Lady Toppers Power Past Oklahoma

Wednesday, December 4

Bowling Green, Ky.

6 PM

Western Kentucky University

-62,00 CUSA

Oklahoma

4-4,0-0Big 12

Oklahoma

Western Ky.

Photo by: WKU Athletics

12/4/2019 10:44:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score VIDEO: Greg Collins Postgame Press Conference VIDEO: Whitney Creech and Dee Givens Postgame Press Conference

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The WKU women's basketball team needed a bounce-back win and that's exactly what they did against Oklahoma on Wednesday night in E.A. Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers took down the Sooners, 74-63.

WKU moves to 6-2 on the season and remain perfect at home with a 4-0 record in Diddle. Wednesday's win against Oklahoma was the first win by WKU against a Big 12 team since a 61-56 win against Texas on Jan. 11, 1990.

"This kind of defines our team at this point," said head coach Greg Collins. "We needed a big win for our confidence. I told the kids, 'People are going to realize you're legit now.' This program (Oklahoma) in the last 20 years has been one of the most solid basketball programs in the country. They've been to 19 of the last 20 NCAA Tournaments which is pretty phenomenal."

The Lady Toppers have recorded a win against a team from a Power Five (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC or Pac 12) in five of the last six seasons.

"As far as a win for this program, we've had big wins here at Western Kentucky. In the big scheme of things, it's just another one but for me and this team right now, this is big one for us. To win at home in front of our fans it keeps moving that bar forward."

For the fourth straight game WKU was led in scoring by Raneem Elgedawy. The junior finished the night with 23 points and one rebound shy of a double-double. Averaging 17.1 points this season, Elgedawy now leads Conference USA in scoring.

Dee Givens had an 18-point outing along with seven rebounds and three steals. Whitney Creech continued her streak of double-digit points with 17 on the night. She also had five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sherry Porter added eight points and had a career-high five steals.

WKU forced Oklahoma into 31 turnovers, the most a Lady Topper team has forced since FIU had 31 on New Year's Day in 2017. WKU has forced every opponent this season into double-digit miscues and now has four games of 20-plus opponent turnovers.

Oklahoma jumped out to an early lead, but WKU hung around for the first quarter. The Lady Toppers came out of the break to start the second quarter with energy though and took their first lead 56 seconds in on back-to-back 3-pointers from Givens. The two teams traded baskets throughout the rest of the frame, but WKU managed to stay ahead and took a 31-30 lead into halftime.

The Lady Toppers opened the third quarter with a 9-0 run and outscored the Sooners 25-10 in the period. WKU took an 18-point lead at the 4:42 mark, its largest of the night. Taylor Robertson, the nation's leading career 3-point percentage shooter, caught fire after being held to zero threes in the game previously. She rattled off three from beyond the arc to keep the Lady Toppers from extending the lead even further.

In the fourth quarter, Oklahoma got the score within three points but Elgedawy knocked down a 3-pointer to stop the bleeding. From there, WKU outscored the Sooners 14-7 to put the game away.

WKU hits the road until 2020 with five-straight away games. That road stretch begins Saturday at Ball State. Tip-off between the Lady Toppers and the Cardinals is 2:30 p.m.

Season tickets and single-game tickets for Lady Topper basketball games are now on sale. Tickets can be purchased online (here) or by calling 1-800-5-BIGRED. Tickets can also be purchased in-person at the WKU Ticket Office located in E.A. Diddle Arena.

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.