WKU Game Notes (PDF) | Live Stream (C-USA TV) | Live Audio | Live Stats
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Fresh off a nine-day break for the holidays, Lady Topper Basketball will return to the court on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. inside E.A. Diddle Arena as WKU hosts Union (Tenn.), currently undefeated and the top-ranked team in Division II. The two sides are meeting in the regular season for the first time since a 64-58 WKU victory on Feb. 17, 1983.
In WKU's most recent outing, the Lady Toppers hung tight with No. 2/2 Notre Dame in the second half, only being outscored by three points over the final 20 minutes in the 94-53 decision. The Fighting Irish were the fourth top-15 opponent WKU has faced in 2018-19.
While WKU and Union have not met in the regular season since 1983, the two sides did square off in a preseason exhibition last season, with WKU earning a 101-58 win over the Lady Bulldogs, buoyed by a 20-point, 14-rebound performance by Raneem Elgedawy.
Morgan Martin leads the 11-0 Lady Bulldogs with 17.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game and is joined in double figures for scoring by Jada Smith (13.8) and Jada Perkins (12.7). Perkins and Smith also lead the team in assists, combining for 115 through 11 games. Union averages just under 80 points as a team and is outscoring its opponents by 23 points per outing.
Saturday's bout will double as the non-conference finale for WKU, who will enter C-USA play against Charlotte (Thursday, Jan. 3) and Old Dominion (Saturday, Jan. 5) next week.
GAME #14 – WKU VS. UNION (TENN.)
WKU (5-8, 0-0 C-USA) vs. Union (Tenn.) (11-0, 4-0 Gulf South)
December 29, 2018 | 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena (7,523)
QUICK SHOTS
- While the Lady Toppers and Lady Bulldogs have not met since the 1982-83 regular season, the two sides do share a close recent connection. Bria Gaines, who reached two NCAA Tournaments at WKU in 2013-14 and 2014-15, transferred and finished her collegiate playing career at Union. Gaines now serves as a volunteer assistant coach for the Lady Bulldogs.
- Through 13 games, WKU ranks seventh in the nation in most free throws made, knocking down 195 shots from the charity stripe. The Lady Toppers have made 16 more free throws than the next closest C-USA squad (Louisiana Tech) and are making an average of 15 free throws per contest.
- Dee Givens entered the season as WKU's top returner in steals from the 2017-18 campaign and has continued to build on that reputation. Givens has 39 total steals, an average of three per game, this season, a number that ranks 11th among all qualifying Division I players. Givens' 39 steals is also the top mark among all C-USA players.
- In the three games in which she has played 20 or more minutes this season, Arame Niang is averaging 11 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.7 blocks per game and is also shooting 50 percent (13-of-26) from the floor.
- Despite having her streak of 38 consecutive made free throws snapped against Ball State, Dee Givens has enjoyed a strong season from the charity stripe. Givens' .908 (59-of-65) percentage leads the nation among all Division I players who have attempted at least 60 free throws this season.
- WKU moved one step closer to the 1,000-win plateau with its victory against Bellarmine on Dec. 8. The Lady Toppers now sit just 11 wins shy of becoming the 10th program in Division I history to reach that mark.
- Under Greg Collins, WKU has featured a revamped, fast-paced offensive attack this season and is averaging 76.1 points per game through 13 contests. Should WKU average at least 75 points per game this season, the Lady Toppers will have hit that mark in four of the five most recent seasons after previously not doing so since 2004-05.
- WKU has been efficient at forcing turnovers this season, forcing its opponents into an average of 17.4 giveaways per game. The Lady Toppers have forced double-digit turnovers in 65 straight games dating back to a Jan. 7, 2017, contest at Old Dominion.
- After winning C-USA Sixth Player of the Year last season, Dee Givens has stepped up in a big way for the Lady Toppers, moving into the starting lineup and averaging 18.8 points through 13 games this season. The redshirt junior is averaging one point every 98 seconds on the court, only slightly slower than 2018 C-USA Player of the Year Tashia Brown.
- Through 13 games, Raneem Elgedawy and Meral Abdelgawad have combined to score 301 of WKU's 989 points, just under a third of the team's total. In addition to their scoring, the duo has combined for 139 rebounds, also just under a third of the team's total of 444.
- Through 13 games this season, WKU has significantly raised its three-point shooting percentage from last season, knocking down 92 of its 254 (36.2 percent) attempts thus far. Last season, the Lady Toppers were 34.8 percent from beyond the arc. The current 36.2 percent mark would rank ninth in program history for a single season, the highest since a 36.8 percent mark in 2002-03.
- Despite its rally falling just short at Oklahoma on Nov. 10, WKU scored its most points in a single quarter since moving to the system in 2015-16, netting 35 points in the fourth frame against the Sooners. The 35 points were WKU's most since setting the previous record of 33 points in the fourth quarter against Dayton in the WNIT on March 17, 2016.
- The Lady Toppers were picked fourth in the preseason C-USA coaches' poll, but have met or exceeded their expectations in each of the last two years. In 2016-17, WKU won the tournament title after being picked first, and repeated as champions in 2017-18 after a second-place pick.
- Over its first four seasons as a member of Conference USA, WKU owns a 59-11 mark against the rest of the league since joining and posted a 12-4 record last season.
- WKU put together an 11-1 record inside Diddle Arena last season and has posted a 77-15 record inside the friendly confines of its home arena since Greg Collins has been with the program in 2012-13. The Lady Toppers had their three-game home winning streak snapped on Sunday evening in an 86-83 setback against Ball State.
- WKU enters the 2018-19 season having had only five international letterwinners in program history, including sophomore Raneem Elgedawy. This year, the Lady Toppers will sport three international student-athletes on the roster, with Arame Niang and Meral Abdelgawad joining Elgedawy on The Hill.
- Since becoming a member of C-USA prior to the 2014-15 campaign, WKU has posted a 33-2 record against conference foes inside Diddle Arena, never losing more than one game in a single season. The Lady Toppers currently own a 19-game home winning streak in conference play dating all the way back to a 62-51 win over Middle Tennessee on Feb. 25, 2016.
- In its four seasons as a C-USA member, WKU has claimed a pair of regular season titles and has won the conference tournament three times, including back-to-back wins in both 2017 and 2018. WKU is only the second school in C-USA history to claim back-to-back tournament titles as a league member, joining former member Tulane, who won three straight from 1999-2001.
- In each of Greg Collins' six previous years on WKU's bench, the Lady Toppers have had 20 or more victories, with the team looking to extend that streak in 2018-19. WKU's current streak of six 20-win seasons is its second-longest in program history, trailing only seven straight from 1982-83 to 1988-89 during the Paul Sanderford era. In WKU's modern era (since 1973-74), five of the 10 head coaches have captured 20-win seasons in their debut years on The Hill, most recently with Michelle Clark-Heard's 22 wins in 2012-13.
BROADCAST
Listen: 102.7FM, 1450AM in Bowling Green (Brett Williams, pxp; John Butler, analysis)
Live Stream: C-USA TV (Online Stream)
Live Audio: C-USA TV (Online Audio)
Live Stats: Courtesy of WKU Athletics
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