BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU women's basketball (4-7, 1-1 C-USA) were unable to hold on to an early lead, falling to Middle Tennessee (10-2, 3-0 C-USA) on Saturday afternoon in E.A. Diddle Arena.
"We still are fighting for consistency," said head coach Greg Collins. "That's experience. Those lessons aren't always easy. We've had some tough lessons and I've felt like we've grown from those, but this is a game we have to learn from as well. We didn't play defense without fouling enough. It's hard to play defense when you keep putting somebody on the free throw line. I am proud of how hard the girls competed."
Aaliyah Pitts led the Lady Toppers in scoring with 21 points for a new career high. She knocked down five 3-pointers in the game, the most of her career in a single game. She also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Acacia Hayes added 19 points for a new career high as well. She added three rebounds and an assist. Alexis Mead finished with 11 points and four assists. Mya Meredith led WKU on the boards with seven rebounds.
The Lady Toppers took advantage in the first quarter, outscoring Middle Tennessee 18-11 in the frame. Pitts scored eight of her points in the period. WKU held the Blue Raiders to 29.4 percent shooting from the field in the quarter.
Middle Tennessee made some headway in the second quarter, but WKU kept the lead behind 4-of-8 shooting from the perimeter. All four threes came from different Lady Toppers. Josie Gilvin, Jaylin Foster, Mead and Pitts all knocked down treys. The Lady Toppers took a 40-38 lead into halftime.
The Blue Raiders opened the second half on a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game. The two teams went back and forth for the rest of the quarter, including two ties and two lead changes. Hope Sivori knocked down a three at the 2:28 mark that put WKU ahead by three. On the other end Middle Tennessee made a layup to cut it to one and that would spark a 12-0 run spanning into the beginning of the fourth quarter that would put Middle Tennessee ahead for good.
Middle Tennessee scored 22 points in the fourth quarter with 15 of those points coming from free throws.
WKU will return to Texas to take on North Texas on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m. The Lady Toppers then come back to Bowling Green to host UTSA on Saturday at 1 p.m.
How to Follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on Lady Topper Hoops, 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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