There was an altercation during the handshake line between Middle Tennessee State coach Rick Insell and UTEP coach Keitha Adams following Wednesday's Conference USA women's basketball tournament quarterfinals in Huntsville, the El Paso Times reported.

Adams, whose team lost 78-50, said after the game that the altercation involved her vote for CUSA Coach of the Year in the conference's postseason awards. The award went to Florida International coach Jesyka Burks-Riley, whose squad finished second (11-5) in the conference. Insell's MTSU squad finished 16-0 in league play.

Adams said Insell was upset with her regarding whom she voted for in the coach of the year poll.

Adams, without being asked, said, "For the record, I did vote for him for coach of the year. I'll stand on my record that I voted for him. Him being hot at me for that, he was wrong."

Insell was not asked and did not comment regarding what happened in the handshake line, but did go on a rant about coach of the year voting during the Lady Raiders' postgame press conference.

"I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again … I’m upset at our coaches for some of the statements that have been made," Insell said in the press conference. "Everybody, right now, tells you, 'Hey we voted for you for coach of the year … we voted for this one, we voted for that one.' And it’s good to say that, you know, if you have some transparency and you’re not afraid to put your vote down.

"I’m not afraid to tell you who I voted for. I voted for the FIU coach for coach of the year. At that time she had four losses. She ended up with five. I probably wouldn’t have voted for her. But I didn’t know I could have voted for myself either. If I had known that I would have voted for myself, because I know how hard these guys work."

Insell went on to note how MTSU lost a five-year starter (Alexis Whittington) and a WNBA draft pick (Kseniya Malashka) to graduation, a heavily played guard to the transfer portal in Courtney Blakely (now at Arizona) and an incoming freshman expected to see significant playing time in Jada Harrison (foot injury).

"There’s four big-time players this program has lost," Insell said. "Then they put the target on your back that you’re going to win it all. But let me tell you something, and you can ask (the players) ... it wasn’t easy. To say it was easy and to say we should have done it … that’s B.S., to be honest with you. And they’re one of four teams in Conference USA history to go undefeated. You can label it a lot of things, but you can’t label it 'They should have.'"

MORE: MTSU women's basketball's Savannah Wheeler named Conference USA Player of the Year

Burks-Riley led FIU to a second-place finish in the league after the team was picked to finish seventh.

MTSU (27-4 overall) advanced to Friday's semifinals (5:30 p.m.) between the winner of the Louisiana Tech vs. Jacksonville State quarterfinal game played Thursday.

The Lady Raiders trailed early, shooting just 5-of-25 from the field (0-of-14 from 3-point range), but caught fire late in the second quarter and in the second half in the blowout win. Courtney Whitson finished with 21 points, including six 3-pointers, and nine rebounds, while Jalynn Gregory scored 18 points.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: Rick Insell-Keitha Adams altercation: MTSU coach blasts CUSA awards