Lady Toppers Win Third Straight with 77-65 Win Against Tennessee State

Sunday, November 28

Bowling Green, Ky.

2 PM

Western Kentucky University

-43,00 CUSA

Tennessee State

3-3,0-0OVC

Tennessee St.

Western Ky.

Photo by: Steve Roberts, WKU Athletics

Lady Toppers Win Third Straight with 77-65 Win Against Tennessee State

11/28/2021 6:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score HC Greg Collins Postgame Press Conference Alexis Mead and Mya Meredith Postgame Press Conference

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For a game with zero ties and zero lead changes, WKU women's basketball 77-65 win against Tennessee State kept fans on pins and needles. The Lady Toppers led the entire game, but couldn't get the lead to double digits until the fourth quarter. The Tigers were able to cut it to a single possession game with 2:44 left, but WKU ended the game on a 11-2 scoring run sparked by eight points from freshman Alexis Mead.

"This bunch – they're winners," said head coach Greg Collins. "They want to win and they want to be champions. They want to be successful at a high level. You can see that not just in this game, but I see it every day in practice. I see it when they're in the gym on their own all the time. There's things we have to learn as a team on how to play together."

WKU improves to 4-3 on the season with the victory and have won three straight games. The Lady Toppers also move to 3-1 in E.A. Diddle Arena this season.

Meral Abdelgawad led WKU in scoring for the fourth time this season with 18 points along with eight rebounds, three steals, a block and a steal. Mya Meredith and Alexis Mead each added 16 points each. It was the first time WKU has had three players score 15-or-more points in a game since a 100-99 triple overtime win against Charlotte last season.

Mead also had a career high six assists along with four rebounds. Meredith tied her career high with seven rebounds.

Abdelgawad scored the first nine points of the game for WKU, putting the Lady Toppers ahead 9-4. The two teams traded baskets the remainder of the quarter and WKU took a 16-12 lead into the second quarter.

There were 11 combined turnovers in the second quarter between the two teams. Meredith put up six points in the period and Hope Sivori scored five straight to end the quarter to give WKU a 31-25 lead after Tennessee State got within one.

WKU scored 20 points in the third quarter, but Tennessee State went toe-to-toe with the Lady Toppers, pulling within three at the 1:41 mark. Once again WKU scored five straight points to end the quarter to take a five-point lead, this time it was a Jaylin Foster layup and Mead three.

The Lady Toppers opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 run sparked by back-to-back threes from Mead and Jenna Walker to give the Lady Toppers their largest lead of the game at 59-45. Scoring went back-and-forth until an 8-0 run by Tennessee State cut the WKU lead to three. Once again, the young WKU team responded with an 8-0 run of their own and outscored the Tigers 11-2 down the stretch. Eight of those 11 points at the end of the game from Mead.

"We're a young team obviously, but we're capable of playing maturely," said Mead. "We all know how to play basketball, it doesn't matter if you're a freshman or not, it's about whether you're a good basketball player. We're able to play maturely, we're able to take care of the ball and we've been able to get off good runs, especially to start of games. That's something we've been trying to work on, just trying to get off to good starts. It's a progress, but we're getting better each day."

Twelve of WKU's 26 points in the fourth quarter came from beyond the arc. The Lady Toppers shot just 2-of-8 from 3-point range in the first half, but connected for 6-of-16 in the second half, including 4-of-11 in the final frame.

The Lady Toppers forced Tennessee State into 24 turnovers, the second most miscues the Tigers have committed this season. WKU has forced 20-plus turnovers in five of seven games this season.

"We learned how to stay together as a team. Even though the game got heated, we stayed together as a team and kept picking up the pace," said Meredith.

WKU will hit the road to take on Bellarmine on Thursday, Dec. 2 in Louisville, Kentucky. The Lady Toppers will return home Sunday, Dec. 5 against Tennessee Tech for the final non-conference game in Diddle Arena of the season.

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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