Lady Topper Hoops: Notebook — Tops Sweep in Florida, Join MTSU and Rice as Lone Unbeatens
The Western Kentucky Lady Toppers are officially on a roll. After starting 6–8, WKU (12–8, 5–0 C-USA) has reeled off six straight wins…
The Western Kentucky Lady Toppers are officially on a roll. After starting 6–8, WKU (12–8, 5–0 C-USA) has reeled off six straight wins, winning by an average of 19.7 points per contest in its winning streak, never winning by less than 12 in any one game.
We last updated you on the Lady Toppers a few weeks ago, when WKU started 2–0 in Conference USA, beating two very capable opponents in Old Dominion and Charlotte.
This week, we cover WKU’s “battles” against Marshall, FIU, and FAU. Spoiler alert: They dismantled each of them.
vs. Marshall 1/12: WKU Wins 85–55
WKU made its most impressive statement yet, defeating a Marshall (10–8, 4–1 C-USA) team which at the time was coming off of two very good wins against ODU and Charlotte, albeit in single digit efforts at home. (Marshall has followed up with two more wins since, standing at 4–1.) WKU gained their 10th win of the season, finally giving WKU a very respectable record for the first time in 2018–19.
The game was not a blowout from the start, however. Marshall held as much as a five point lead in a back-and-forth first quarter, ending the quarter up 17–16 on a sluggish Lady Topper team. Within two minutes, WKU seized its final lead of the game, and the rout was on.
WKU reeled off a 22–4 run to start the second quarter, eventually settling for a 13 point lead at 40–27 at half. Marshall held its own in the third frame, only surrendering two more points than the Hilltoppers. WKU would double its lead in the fourth quarter, walking away with a massive margin against another decent opponent.
Dee Givens and Sherry Porter had 20 each, while Meral Abdelgawad and Alexis Brewer each rained in 14. Western assisted on 16 of 32 baskets, only turning the ball over eight times. Defensively, WKU stole 11 balls from Marshall while forcing a total of 20 turnovers while holding the Herd to 38% shooting.
By this point, WKU was separating itself from most of the rest of the league and making it obvious the Tops are for real.
at FIU 1/17: WKU Wins 94–82
In the biggest news from this routine victory, FIU had fans at a game in any of their sports. 1,383 children were trapped inside FIU’s Ocean Bank Arena as the south Florida program caves in on itself, a true tragedy.
In all seriousness, WKU was in a true battle with a fired-up FIU for two quarters. With four ties and 18 first half lead changes, Western (11–8, 4–0 C-USA) was in for a battle it probably didn’t expect against FIU (3–15, 0–5 C-USA).
As Greg Collins rightfully prognosticated before leaving for Florida, anyone can beat anyone once, and it could have happened to the Lady Toppers. However, the fairy tale first half led to a second half in which WKU outscored FIU by 17 in the third quarter, en route to a 12 point victory. The Tops put up 94 points for the first time since December 8 against Bellarmine.
Dee Givens (31) and Raneem Elgedawy (28) combined for 59 points and 16 rebounds. In a shocker, consistent role players Abdelgawad (11) and Brewer (14) also joined the two superstars in double figures. Perhaps the difference in the game was WKU’s 18 more attempted field goals thanks to outrebounding the Golden Panthers by 13 and stealing the ball 10 times. All told, another impressive win for the Lady Tops.
at FAU 1/19: WKU Wins 81–50
This was a much more straightforward blowout. After each quarter, WKU increased its lead by at least three. In this case, WKU’s major quarter was the second: After a close first quarter that saw WKU take a 17–13 lead, the Lady Toppers utterly dominated the Owls in the middle two quarters, winning the second frame 22–9 to go into halftime up 17 before outscoring FAU by 11 in the subsequent quarter to go up 57–29. Western went on to cruise to an 81–50 massacre.
Raneem Elgedawy was the main story, slapping up 25 points and snagging 16 boards. Once again, WKU had four in double figures, but this time Arame Niang (14 points in 14 minutes) replaced Alexis Brewer in double digits. Stalwarts Dee Givens (10 points) and Meral Abdelgawad (13 points) did their usual, contributing significantly to the Tops’ success.
Notes
Givens continued her string of double digit games, scoring at least ten in every game of 2018–19.
Dee (18.8), Raneem (16.1), Alexis (11.5), and Meral (10.5) are all averaging well above double digits per game.
After its six game winning streak, WKU now averages winning by 3.8 points per game, as well as holding opponents to a respectable 73.9 points.
The Western Kentucky Lady Toppers steal 10.3 balls per game, while forcing 17.6 turnovers.
Whitney Creech finally hit a three pointer against FAU. Creech is now 1-of-3 on the season from deep, after making double digit threes in both of her first two years on The Hill.
Such a dominant performance has led to a pair of conference honors: Elgedawy was named C-USA Player of the Week and Abdelgawad was named the conference’s Freshman of the Week on Monday.
Overall Impression
Greg Collins officially has this team rolling. The Lady Toppers have now proven they’re a legit contender for yet another Conference USA title. Four players average double figures, and four or five more can go off any given night. Unlike in the beginning of the season, they now play defense.
However, unlike many years, at least three other teams can make legitimate claims to being Conference USA title contenders. MTSU and Rice are both undefeated in league play, and UAB is the defending champion with one conference loss (and two total) against a good team. Four teams seem to be fully in this race, and it may all come down to head-to-head to determine who comes out on top.
WKU takes on two more capable opponents this week, seeing Southern Miss and La Tech coming to town on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. If WKU could make it through this tough test, the Tops should remain undefeated until a clash with Rice on February 7.