WKU Continues C-USA Opening Week at Rice

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The WKU women's basketball team will be looking to bounce back after dropping the Conference USA opener against North Texas on Thursday. The Lady Toppers won't have it easy, taking on preseason C-USA favorite and 2019 champion Rice on Saturday at 2 p.m.

WKU dropped to 8-4 on the season and 0-1 in C-USA play with Thursday's loss. Rice opened C-USA play with an 81-43 win against Rice on Thursday to improve to 6-6.

Raneem Elgedawy led the Lady Toppers against North Texas with 15 points and nine rebounds. Dee Givens was the second-leading scorer, putting up 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds as well.

The series between WKU and Rice is currently tied, 3-3. The Lady Toppers won the first three contests of the series, but the Owls have won three straight against WKU including last season's thrilling C-USA Championship semifinals last season.

The Lady Toppers have three players averaging double digit points this season. Elgedawy is averaging 16.8 points per game. Whitney Creech is putting up 16.3 points per game and Givens is scoring 15.7 points. Elgedawy leads WKU on the glass, pulling down 10.2 boards per game. Creech is the leading assist earner on the team, dishing out 4.3 assists per game.

Rice features the 2019 C-USA Player of the Year in Erica Ogwumike and Nancy Mulker, last season's C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. Ogwumike is averaging 15.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Mulker is the conference's leading shot blocker and her 3.20 blocks per game is the seventh best average in the nation.

WKU remains the top C-USA team in the RPI rankings, coming in at 41st. The league features three teams in the top 50 (Old Dominion-44, Charlotte-46) and four in the top 100 (Middle Tennessee-68).

Following Saturday's game at Rice, WKU will return home to face UAB (Jan. 9) and Middle Tennessee (Jan. 11) after over a month away from E.A. Diddle Arena and five straight road games.

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.

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Players Mentioned

Whitney Creech

Raneem Elgedawy

Dee Givens