BOCA RATON, Fla. — The WKU women's basketball team extended a pair of streaks with a 69-56 win at Florida Atlantic on Saturday afternoon. The Lady Toppers won their 10th straight game and also moved to 20 wins on the season, marking the eighth consecutive season with 20-plus wins. That streak is the now the longest in program history, topping the seven-season streak achieved by the Lady Toppers from the 1982-83 season to the 1988-89 season.
WKU improves to 20-6 on the season and 12-3 in Conference USA with the win.
Raneem Elgedawy got her 14th double-double of the season against the Owls with 20 points and 14 rebounds. She's now tied for the ninth most double-doubles by a Lady Toppers in a single season.
Dee Givens poured in 12 points along with six steals, tying her season high in takeaways. Givens has now scored in double figures in nine consecutive games. Whitney Creech added 10 points along with six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
With less than a minute expired in the game, Elgedawy found an open Meral Abdelgawad streaking to the basket for the first points of the game. WKU and FAU traded baskets the next few trips down the floor, but once the Owls took a one-point lead the Lady Toppers answered with a 6-0 run. The Owls would cut it to one point with 3:37 left in the quarter but once again WKU had the answer, going on a 9-0 run to end the period and taking a 19-9 lead into the second quarter.
The Lady Toppers got their lead up to 14 points in the second quarter three different times, but the Owls scored seven straight points to end the quarter. FAU outscored WKU 13-10 in the frame.
FAU scored the first four points of the second half, making it a three-point game. WKU had another answer with an 11-2 run that would put them back ahead by 12 points. FAU flipped the script and went on a 9-2 run of their own to get within five points. After going back and forth, the Lady Toppers scored the last six points of the third quarter for a 53-42 lead going into the final period.
WKU outscored FAU 16-14 in the fourth quarter to claim a 69-56 victory.
The Lady Toppers improved to 16-0 this season when outrebounding their opponent, outdoing FAU 42-35 on the boards. In a game that featured only six combined 3-pointers, post play was crucial. In addition to WKU's win in the rebounding battle, the Lady Toppers also outscored the Owls 44-20 in the paint.
WKU forced FAU into 22 turnovers in the game, marking the 11th time this season the Lady Toppers have pressured an opponent into 20-plus miscues. Taking advantage of turnovers has been a focus of head coach Greg Collins and the Lady Toppers converted those turnovers into 30 points. WKU also registered 14 steals against the Owls, the second highest total of the season.
The Lady Toppers will take a week off before traveling to Middle Tennessee for the final road game of the season on Saturday, Feb. 29. WKU will close out the regular season at home against Charlotte (March 5) and Louisiana Tech (March 7).
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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