Lady Topper claims 70-65 rivalry win over MTSU, wins second straight CUSA contest

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – For the second straight season, the WKU women’s basketball team (7-18, 3-11 CUSA) took down Middle Tennessee (14-12, 9-5 CUSA) in E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday afternoon with a 70-65 win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Torri James, Tia Shelling, Trinity Rowe, Zsofia Telegdy and Salma Khedr were the first five on the court for WKU for the fifth consecutive game. It is the eighth time this season the group has started a game together.

WKU scored the first four points of the game, but the Blue Raiders responded with five straight to take a lead. The Lady Toppers scored the last four points of the quarter to take a 9-6 lead into the second quarter.

Rowe connected on a three to get scoring started in the second quarter that kicked off a 9-2 run for the Lady Toppers. Middle Tennessee then scored six straight to get back within four. Rowe hit her second three of the game to stop the run, but the Blue Raiders came right back with a bucket. From there, WKU outscored Middle Tennessee 9-3, including two more 3-pointers from Rowe, to take a 30-19 lead into halftime.

The Lady Toppers scored a season high 25 points in the third quarter to take the lead out to as much as 20 in the frame. Shelling got the quarter started with an and-one bucket and free throw. After a Middle Tennessee and-one, Khedr went on a personal 9-0 run that bridged into an 11-3 run for the sophomore. From there, the scoring was fairly even with Middle Tennessee taking a slight 12-11 edge. The Lady Toppers entered the fourth quarter with a 55-38 lead.

The Blue Raiders turned up the defensive intensity in the fourth quarter, leading to a 14-2 run to open the period and cut the lead down to five with 4:33 left. James stopped the run with a basket with 3:54 left. Middle Tennessee made a pair of free throws and then WKU made a pair of free throws to bring the score to 61-54 with 3:17 left. The Blue Raiders scored four straight to cut the lead down to three with 2:34 left. Khedr made a pair of free throws to take it back out to five. Middle Tennessee then went 1-of-2 from the free throw line and WKU made five straight at the charity stripe and made defensive stops that included a major block from Telegdy. The Blue Raiders made two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds, but it wasn’t enough and the Lady Toppers clinched the win.

QUOTABLE

“This was the first time we’ve locked down in man defense,” said head coach Greg Collins. “We’ve talked before about having to play zone because we’ve had trouble with the drives and 3-point shots. So, that’s what we spent most of this week on. I’m thankful we made some of those shots. It helped that we got to the free throw line. I’ve felt like the path for this team to win is to be consistent on defense. Just trying to make it difficult for the other team to get good shots. If we make shots, that helps. That’s what got us a lead. Defense kept us in the game, but when we made shots, we were able to extend that lead.”

NOTABLES

• Salma Khedr was the leading scorer for WKU with 20 points along with three rebounds, two steals and two blocks. It was her second 20-point game of the season. She went 8-of-8 from the free throw line, a new career high for the sophomore. She tied a career high in blocks. It was the ninth time this season she has led the team in scoring.
• Trinity Rowe poured in a season high 18 points along with six assists and two steals. It was the ninth time this season the sophomore has scored in double digits. She has dished out at least five assists in eight games this season, doing so in three straight games.
• Torri James added 10 points for her eighth double digit game of the season. She also pulled down eight rebounds, which is the most for her since notching 10 at Chattanooga on Dec. 19.
• Zsofia Telegdy and Tatum Boettjer each recorded career highs in blocks with three and two, respectively.
• Tia Shelling finished with an impressive stat line of nine points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
• WKU reached 70 points for the first time since Dec. 14 against North Dakota. The Lady Toppers are 4-0 this season when scoring 70 or more and 83-21 under head coach Greg Collins when doing so. On the flip side, WKU is now 108-32 under Collins (5-7 this season) when holding teams below 70.
• WKU improves to 90-23 under Collins (5-4 this season) when holding a lead at halftime and 114-11 (6-3 this season) when holding a lead with 5:00 left.
• The Lady Toppers connected on seven 3-pointers. WKU is 5-2 this season when more than six shots from beyond the arc.
• WKU has won two straight against Middle Tennessee in Diddle Arena, improving to 26-17 at home against the Blue Raiders all-time.

UP NEXT

The Lady Toppers will hit the road for one final CUSA road swing of the season. WKU will take on Delaware on Thursday, Feb. 26 and then Liberty on Saturday, Feb. 28.