BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU women's basketball (6-5) dropped a 67-59 decision to Ball State on Sunday in E.A. Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers were able to get within six in the fourth quarter, but couldn't complete the comeback.
"I changed the lineup to try and help us get a little bigger," said head coach Greg Collins. "Our size I felt like has hurt us in rebounding, but then it hurt us tonight because we weren't able to get out to the 3-point shooters quickly enough. We had possession, down six three times and just never got a bucket."
Acacia Hayes was WKU's leading scorer with 22 points, her third 20-point game of the season. She also had a career high five assists along with four steals and three rebounds. Josie Gilvin finished with a season high 10 points. Karris Allen led the squad on the boards with eight rebounds, matching her career high.
Hayes scored the first points of the game at the 8:39 mark on a layup, but Ball State responded by scoring the next seven points, including two 3-pointers. Hayes stopped the bleeding with a pair of free throws, but the Cardinals added four more points. The two teams traded baskets to finish out the quarter, but Ball State connected on three 3-pointers to go 6-of-8 from beyond the arc during the period.
WKU opened the second quarter on a 4-0 run, getting within four of the Cardinals. Both teams went back and forth, but six straight points from Ball State midway through the quarter pushed the lead back to 10. WKU ended the quarter down 10.
The Cardinals opened the third quarter with a three and after WKU made a pair of free throws, Ball State hit two more threes to go ahead by 17. Hayes made back-to-back threes and Allen scored a basket to cut the lead back down to nine. From there, the two teams went back and forth and Ball State ended the quarter with a 51-41 lead.
Neither team scored through the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, but Ball State stopped the drought with a layup at the 7:51 mark. Gilvin and Teresa Faustino then hit back-to-back threes for WKU, cutting the lead down to six. The Cardinals responded with a three of their own, but Gilvin came down and made another three. After trading baskets, WKU was looking to make a defensive stop, but fouled the Cardinals twice. Ball State went 3-of-4 from the free throw line on those two trips to go back ahead by nine. WKU was able to get it down to seven two more times, but that was as close as the Lady Toppers could get.
WKU will be back in action on Monday, Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. against Abilene Christian in E.A. Diddle Arena.
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 X, @LadyTopperHoops on Instagram and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUWomensBasketball.
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