WKU Hosts UTEP For Pink Game Thursday Night

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The WKU women's basketball team will return home for a three-game homestand starting on Thursday night when the Lady Toppers host UTEP at E.A. Diddle Arena. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

The game will be WKU's Pink Game, serving as an opportunity to raise awareness about Breast Cancer and honor all those affected by the disease. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game and the first 500 fans through the doors will receive a free pink WKU towel.

This week WKU Athletics has partnered with the WKU Food Pantry to replenish the organizations' canned goods stock. Fans will receive one free ticket for every two canned goods they donate.

The Lady Toppers are 16-6 on the season and 8-3 in Conference USA play, ranking third in the league's current standings. UTEP is 13-9 and 6-5 in conference, tied for fifth place in C-USA rankings.

WKU has won six-straight games and are perfect at home this season with an 8-0 record. The Lady Toppers have a 10-game home win streak going, dating back to last season. That streak is tied for the 16th best in the nation and WKU is one of only 19 teams that hasn't lost at home this season in the country.

The Lady Toppers picked up win number 16 at Southern Miss last Saturday behind a few impressive performances. Dee Givens led the team in scoring for the seventh time this season with 26 points. She moved into 15th place on WKU's all-time scoring list with 1,499 career points and jumped up to third all-time in career 3-pointers with 211 made. Whitney Creech was two steals shy of triple-double with 19 points, 11 assists and eight steals. Raneem Elgedawy was one rebound away from her fifth-straight double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.

After a shooting slump, WKU seemed to get back on track at Southern Miss shooting 52.5 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from 3-point range and a season-high 84.6 percent from the free throw line.

WKU and UTEP have met six times prior to Thursday's matchup, with the series being tied 3-3. The Lady Toppers won the lone meeting between the two teams last season, 64-61, in El Paso. Neither team has been able to win consecutive games in the series so far. WKU is 3-1 against the Miners in Bowling Green.

The Miners are led in scoring by Katarina Zec, who is averaging 13.3 points per game, and Ariona Gil, who is putting up 10.7 points per contest. Gil leads UTEP on the boards with a 8.7 rebounds per game average.

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