BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU women's basketball got back in the win column on Wednesday night with an 88-61 win against Kentucky Wesleyan in E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Lady Toppers (8-1) recuperated from their cold shooting at Wichita State with a season high 56.7 percent shooting night from the field against the Panthers (4-2).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Josie Gilvin scored the first points of the game on a putback and Alexis Mead put the Lady Toppers ahead 4-0 on a layup just a few seconds later. Mead went off in the first quarter, scoring 13 points in the frame. The Lady Toppers held a lead the whole period, but a 9-0 run later in the quarter helped WKU take a double-digit lead. WKU was ahead 23-15 at the end of the frame.
With 8:40 left in the second quarter, Kentucky Wesleyan cut the score to eight, but WKU responded with a 13-2 run to take a 38-19 lead. From there the Panthers outscored the Lady Toppers 12-8, giving WKU a 46-31 lead at halftime.
The Lady Toppers opened the third quarter on a 11-0 run to take a 26-point lead with 6:36 left in the quarter. The two teams went back and forth the rest of the quarter but five straight points from Mariama Sow to end the quarter gave WKU a 71-41 lead going into the final quarter.
Four different Lady Toppers scored off the bench in the fourth quarter. Salma Khedr had six, Torri James had five, Caleigh-Rose West had four and Tia Shelling had her first WKU points in the frame.
NOTABLES
· Alexis Mead led WKU in scoring for the third straight game with 19 points along with four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Mead moved into the top 10 at WKU in career steals with 197 during her time on The Hill. She is now tied for 10th place with Shea Lunsford and is six steals away from seventh place (currently three players tied in seventh). She moved into 37th place on WKU's all-time scoring list with 1,086 career points, passing Micah Jones (1,068), Mary Taylor (1,072), Kristina Covington (1,076) and Leslie Johnson (1,079). She's three assists and 13 made 3-pointers away from breaking into WKU's career top 10 in each category.
· Mead has scored in double figures in eight straight games and has had 15-plus in three straight.
· WKU shot a season high 56.7 percent from the field and assisted on 24 of 38 made field goals, both of which were season highs as well.
· The Lady Toppers outrebounded Kentucky Wesleyan, 39-28, improving to 5-0 this season when outdoing their opponent on the boards.
· WKU held the Panthers to 61 points. The Lady Toppers have not given up more than 69 points in a game this season and move to 89-25 under Collins when keeping teams below 70.
· Josie Gilvin had career highs in rebounds (9) and assists (5) to go along with 10 points.
· Zsofia Telegdy also added 10 points.
· Caleigh-Rose West and Yendri Acosta each played their first games as Lady Toppers while West and Tia Shelling scored their first points at WKU.
· The Lady Toppers improve to 4-0 against Kentucky Wesleyan all-time.
QUOTABLE
Head coach Greg Collins:
"We wanted to come back and play well. We expected to win the game but we expected to win the game at Wichita. We didn't shoot the ball well and we didn't play well in that one quarter. It was good tonight to get back. You see the assists, the shooting percentage and the things that have been pretty consistent throughout the season except for last Sunday. It was good to get everyone in the game. Kentucky Wesleyan is one of the best Division II teams in the country. They turn people over. That was one of the things we talked about at halftime. We had a lot of unforced turnovers. We have to be a little more patient and deliberate about what we're doing with the ball."
Senior guard Alexis Mead:
"We put in a lot of work in practice, coming off that loss. It was a tough loss for us, but we wanted to come in here and make sure we handled business."
Junior guard Josie Gilvin:
"We definitely put an emphasis on finding people and finding the right shots. So, that's what we tried to do a lot tonight – finding those shots and having good possessions."
NEXT UP
The Lady Toppers will travel west to play in the Maui Classic hosted by Oregon State in Maui, Hawaii. WKU will face the Beavers on Dec. 19 and Nevada on Dec. 20.
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.
