Lady Toppers earn gritty 69-61 win against LA Tech

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU women’s basketball added another tally in the win column on Thursday afternoon with a 69-61 win against Louisiana Tech in E.A. Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers have now won four straight games.

WKU (13-5, 4-2 CUSA) led LA Tech (11-7, 4-3 CUSA) from start to finish, but had to hold off several Lady Techster runs to keep the lead. There were eight total runs of 5-or-more consecutive points by both teams, four on each side.

HOW IT HAPPENED

WKU got on the board first on a layup from Alexis Mead. The Lady Toppers are 9-1 this season when scoring first. The two teams went back-and-forth but a 14-1 run by WKU put the Lady Toppers ahead 19-5 with 3:38 left in the first quarter. LA Tech responded with their own run to end the quarter, outscoring WKU 11-2 in the final minutes. The Lady Toppers went into the second quarter with a 21-16 lead.

The Lady Toppers scored the first four points of the second quarter to go back ahead by nine, but LA Tech cut into the lead with an 8-2 run. WKU responded by scoring 12 unanswered points to go ahead, 39-24, but once again the Lady Techsters put together a run of their own, outscoring WKU 8-0 in the final two and half minutes to cut WKU’s lead down to 39-32 at halftime.

WKU outscored LA Tech 15-11 in the third quarter, never letting the Lady Techsters get any closer than five points.

The Lady Toppers had a 10-point lead with 7:36 left in the fourth quarter, but a 7-0 Lady Techster run made it a 58-55 game with 5:05 left. Destiny Salary made a pair of free throws and Zsophia Telegdy knocked down a baseline jumper to keep LA Tech at bay and then the Lady Toppers scored five straight points to take an eight-point lead with 30 seconds left. The two teams traded free throw shots to close out the game.

NOTABLES

• Destiny Salary led the team in scoring for the seventh time this season, putting up 17 points along with four assists, three rebounds and two steals.
• Alexis Mead finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. She’s had five-or-more rebounds in four of the last five games. She’s had 14 career games recording 5-plus rebounds and 5-plus assists in the same game.
• Josie Gilvin once again put together an impressive statline with 12 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
• Zsofia Telegdy added 12 points, five rebounds and two assists. She has dished out multiple assists in six straight games and has scored in double figures in three of the last four.
• Salma Khedr added a spark off the bench, providing nine points in the second quarter. The nine points tied her season high.
• It was the eighth time this season WKU has had at least four players finish with double figure points.
• WKU is 12-1 this season when holding teams below 70 points and 93-25 under Collins when doing so.
• The Lady Toppers improve to 13-0 on the season when leading with 5:00 left and 10-0 when lead at halftime. WKU is 99-7 under Collins with a lead with 5:00 left and 77-16 when leading at the halfway mark.
• WKU forced LA Tech into 21 turnovers. It was the 11th time this season the Lady Toppers have forced an opponent into 20-plus miscues. WKU is 9-2 in those games.
• With the win, WKU moves into third in the CUSA standings and improves to 7-2 in Diddle Arena this season.
• The Lady Toppers are now 27-29 against LA Techh all-time and 18-9 against the Lady Techsters in Bowling Green.

QUOTABLE

Head coach Greg Collins:

“Brooke and Scott (Stoehr) do a great job. They’re always gritty and they’re always tough. That’s what we talked about when we started getting ready for them. It doesn’t always come down to who’s the best team, it’s who’s the grittiest and toughest. Credit to Louisiana Tech, because in that first quarter we got off to a pretty good start, I know they changed defenses and we had some unforced turnovers, but they ramped up their aggressiveness for rebounds. We didn’t match it. We talked about that at halftime. Nicely. We came out in the second half and fought a little harder. We still ended up getting outrebounded by 16. We’re just not getting enough physical play inside. We’re getting hands on balls but not getting balls. You don’t get credit for touches. You’ve got to get the ball. It’s pass-fail. So, we have to do a better job there. But it was a good win against a good team. A team that is going to be tough down the stretch. It was a great environment. That’s the best school day I can remember. It’s a lot of fun to have them here and it was good to see our players run up there and give high fives and take selfies with the kids.”

Fifth year guard Destiny Salary:

“I think locking in, staying in tune with the game plan. Trusting each other. Listening to what the coaches have to say and whatever our teams have to say in that circle when we’re huddling. That’s the main part. Staying connected and being able to listen to anybody in the heat of the moment.”

Senior guard Alexis Mead:

“I think staying together and communicating with each other on the court was a big help. Not just this game, but the last game too. Going down the stretch and being able to stay as a solid five unit is going to help us.”

NEXT UP

The Lady Toppers close out a three-game homestand with Sam Houston on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 2 p.m. in Diddle Arena.