BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU women's basketball (15-16, 6-10 CUSA) were outdone in the fourth quarter against Liberty (16-15, 11-5 CUSA) in an 84-77 loss on Saturday afternoon in E.A. Diddle Arena.
"We didn't do nearly as good of a job in the second half on defense as we did in the first half," said head coach Greg Collins. "They shot the ball great in the fourth quarter and a lot of that was we were giving up layups and one-on-ones around the rim. We were really having a hard time containing that drive to the basket or the entry to the post. Then we went down and had trouble making layups down that same stretch. You feel like if we maybe could have gotten a bucket and got a stop, maybe we could have got back in a spot where we had a shot to win it. It's frustrating."
WKU was led in scoring by Destiny Salary and Josie Gilvin with 15 points each. Teresa Faustino added 14 points and Alexis Mead had 12. Odeth Betancourt led on the boards, pulling down six rebounds. Faustino notched five steals, tying her season high and Salary had a season high four assists. Mead led the team in helpers with five on the day.
The game featured eight lead changes and three ties with each team leading by double digits at some point. WKU forced Liberty into 17 turnovers, cashing in on 22 points off those miscues. On the flip side, WKU took care of the ball with a season low four turnovers, including just one in the second half. The Flames outrebounded the Lady Toppers, 38-20, and outscored WKU, 36-30, in the paint.
The Lady Toppers started the game flat offensively, scoring their first basket at the 7:34 mark. WKU was down 9-2 when they started a 13-3 run to end the quarter, taking a 15-12 lead into the second period.
The two teams went back and forth most of the second quarter, but the Lady Toppers rattled off a 13-2 run to end the quarter ahead 37-30. Gilvin came in off the bench in the second quarter to score nine points in the frame.
After a WKU basket, Liberty went on an 8-0 run to cut the Lady Topper lead down to one but WKU responded with a 10-0 run to go back ahead 49-38. From there, the two teams traded baskets and the Lady Toppers took a 61-54 lead into the final quarter.
Liberty came out hot in the fourth quarter going on an 11-0 run. Two free throws from Odeth Betancourt stopped the bleeding for the Lady Toppers, but the Flames came back and scored six straight points. From there the two teams went back-and-forth with WKU never getting the score closer than six.
WKU will be back in action next week in the Conference USA Championship in Huntsville, Alabama. The CUSA official bracket will be announced Saturday evening.
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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