Cold Shooting Dooms Lady Toppers at Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — WKU women’s basketball had its worst shooting night of the season, resulting in a lopsided 89-43 loss at Charlotte, the Conference USA East division leader.

The Lady Toppers drop to 17-8 on the season and 10-4 in C-USA play. The 49ers improve to 14-8 and 10-2 in conference.

Hope Sivori led WKU in scoring with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-5 from the perimeter. Meral Abdelgawad added 10 points to go with four rebounds. Sivori had three assists on the night. Jaylin Foster led WKU on the boards, bringing down seven rebounds. Teresa Faustino had eight points to go along with a team-leading four steals.

WKU shot just 20.7 percent from the field on the night, making just 12 of 58 field goal attempts. It tied the Lady Toppers’ lowest shooting percentage of the season previously reached against UT Martin on Nov. 15. The 49ers shot 48.1 percent through the first three quarters, connecting on seven 3-pointers.

The Lady Toppers had their best quarter in the fourth, outscoring Charlotte 16-14 in the frame.

Abdelgawad moved up the WKU all-time scoring list. The senior’s 1,264 career points is 25th all-time, moving past Renee Westmoreland (1,258). Abdelgawad is also now tied for the 10th most career starts with 112.

WKU will be back in action on Saturday at Old Dominion. The game is set for a 1 p.m. (CT) tip in Norfolk, Virginia.