WKU Game Notes (PDF) | Live Stream (C-USA TV) | Live Audio | Live Stats
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Coming off one of its most complete all-around performances of the season, WKU is set to host Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. inside E.A. Diddle Arena to close the first week of C-USA play. The Lady Toppers and Monarchs are meeting for the ninth time since 2014-15, with WKU having won each of the eight previous meetings since joining the league.
In its most recent game on Thursday, WKU used 10-0 runs in each half and led by as many as 25 points in a 76-58 win over Charlotte in its C-USA opener. Dee Givens (26 points) and Raneem Elgedawy (23) each hit career-high scoring marks in the victory.
WKU's longtime rivalry with Old Dominion dates back to the 1980s when both were members of the Sun Belt. The two sides met seven times in eight years in the Sun Belt Tournament between 1983-90, with the Lady Toppers winning three of those postseason matchups.
Ajah Wayne has been one of the top freshmen in C-USA this season and leads Old Dominion in scoring (13.0) and rebounding (9.3) per game. Taylor Edwards (12.2) and Victoria Morris (11.8) also score in double digits, and Edwards has served as the team's top point guard, dishing out a team-best 56 assists through 13 games.
After Saturday's matchup, WKU will be off for a week as it prepares for just one C-USA game next week, squaring off against Marshall inside Diddle Arena next Saturday at 2 p.m.
GAME #16 / C-USA GAME #2 – WKU VS. OLD DOMINION
WKU (7-8, 1-0 C-USA) vs. Old Dominion (9-4, 0-1 C-USA)
January 5, 2019 | 2:00 p.m. (CT)
Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena (7,523)
QUICK SHOTS
- With its win on Thursday evening over Charlotte, WKU established a new school record for consecutive conference victories inside Diddle Arena. The decision over the 49ers was the Lady Toppers' 20th straight C-USA home win dating back to Feb. 25, 2016, topping the previous record of 19 straight wins in the Sun Belt from Jan. 9, 1991, to Feb. 20, 1994.
- Over its first five seasons as a member of Conference USA, WKU owns a 60-11 mark against the rest of the league since joining and posted a 12-4 record last season.
- Dee Givens fell just one point shy of matching the program record for points in a quarter on Thursday evening, tallying 15 of her career-high 26 points in the third quarter. Givens was 5-for-6 from the floor in the period, including a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range.
- Old Dominion's second-year head coach Nikki McCray-Penson has a close connection to WKU, previously serving as an assistant coach for the Lady Toppers during the 2007-08 campaign. That season, McCray-Penson helped the Lady Toppers to a 26-8 record, the Sun Belt Tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament in what was also recently-inducted WKU Hall of Famer Crystal Kelly's final season on The Hill.
- WKU has enjoyed one of its best shooting seasons in recent memory and has hit the 50 percent mark from the floor in seven games already this season. The Lady Toppers shot 50 percent or better only six times in the previous two seasons combined and have not had more games over 50 percent since 2014-15, when they hit the mark nine times. Since Greg Collins has been on The Hill in 2012-13, WKU is 31-3 when shooting 50 percent or better.
- This season, WKU's defense has limited its opponents to fewer than 70 points on six occasions, coming away with a win in all five games. Over the last three seasons dating back to 2016-17, the Lady Toppers have posted a 49-3 record when holding their opponents under 70 points, including a perfect 31-0 mark when limiting them to fewer than 60 points.
- Through 15 games, WKU ranks sixth in the nation in most free throws made, knocking down 228 shots from the charity stripe. The Lady Toppers have made 23 more free throws than the next closest C-USA squad (Louisiana Tech) and are making an average of 15.2 free throws per contest. For the year, WKU is just shy of making more free throws than its opponents have attempted, with the opposition combining for 244 attempts.
- 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 44 total steals, an average of 2.9 per game, this season, a number that ranks 11th among all qualifying Division I players. Givens' 44 steals is also the top mark among all C-USA players.
- 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' .895 (68-of-76) percentage ranks second in the nation among all Division I players who have attempted at least 70 free throws this season.
- WKU moved one step closer to the 1,000-win plateau with its victory against Charlotte on Jan. 3. The Lady Toppers now sit just nine 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 15 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 17.6 giveaways per game. The Lady Toppers have forced double-digit turnovers in 67 straight games dating back to a Jan. 7, 2017, contest at Old Dominion.
- Through 15 games, Raneem Elgedawy and Meral Abdelgawad have combined to score 370 of WKU's 1,142 points, just under a third of the team's total. In addition to their scoring, the duo has combined for 156 rebounds, also just under a third of the team's total of 498.
- 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.
- WKU put together an 11-1 record inside Diddle Arena last season and has posted a 79-15 record inside the friendly confines of its home arena since Greg Collins has been with the program in 2012-13. The Lady Toppers picked up their second straight win inside Diddle in Thursday's 76-58 win over Charlotte.
- 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.
- 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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