Lady Tops: Lady Toppers Fall in First Round of C-USA Tournament, Finish Season 7–16

Unfortunately, one of the more disappointing seasons in Lady Topper season history has come to a close. Tuesday afternoon, the Lady Tops…

Unfortunately, one of the more disappointing seasons in Lady Topper season history has come to a close. Tuesday afternoon, the Lady Tops took the floor in the late season addition de facto East Division “play-in game” in the Conference USA Tournament.

In late February, the conference announced due to COVID, all teams would participate in the conference tournament, with the bottom two seeds from each division playing each other in a first round game. All other scheduling would be the same as other years. It just so happened that WKU was the bottom seed in the East, despite boasting a record of 6–10 in Conference USA. In a normal year, WKU would have been the 11 seed and would have played what would have been sixth seeded Charlotte in the first round.

Instead, good ole COVID struck again, forcing what could have been a much better setup for the Lady Tops in normal years into a game against a pretty decent opponent with seven wins and experience, simply because the East Division was loaded and the West Division featured three teams weaker than WKU overall.

Perhaps on the surface, COVID seems the only issue for a Lady Topper team that dealt with schedule changes just like everyone else. That was plenty for every team in every sport in the country. However, there was so much more unearned drama for the Lady Tops this year.

This season was filled with opt-outs, quarantine issues, and even family death. In addition, WKU was not at full strength (because of quarantine and travel issues) until superstar forward Raneem Elgedawy returned from Egypt eight games into the season against Marshall in the middle of January. This Lady Topper team played their guts out despite all types of disadvantages, and frankly I write this article in honor of their effort.

ODU Recap

The Western Kentucky Lady Toppers descended on The Star in Frisco, Texas, feeling both confident and frustrated. WKU had lost its previous three games by a total of seven points against, two of which were on the road at first round opponent Old Dominion. Old Dominion came into the tournament piping hot, having won four of five, including the aforementioned sweep vs. WKU, a split at Middle, and a blowout victory over UAB. ODU was only 6–9 overall before their late season surge. To further emphasize how well they are playing, they won their second round match-up against North Texas, so what would amount to the 10 seed is now in the quarterfinals.

Tuesday afternoon, both teams came out battling back-and-forth. Neither team was explosive offensively, but the Lady Toppers gained the edge 16–14 by the end of the first quarter. The Lady Toppers made their move in the second, holding ODU to only nine points in the frame, extending the lead to eight by halftime.

Things were looking great, but they quickly disintegrated as the second half began, with ODU blasting WKU by ten in the third quarter, including a devastating 17–2 run that completely flipped the balance of the game. ODU simply brought too much in that third quarter and ended up leading by two during the final break.

The Lady Toppers only mustered 12 shots, hitting four in the third. ODU found a way to get up 20 shots in the frame, making as many as the Lady Tops attempted. Four of the made baskets were three pointers. You do the math on that. That is an awful third quarter for the red and white.

In the fourth, both teams spilled their guts for their respective sides, really hammering each other back and forth, blow by blow. There was a sequence under 1:30 in the game where each team swished three after three after three. Voice of the Lady Toppers Brett Williams’ reaction to the sequence was perfect, highlighting an incredible display of guts by both sides.

Despite the heroics, ODU maintained control for most of the quarter, but WKU struck late in the quarter with a quick spurt and actually had a chance to win with two seconds left in regulation tied at 65. Conference USA Freshman of the year Hope Sivori stepped out of bounds before the final shot attempt, leaving 1.7 on the clock. ODU flung a prayer from halfcourt that harmlessly kissed the backboard, and the game went to extra time.

In overtime, ODU simply burst ahead, only missing one shot and making all free throws, sealing the game with under 30 seconds to go. And the Lady Toppers beleaguered season came to a close, 83–77.

In what could be her last game as a Topper, Raneem Elgedawy dumped in a ho hum career high of 31 points and 15 rebounds. If that’s her last hoorah, what a way to go!

