MACON, Ga. — The WKU women's basketball team earned a hard-fought win on Friday night at Mercer, playing in front of a football homecoming crowd and in the second game of a doubleheader with the men's team. The Lady Toppers escaped Macon with a 75-62 win after a clutch fourth quarter.
WKU was led by four different double-digit scorers on the night. Raneem Elgedawy logged her 12th double-double of her career with 18 points and 19 rebounds. Whitney Creech poured in 17 points, eight of which came in the final quarter. Meral Abdelgawad added 15 points and Dee Givens narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Lady Toppers' win was an impressive one, coming against a NCAA Tournament team in both the 2018-19 and 2017-18 seasons. In 2018-19, the Bears nearly upset 2-seed Iowa. Mercer has gone 105-28 in the last five seasons, including a 48-10 home record with WKU being the 10th.
Mercer scored first, but WKU scored the next 12 points to take the lead. That run was fueled by a pair of 3-pointers from Meral Abdelgawd, Raneem Elgedawy who scored four points and capped by a breakaway layup from Dee Givens after a steal. The Bears didn't go away though, outscoring the Lady Toppers 12-9 in the remainder of the period.
The Lady Toppers struggled offensively in the second period. A free throw from Elgedawy and a three from Whitney Creech opened scoring in the quarter, but outside of a Myriah Haywood free throw WKU didn't score again until the final minute of the frame.
A one-point game going into the third quarter, neither team was able to separate from the other. Play was up-and-down the floor in long stretches for much of the quarter, seeing the Bears outscore the Lady Toppers 20-19 to go into the final quarter tied at 47.
WKU meant business in the fourth quarter, scoring 28 points in the frame. That mark is the most in a quarter for the Lady Toppers since scoring 30 against UTSA on Jan. 31, 2019. The game was still tied at the 6:36 mark, 52-all. Elgedawy made good on an and-one situation, but Mercer answered right back with a layup. Creech knocked down a 3-pointer and Abdelgawad score a contested layup on the very next play. From there, a Sherry Porter three and seven made free throws put the Bears away. Of those seven free throws, five of them came from Creech.
There were seven ties and five lead changes throughout the game overall.
The Lady Toppers pulled down 51 rebounds in the game compared to Mercer's 27.
WKU will be back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 13 against Belmont in the home opener. That game is set for a 6 p.m. tip.
How to Follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Lady Topper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @LadyTopperHoops on Twitter, @LadyTopperHoops on Instagram and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUWomensBasketball.
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