Lady Tops: Preview for Western Kentucky vs Louisiana Tech
The Lady Toppers held off the Lady Techsters 56-64 at Diddle Arena. Will they be able to overcome the odds makers and defeat LaTech in Ruston?
Overview
On Wednesday, February 28, the Western Kentucky Lady Toppers head down to Ruston, Louisiana to face off against the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters. Louisiana Tech (11-17, 5-8 CUSA) has won three out of the last five games and two straight after falling to the WKU 56-64 in Bowling Green a few weeks ago. They currently sit in a four way tie for fifth place. Western Kentucky (15-13, 6-7 CUSA) is coming off of a third straight overall loss and another loss to arch rival Middle Tennessee, 59-41. WKU probably played its best defense of the season, but could not figure out how to consistently score against the Blue Raiders. With the win, MTSU captured the Conference USA regular season title, and WKU now sits in a rickety fourth place with four teams one game back of the Tops with three very tough games to play.
What The Game Means
For La Tech, a win over WKU and they will move even with the Lady Toppers in the standings and possibly be able to win a tiebreaker depending on future results. For WKU, a win keeps them ahead of the rest of a four team pack (JSU, La Tech, NMSU, and UTEP) sitting just one game behind the Lady Toppers. WKU would clinch not having to play in the 8-9 game and likely solidify a spot no lower than sixth by simply winning this next game. La Tech is looking to continue their winning ways at home, playing under their national championship banners from yesteryear. La Tech is a proud program, but a program, much like the Lady Tops, that is not remotely as dominant as it was before the turn of the milennium. La Tech could still finish as high as fourth place, just like the Lady Tops
Looking Back
The game in Bowling Green saw the Lady Techsters jump out to an early first quarter lead 15-9 and extend the lead at halftime to 36-22. Just before halftime, WKU reduced La Tech’s largest lead of 19 down to a reasonable margin. After halftime, the Lady Toppers defense took over and held the LaTech to 20 points in the second half. WKU took their first lead in the fourth quarter, and held off the their opponent in the final minutes, pulling away from the exhausted Lady Techsters.
This first matchup was Western’s first game without Acacia Hayes, who went down with a moderate to severe leg injury and is likely out for the season. Looking absolutely horrendous and frankly depressingly hopeless in the first 15 minutes, WKU found a way to win in comeback fashion.
Notable Statistics
WKU Stat Leaders
PPG: - Acacia Hayes - 15.1 points per game
RPG: Odeth Betancourt - 4.6 rebounds per game
APG: Alexis Mead - 3.9 assists per game
SPG: Alexis Mead- 1.9 steals per game
La Tech Stat Leaders
PPG: Anna Larr Roberson - 12.5 points per game
RPG: Anna Larr Roberson - 5.2 rebounds per game
APG: Silvia Nativi - 3.3 assists per game
SPG: Salma Bates - 1.6 steals per game
WKU Team Stats
64.8 PPG
39.3 % FG
29.6% 3PT
33.3 RPG
12.6 APG
10.7 SPG
15.3 TO
La Tech Team Stats
63.1 PPG
41.6% FG
32.6% 3PT
33.0 RPG
13.6 APG
7.4 SPG
15.4 TO
Keys to Victory
WKU
Western Kentucky is going to need to contain Anna Larr Roberson. Roberson is a 6’3” senior forward for the Techsters and leads them in scoring and rebounding Anna has been a good player in conference, especially at home. In her last two outings at Ruston, she scored 14 against NMSU and 23 against UTEP. Both were La Tech wins. WKU did a good job of containing Larr Roberson to nine points and seven rebounds in the game played in Bowling Green earlier this season, and it will be very important for WKU to do the same this time around.
The Lady Toppers will also need to win the paint battle. Coach Collins has emphasized inside out play and better post passing. In games where WKU won the paint battle, they usually came out on top. WKU must not rely on shooting three pointers, especially since they average below 30% for the season. Better shot selection and more presence inside should allow for more open three point shots, hopefully creating a higher overall shooting percentage. WKU shoots free throws very well as a team, so they need to be aggressive in the paint and draw more fouls.
Western must also contain the Lady Techsters’ three point shooting. La Tech has seven players that average greater than 30 percent from behind the three point line, and two shoot greater than 40 percent. If this becomes a three point shooting contest, WKU is probably in trouble, especially on the road.
WKU needs to shake off their last three games and focus on one game at a time for the rest of the season. Western Kentucky played well defensively against the Blue Raiders on Saturday. Offensively, WKU looked tentative, to say the least, passing up good shots for “better” ones that did not fall often enough. This was pointed out by the ESPN announcers multiple times during the game.
The Lady Toppers identity is hard nosed defense that creates the most live ball turnovers (10.7 steals per game) of any team in CUSA. But between turnovers and poor shot selection, WKU does not always generate enough easy or fast break baskets. If that happens in Ruston, it will spell trouble.
The biggest question will be from whom will WKU get scoring in the absence of Acacia Hayes. The scoring needs to be balanced and everyone must be ready to play as there is less margin for error.
La Tech
In the absence of Acacia Hayes, Louisiana Tech is going to have to shut down Destiny Salary and Alexis Mead. Destiny is a 6’0” guard for the Lady Toppers and a transfer from the SEC. Since becoming eligible in December, Destiny has been a scoring threat. Scoring in double figures nine times and scoring more than 20 three times with a season high 25 twice. Destiny has struggled with injury and sickness in the month of February. She is a versatile scorer, accurate from anywhere on the court, and has the ability to drive to the rim, pass, or pull up. Destiny did not play against the Techsters in the previous game.
Alexis has reached in double figures six times in the past eight games. Both MTSU games were the exception, interestingly enough. In the previous game against La Tech, Alexis had 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists, five steals, and five turnovers. If she can facilitate and score without turning the ball over much, La Tech will be in trouble. Without her five turnovers, WKU could have possibly had single digit turnovers in that game!
Offensively, La Tech is one of the most balanced teams that Western has faced this year. Only 2 players average more than 10 points. The afore mentioned Anna Larr Roberson and Salma Bates are your two double digit scorers to watch out for. The rest of the team averages about 6 points each. They all contribute as was done in the previous match up in Bowling Green. This time La Tech needs just a few more makes or a few less turnovers.
Finally, in looking at both teams’ season statistics, they are closely matched. It will be something small that makes the difference in this game, like fouls and free throws. This was the difference in the last meeting. I suspect it will be much the same this time around.
Both teams have struggled on the road this season, which leads me to believe that La Tech will have a slight edge in this game and it will come down to the wire. Unfortunately, I think WKU will fall short 56-55.
Conclusion
For anyone that is not able to make it to Ruston, the game will be on ESPN+ at 6:00 pm CT. You can also tune into @thetowelrackwku on Twitter/X for build-up, live tweets, and reactions. While you’re at it, go ahead and check out the RedOut Podcast on Twitter/X and on YouTube. Also, for Lady Topper live tweeting, follow RedOut, as RedOut will have live tweets if and when the men play at the same time. As always, we are your #1 source for unfiltered and honest WKU content!