Season Recap

Let’s just be real. This team was absolutely horrendous the first eight games of the season. Blown out by 40. Bad losses to bad teams. 2–6 overall. But why, though? Of course, COVID played a factor in the general prep. In an athletics program that barely had any COVID cancellations across the board, WKU clearly went by the book and took safety seriously related to COVID. There’s no way this didn’t impact the success on the fields and courts. Seven freshman doesn’t help in a year with no ability to practice as a group for large portions of the offseason. Losing some all-time greats in Whitney Creech and Dee Givens and two other seniors left a gaping hole regardless.

But other factors really kept this team down, as well. As mentioned, Raneem Elgedawy was the most major difference between the Lady Tops before mid-January. The Egyptian senior star missed nearly half the season stuck in Egypt, finally being released to come play.

And play she did. In her 15 games, she averaged over 20 points, 12 rebounds, about two assists, one block, and two steals per game. Without question, this team went from cellar dweller to middle of the pack or even a little higher with her addition. No other player for WKU averaged more than 10 points per game, so in many ways, she was the show.

Also, senior starter Sherry Porter took her chance to finish up her studies and opted out of the season entirely due to COVID precautions. She could return for a final season next year if she chose to. Presumably she will, but she already has her degree and may choose to move on.

Nonetheless, Porter would have been a nice defensive presence with an ability to get to the basket and shoot outside occasionally this season. She was also a starting guard that could have helped cut down on the Lady Toppers turnover issues (18.5 per game).

In addition to all of the drama with players not being able to play or opting out, perhaps the most horrifying distraction for the team was the death of Meral Abdelgawad’s father in the summer of 2020. One could only imagine what that would be like as a foreign player in college. One of the two Egyptians on the team, I could only imagine being a world away and dealing with the grief of losing a parent while trying to play a game overseas in the limited window you get to play collegiately. Untold levels and layers of emotion, I’m sure.

But in some small God-given measure of justice, in one of the most incredible on-court moments in recent memory, in the third overtime (first triple OT game in WKU history) of the game against Charlotte on January 29, she nailed a three pointer to give the Tops the victory 100–99 on her way to her third double-double of six on the year. After the game, she said all she could think of was her daddy. Ugh. There are some things more important than basketball, but sometimes basketball can help heal the hurt of real life.

Despite these storylines off the court and ultimately the overall record, this team played with absolute heart, especially once Raneem came back. Despite the 7–16 record, WKU’s average scoring margin was less than five points per game, meaning they played a ton of close games and just came up short. In fact, all but three of WKU’s conference losses were by double digits. More strikingly, five losses (including Tuesday) either went into overtime or finished within three points.

WKU nearly snapped Rice’s home conference winning streak, which nearly lasted three years before North Texas beat them a few weeks later. The Lady Tops were competitive in most games when at full strength, and even without Raneem at times. Given some different luck or a little more experience, WKU could’ve easily finished with a winning record in C-USA.

So watch out for the Lady Toppers in future years. Every player can come back next year if they choose. Sherry Porter is still on the roster, suggesting she is still in good graces and could come back next year if she chooses. Raneem Elgedawy is already top 12 in points and top six in rebounds on the Hill. She just barely made it into the 1,000 rebound club all-time with her double-double Tuesday. She could pad those numbers and end up a top five Lady Topper in several categories. Senior Fatou Pouye really blossomed this season, producing double digits consistently for the first time in her career. She has aspirations to join the Senegalese national team in the future. Another year on a pretty big platform would help accomplish those goals.

These Lady Toppers finished with the fewest wins in program history. In a normal season, this would not have been the case. Very rarely does WKU Women’s Basketball have a losing season in general. But Lady Topper fans should look beyond that one stat.

Shoutout to the way Greg Collins kept this team together despite everything going on. I think this was his best coaching job. Shoutout to the seniors for all of their hard work; hopefully, they will come back. Shout out to Brett Williams, voice of the Lady Toppers, who so beautifully said some of the same things I said in this article. And shoutout to the other players and coaches that really battled the year, especially in a year that was tough in the win column. They stuck together and earned respect, despite not always getting it done in the win column.

They will be back, and maybe next year, once COVID is in the past — or at least just a regular strain of virus — so will we.