Lady Toppers Bounce Back at UAB

Saturday, February 25

Birmingham, AL

2 PM

Western Kentucky University

-1512,126 CUSA

UAB

-1216,415 CUSA

Western Ky.

UAB

2/25/2023 5:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — WKU women's basketball got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon in Birmingham with a 91-69 win against UAB. The Lady Toppers took a big lead in the first half, going ahead 46-25 at the break, to cruise to victory.

"We started off with defense," said head coach Greg Collins. "That's what we talked about. If shots go in then our defense is better. That's what we want to do, but even when it's not we can't give up these big runs in the first quarter and dig out all the time. So, I really challenged them. I told them, 'You have 30 seconds. If you don't play defense, you're coming out.' They all locked in."

Acacia Hayes led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from the free throw line. The freshman tied her season high with four steals in the game and had four rebounds and three assists. Mya Meredith put up 18 points behind five first half 3-pointers to go along with three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Teresa Faustino added 12 points and Hope Sivori had 11. Alexis Mead had eight points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.

WKU made 14 threes in the game, marking the fourth time this season the Lady Toppers have made 14 treys or more in a game. That mark brings WKU's season total to 237 made threes which is the second most in a single season in WKU history. The 2022-23 Lady Toppers are just six threes away from breaking the record.

The Lady Toppers bounced back from shooting woes in the last two games, shooting 53.4 percent (31-58) from the field, including 48.3 percent (14-29) from beyond the arc. It was WKU's best shooting since going 54.7 percent from the floor at Florida Atlantic on Jan. 16. The Lady Toppers improve to 10-1 on the season when shooting better than 40 percent.

WKU forced UAB into 20 turnovers, marking the 15th game this season the Lady Toppers have forced an opponent into 20-plus miscues.

UAB scored first, but back-to-back threes from Mya Meredith and Acacia Hayes built an early 6-2 lead three minutes into the game. The Blazers responded with a three of their own, but WKU rattled off a 9-0 run to push the lead to 10. UAB closed out the quarter with a pair of threes in the final minute, but WKU took a 17-11 lead into the second.

WKU opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run behind layups from Josie Gilvin, Hayes and Aaliyah Pitts. Meredith hit three 3-pointers in the span of just over a minute to push WKU ahead by 16. With 4:20 left in the quarter, WKU went on a 10-0 run to go ahead 24. The Blazers closed the quarter, outscoring UAB 7-4 for a score of 46-25 at the halftime break.

The third quarter was back-and-forth with neither team scoring more than four consecutive points. Overall, the Blazers outscored WKU by one in the frame. The two teams traded baskets again in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Toppers outdid the Blazers 24-22.

WKU will close out the regular season next week with a pair of games at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers will host UTEP on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. WKU and the Miners are currently tied for second place in the C-USA standings. WKU previously defeated UTEP in El Paso, coming back from 19 down.

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.