Lady Tops Return to Diddle Arena for Annual Education Game

January 8, 2020

WNKY Staff,

(Credit – WKU Athletics)

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For the first time in 35 days, the WKU women’s basketball team will play in E.A. Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers host UAB on Thursday for their annual Education Game. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. and admission is free for all fans.

WKU is 8-5 on the season and 0-2 in Conference USA play after a tough road stretch in Texas to start league play. UAB is 9-5 and 1-1 in conference, falling to Charlotte and then defeating Old Dominion in the opening week.

In the Lady Toppers’ most recent outing, Raneem Elgedawy put up 23 points, nine rebounds and six steals but WKU fell on the road to reigning C-USA champ Rice.

WKU is 4-0 in Diddle Arena so far this season, defeating Belmont, Central Michigan, Little Rock and Oklahoma during nonconference play. The Lady Toppers have a six-game winning streak at home, dating back to last season.

Three different Lady Toppers are averaging double-figure points in 2019-20. Elgedawy leads WKU, averaging 17.2 points per game. Whitney Creech is putting up 16.1 points per game and Dee Givens is scoring 15.6 points per contest. Elgedawy leads the team on the boards as well, pulling down 10.1 rebounds per game. Creech is the team’s leading assist earner, dishing out 4.5 assists per game.

Thursday will be the 15th meeting all-time between WKU and UAB. The Lady Toppers hold a 18-6 record in the series and are 9-1 in Bowling Green against the Blazers. WKU has won six of the last eight against UAB, but the Blazers won the most recent meeting last season in Birmingham, 70-63.

UAB features C-USA’s leading scorer, Rachael Childress, who is averaging 17.9 points per game. She’s shooting 47.1 percent from beyond the arc this season, leading the league in the category. The Blazers have three other players averaging double figures in Miyah Barnes (13.1 ppg), Kayelynn Thomas (12.1 ppg) and Trista Magee (10.1). Angela Vendrell leads UAB on the rebounding front, grabbing 8.5 boards per game.

The Blazers are averaging 78.9 points per game this season which is tops in C-USA. They also top the league in field goal percentage (.464), 3-point field goal percentage (.413), assists (17.9 per game), assist/turnover ratio (1.3) and 3-point field goals per game (9.4).