BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Lady Topper Hoops will walk away from its lone exhibition of the season with a win after defeating Lindsey Wilson 84-61 at home. WKU had nine Lady Toppers score, with three in double-figures, as 12 players saw action on the floor.
"I'm just proud of all of the amazing ways we played," said head coach Greg Collins. "We're a work in progress, I know that we've got to get better, but the number one thing we need to do is play somebody else and see what those things are in live play. I'm proud of our efforts, I know that we got room to grow and improve, but you can tell there's a lot of enthusiasm and passion out there and there's a lot of potential so stay tuned."
After getting down 2-5 to start the game, WKU rattled off nine straight points. The Lady Toppers had three different scorers during the stretch, holding Lindsey Wilson scoreless for five minutes from 7:59 to 2:59.
The Blue Raiders scored the first basket of the second quarter before WKU went on a 14-2 run between the 9:19 and 6:23 marks, taking its lead from 16-12 to 30-14. By halftime, the Lady Toppers were ahead 42-24.
WKU extended its lead to 20 points in the third quarter using a 11-2 lead. Junior Odeth Beckencourt, sophomore Macey Blevins, freshman Karris Allen and freshman Acacia Hayes all contributed to the run that moved the score from 42-31 to 53-33.
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth game between the Lady Toppers and Blue Raiders. WKU was only ever able to extend its lead to 27 points and Lindsey Wilson got as close as 23 points.
WKU forced 21 Lindsey Wilson turnovers, scoring 26 points off of those miscues. The Lady Toppers assisted on 22 of their 32 baskets. They added 14 steals with four each from Hayes and sophomore Alexis Mead.
Hayes led the Red and White in scoring with 22 points, adding four rebounds and two assists to her four steals. The Murfreesboro, Tenn., native shot 3 of 5 from beyond the arc and a total of 8 of 13 from the floor.
"I think there was a lot of nerves, and we can have some improvement to do," said Hayes on the opening game. "I think we need to play with a lot more energy on both ends of the floor."
Blevins was also in double-figure scoring for WKU with 19 points. She tacked on three rebounds and four assists in just 17 minutes.
"Yeah, I feel like we've just been playing against our practice players, shout out to them though, because they come to every practice," said Blevins on the start to the season. "But we're really excited just to play against some other competition so that was fun."
Jordy Stephens filled the stat sheet for Lindsey Wilson with 11 points, five rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
WKU officially opens its season at home against Vanderbilt on Monday, November 7, inside E.A. Diddle Arena at 6:30 p.m. CT.
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