Lady Topper Hoops: Early Season Notebook
Y’all forgive me because in full “Medicare Matt” mode. I’m an insurance agent and it’s health insurance season, so perhaps this update…
Y’all forgive me because in full “Medicare Matt” mode. I’m an insurance agent and it’s health insurance season, so perhaps this update comes a little bit after a huge win against Belmont. However, the Lady Toppers absolutely deserve some coverage after thrashing the Bruins by 31 in the first home game of the year.
Let’s take a look at the early start of the season and do a little bit of comparing to last year’s team. As diehard Lady Topper fans may know, Western Women’s Basketball was not as good last year as it has been in recent memory.
Last year’s team could score, but not only did it seem at times it could not defend, the more concerning part was they would not defend for the first three and a half months of a five month season.
However, Head Coach Greg Collins got his team to come together at the right moment, the Lady Tops scraped into the top four seeds, and found a way into the WNIT, mainly because 64 teams play in the women’s version of the tournament.
Western would go on to win two games before falling in the Sweet 16 (of the WNIT), losing at Ohio 68–60. That was a heck of a run for a team that couldn’t and wouldn’t play defense.
By the end of the year, Sidnee Bopp was injured and Kayla Smith wasn’t playing, so a majority of the core of this team played together in March, knowing they would reunite in 2019–20.
With that positive momentum, WKU has clearly started 2019–20 with a determination not seen since the days of Michelle Clark-Heard.
We’ll give you some names to know, talk about some early statistical trends, go over the games, and preview Central Michigan and UALR, the two (preaseason conference favorite) opponents remaining in this three game home stand.
Names to Know
Head Coach Greg Collins
Greg Collins is starting his seventh year on The Hill and his second as WKU Head Coach. Besides what I mentioned above, Collins is known for getting average to above average talented players to blossom into WNBA (or at least women’s overseas) stars. He’s had his hand in several different fields, including scouting and coaching at different levels. Collins went 20–15 in his first year as Lady Topper Head Coach.
#4: Dee Givens
Dee Givens is without question the most seasoned and most developed Lady Topper in recent memory. A redshirt senior, Dee averaged incredible numbers last season, averaging over 17 points per game, nearly three steals, over five rebounds, and was unbelievably efficient from the field, making well more than the team average in every shooting category.
#15 Raneem Elgedawy
Raneem has shown unbelievable potential in a few games, nearly grabbing 20 rebounds at times. Through three games, she is averaging 12.3 points and 11.3 rebounds. She has also vastly improved her turnovers, only having four in three games despite over 100 turnovers last season. Raneem averaged over 15 points and seven rebounds last season as a sophomore. If Raneem can develop a consistent mid-range shot, she would be impossible to guard.
#5: Whitney Creech
(Insert obligatory reference to high school right here.) Whitney has really blossomed into an aggressive point guard this season. Running the point, Creech has the ability to pull up, pass, or drive. With a new found aggressiveness, Whitney seems to finally be using that beautiful left-handed stroke to kill nylon one swish at a time. Whitney is already averaging 14 points per game, and perhaps more telling of her newfound aggressiveness, she has made 4-of-8 threes. That amounts to twice her makes from last year and with three more attempts, she will eclipse her total attempts from three (10) from 2018–19. For whatever reason, she was in an absolute funk last year. Hopefully she is free to fly for her senior season.
#40: Meral Abdelgawad
Meral is such a talent. As a freshman without any control on the court, she was able to average over eight per game. She now seems to be playing faster and under more control this season. Although it is only three games so far, she is shooting much better and rebounding slightly better, as well. An Abdelgawad with a really good step forward in 2019–20 would do wonders for the Lady Tops.
#22: Sherry Porter
Porter is a defensive beast, but she has always had potential to blossom offensively. This year, she is doing that, scoring 11.7 so far through three games and shooting better from inside and outside the arc than she ever has. Porter is generally going to attempt to shut down the point guard in the half court while creating chaos up front in WKU’s full-court press.
#00: Myriah Haywood
An impressive redshirt freshman, Haywood is one of the first to come off the bench. She provides plenty of energy and athleticism, in addition to providing some scoring and defense. She’s an impressive piece and should only get better with experience. She already has seven steals in three games.
#23: Sandra Skinner
As a grad transfer from VCU with 74 college games under her belt, Skinner provides experience off of the bench. She has been efficient, shooting over 50 percent, grabbing six rebounds, and scoring nearly four points per game with only 14 minutes of playing time a game. One would think she’ll work her way farther into the rotation going forward.
#11: Alexis Brewer
A sniper, WKU could use her ability to score in bunches. However, Brewer is currently nursing some nagging injuries. She was riddled with injuries last season. Despite injuries, she still managed over 11 points per game in 2018–19. She would make the Lady Tops even deeper on the wing if ever able to go in 2019–20.
