Lady Topper Hoops: Lady Toppers cruise to 14-point victory over MTSU
In a battle between the preseason favorites in Conference USA, WKU proved that they deserved the eight first place votes they received in a…
In a battle between the preseason favorites in Conference USA, WKU proved that they deserved the eight first place votes they received in a 57-43 win over MTSU.
The Lady Toppers were led by Tashia Brown who scored 17 points and brought down seven rebounds.
The first half showed Michelle Clark-Heard’s team shut down the MTSU offense by limiting them to only two fields goals. The downside? The Lady Toppers struggled against MTSU’s defense as well, going just shy of ten minutes without scoring to keep the Lady Raiders in it.
The third quarter again featured a Lady Topper scoring drought, lasting 3:43. Yet again, the Lady Raiders could not take advantage of the WKU offensive struggles, because of their own struggles against the WKU full court zone press.
Both teams found their stroke in the fourth quarter, as both teams scored eight points each in the first three minutes of the frame.
The key for Middle during the stretch was multiple three pointers from their guards.
From there, it was all Tashia Brown and the Lady Toppers. Brown, who entered the game with nine straight games of 20 points or more, scored 11 of her game-high 17 points in the final quarter. WKU shot a game high 50% in the fourth quarter after shooting just 29.7% through the first three.
In the postgame presser, Clark-Heard said, “I’ll take ugly and defense any day.” That pretty much sums this one up.
The Lady Toppers improved to 10–4 (1–0 C-USA) on the season. They will be back in action on Saturday at 2 p.m. at home vs. Southern Miss.
Game Notes
Tashia Brown’s streak of nine-straight games scoring 20+ points ended. That streak tied Crystal Kelly’s school record.
Kayla Smith returned to the floor for the first time since November 30th against Evansville
WKU held MTSU to 15 first half points. The lowest the Lady Tops have allowed this season.
Ivy Brown registered her eighth double-double of the season.
1,811 were in attendance
Press Conference — Michelle Clark-Heard, Tashia Brown and Sidnee Bopp
Final Stats
