Game Info
WKU vs. Purdue
Wednesday, Nov. 10 | 6:30 p.m.
Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena
Watch (ESPN+) | Listen (ESPN 102.7) | Live Stats
Game notes: WKU | Purdue
Game Promotions
- Military Appreciation Night – free admission with a valid Military ID
- First 1,000 fans will receive Lady Topper Basketball Red Towel
- First 150 students will receive free Bojangles
- Halftime performance by Learnin' The Ropes
- $5 tickets (Link)
About the Lady Toppers
- WKU is 35-13 in season openers and 39-9 in home openers since the 1973-74 season. The Lady Toppers have opened the season with a Power Five opponent in five straight seasons, having played Missouri (2017), Louisville (2018 and 2019) and Tennessee (2020) previously.
- The Lady Toppers unofficially opened the season with a 112-72 win against West Virginia State in the team's lone exhibition game of the season. WKU pushed the tempo of the game, turning the Yellow Jackets over 37 times and getting off 71 field goal attempts in the game.
- It will be a mostly new WKU squad taking the floor in 2021-22 with five returners and seven newcomers. Meral Abdelgawad and Hope Sivori are the top returning scorers. Tori Hunter, Selma Kulo and Jordan Smith will also be back for the Lady Toppers. WKU welcomed two transfers in Teresa Faustino and Gabby McBride and signed five freshmen, Macey Blevins, Jaylin Foster, Alexis Mead, Mya Meredith and Jenna Walker.
- The freshmen combined to score 64 points against West Virginia State. Jaylin Foster led the way with 16 points while Alexis Mead had 15 and Macey Blevins added 10.
- Abdelgawad is the lone senior and upperclassman for WKU. The Lady Toppers are the only team in Conference USA with only one upperclassman. All other teams have at least four.
- Sivori and Abdelgawad will be looking to add to their breakout seasons last year. Sivori was named the C-USA Co-Freshman of the Year and Abdelgawad earned All-Defensive Team honors after notching 60 steals on the season.
- Greg Collins enters his fourth season as head for WKU. In his three seasons on the sidelines, Collins has amassed 49 wins and his teams have posted a 72.0 winning percentage in Diddle Arena.
- The 2021-22 season is the 60th for WKU women's basketball.
Series History
- WKU and Purdue have played three times in series history. The Lady Toppers hold a 2-1 record in the series.
- Most recently, WKU traveled to West Lafayette on Dec. 18, 2019 where the Boilermakers won, 67-50. Whitney Creech was the leading scorer for WKU in that games with 16 points and Raneem Elgedawy had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Meral Abdelgawad was the only current Lady Topper to play in that game. She had six points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
- The Lady Toppers' two wins in the series came in the 1970s. The first coming in 1976 in West Lafayette (78-60) and the second in 1977 in Bowling Green (67-57).
- The Boilermakers are entering year one of the Katie Gearlds era. An All-American at Purdue, Gearlds takes over after spending the last eight seasons at NAIA Marian. She won two national championships and was named NAIA National Coach of the Year three times while at Marian.
- Sophomore guard Madison Layden returns to Purdue after earning Big Ten All-Freshman honors last season.
- The Boilermakers took on Findlay in an exhibition game on Sunday, getting an 89-64 win. Purdue shot 36 3-pointers in the game, which is three more than the school record. Layden led the Boilermakers with 22 points and Cassidy Hardin had 18 coming from six threes.
- Purdue finished last season 7-16 overall and 4-14 in the Big Ten.
Up Next
- WKU will travel to Manhattan, Kansas for the 2021 Preseason WNIT. The Lady Toppers will play three games in the Sunflower State, taking on North Carolina A&T (Nov. 12), Kansas State (Nov. 14) and UT Martin (Nov. 15).
- The Lady Toppers will return home to host Kentucky State on Sunday, Nov. 21. That game is set for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
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.
