregory and Ta'Mia Scott, as well as the top reserve from two seasons ago, Courtney Blakely.

Boldyreva, a 6-foot-7 senior center from Russia, was the CUSA Defensive Player of the Year last season. She averaged 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. Gregory, a 5-8 senior guard from Lafayette, was second-team all-conference last season after averaging 12.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Scott, a 6-foot junior guard from Clarksville, had a breakout sophomore season in which she averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds a game in being named second-team all-conference. Blakely, a 5-8 senior point guard from Indiana, returns to MTSU after spending her junior season at Arizona. As a sophomore she started 10 games and averaged 7.1 points, three rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Redshirt senior forward Jada Grannum, a 6-3 forward from Canada, should see considerable time off the bench in the paint.

POLL: Women's NCAA Basketball Coaches Poll

Newcomers expected to make big impact for MTSU

MTSU may be as deep as it has been in several years, thanks to a talented crop of freshmen and transfers.

Among those to watch are Elina Arike, a 6-2 fifth-year forward from Finland. She is a Texas Tech transfer who started five games there last season. She is no stranger to CUSA, where she was the league's defensive player of the year in 2022-23 while playing for UTEP (averaging 12 points and 5.6 rebounds). She hit a pair of early 3-pointers in MTSU's exhibition win over UT Southern last week.

Freshman guard Savannah Davis, who was a two-time 1A Miss Basketball at McKenzie and set the TSSAA record for 3-pointers in a game (17) last December, should be heavily involved in the rotation. Redshirt freshman Jada Harrison, a 5-8 guard from Martin, could make an impact after sitting out last season with a foot injury. She was the Class 2A Miss Basketball at Westview during her senior season.

Former Blackman standout and Purdue transfer Emily Monson, a 6-1 guard, should play a role at different positions, and Stanislava Kabernick, a 6-1 redshirt freshman forward from Russia, could make an impact inside.

MTSU women's basketball will get tough tune-ups before CUSA

MTSU will play in-state rival Tennessee for the second straight year, traveling to Knoxville on Nov. 12. The Blue Raiders defeated the Vols 73-62 last season.

Other tough non-conference games include Purdue and Iowa State (in Fort Myers, Florida, Nov. 28 and 30), Belmont (Dec. 7), Kansas State (Bill Snyder Women's Basketball Classic on Dec. 14) and Princeton (which went 25-5, won the Ivy League and reached the NCAA Tournament) on Dec. 29.

The Conference USA opener is Jan. 2 at home against Florida International.

Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@dnj.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: MTSU women's basketball 2024-25 season preview