Early Statistical Trends
Quickly, let’s look at the Lady Tops from 2018–19 and 2019–20 thus far:
Without question, the Lady Tops are different in several ways from last season. Without going too wild here, the Lady Tops clearly take interest in defense, play at a slower pace, and rebound the ball way more effectively than last season. That much is obvious by watching them for about five minutes.
Perhaps the Lady Tops do miss Alexis Brewer’s efficiency from deep, but if you take into account from freshmen and young players trying to prove themselves taking silly shots, WKU would be just as good offensively with a massively improved defense.
For perspective on how good Western’s defense is this season versus last year, Western had only nine games under their current average of points given up. With the 77–46 win against Belmont, WKU held an NCAA Tournament caliber opponent that scored 75 points last season to 46, its lowest defensive output since Morgan State last season, a team that did not win a game against a Division I opponent last year until its second conference game. Before that performance, a home game against UTSA on January 18, 2018 yielded 38 opponents points.
To put a bow on it, in its last two seasons and three games, WKU has allowed 46 points or less five total times. None of them were against teams that made the NCAA Tournament the previous year, except Belmont Wednesday.
Something is different about this Lady Topper team.
The Results so Far
At Louisville: 56–75 L
The final score looks more brutal than the reality of the game. Of course, Louisville controlled much of this ball game and had a 23 point lead in the fourth quarter. However, the story not told by the final score is how WKU fought and stayed within striking distance of a top ten team in its opening game. Last season at home, WKU gave up over 100 points to the Cards in a game with a similar scoring margin. WKU could not stop Louisville from layup drill after layup drill.
This season, Louisville had to work, and WKU was much more stymied by a lack of execution offensively than defensive lapses. WKU faced several Power Five opponents last season, most of which scored 90 or more. Western held 9th ranked Louisville to 75.
At Mercer: 75–62 W
In perhaps the most impressive win of the Greg Collins era to this point, WKU went toe-to-toe with Mercer for three quarters. Whitney Creech and Co. absolutely poured it on the Mercer Bears, outscoring them 28–15 in the fourth quarter. Regardless of the flukish quality of the fourth quarter, WKU found a way to a double digit win against a road opponent picked to win its league. Raneem Elgedawy had 18 points and 19 rebounds in this game.
Vs. Belmont: 77–46 W
If Mercer was the best win of the Collins era, the Belmont performance stole that title one game later. WKU plays its first five games against opponents predicted to win its league, and the third such game provides a great measuring stick for where Western is right now. If Belmont is going to be remotely as good as it has been in recent memory, WKU just blew out a really good basketball team. Watching the game, that was not a fluke, and WKU just absolutely pressed the Bruins to death. Belmont’s women tend to push the pace and be efficient, but they also do it with finesse and grace. Nothing about Belmont looked graceful, and they looked like a team that struggled with the physicality of the Lady Toppers.
Previews
11/17 vs. Central Michigan 2 PM
First of all, go if you can. Second, this should be an absolutely fascinating game. Central Michigan is two years removed from a Sweet 16 appearance, and last season, the Chippewas earned an eight seed, barely losing to the nine seed, Michigan State, by one. WKU traveled to Michigan last season, giving up 108 points in a game that easily could have been higher scoring than that.
Central Michigan is 0–2 so far, but they lost to Green Bay by six, another really good women’s program that deserves attention, and Louisville by 13. If the Tops beat Central Michigan, buckle up, because this season could be the best ride ever. If WKU loses to CMU, which is likely, what do they learn from it and how can they get better? What an awesome chance for WKU to catch the attention of the women’s college basketball world by starting out 3–1 against one of the toughest early schedules in women’s basketball.
11/24 Vs. UALR 2 PM
UALR brings back some recent memories from the Sun Belt days. As WKU faded and MTSU came into the forefront during the end of the Mary Taylor-Cowles years, UALR emerged as the second best program in the Sun Belt. When Middle and Western left, UALR became the current program of the Sun Belt. UALR has continued its success and has participated in the last two NCAA Tournaments. They also made it to the Round of 32 in 2015. UALR is another formidable opponent, and honestly if WKU had not miraculously found a way to beat them last season, UALR could have been considered a bubble team. The Trojans will absolutely be looking for some revenge from last season.
WKU’s next few games could be crucial come tournament selection time. With WKU’s relatively weak conference schedule, these significant mid-major opponents and Power Five giants provide significant opportunity for the Tops to not only get better, but if they win a few, a magnificent chance comes to compete for an at-large bid in women’s basketball. With Rice being nearly ranked in women’s basketball, perhaps opportunity may lie within the conference itself to create a solid resume, or at least move up a seed line or two.