Shorthanded Hilltoppers swept in Southeast swing by Kennesaw St., Jacksonville St.
An early deficit too big to overcome and an early lead that couldn't be held. It was a disappointing weekend for the Hilltoppers.
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About This Weekend…
🤦♂️ WKU turned in a pair of disappointing performances this weekend, though in vastly different ways. Ultimately, the result was the same - an 0-2 weekend, negating a lot of the good vibes from last weekend. Lets talk about it.
🥴 Clipped by the Owls
Western Kentucky’s lucky CUSA winning had to end at some point, and getting down 14 early - and by as many as 16 - did the trick Thursday at Kennesaw State.
WKU benefitted from a soft road game at Sam Houston and some energy at home against two really good teams, one of which was an absolute blowout and reset some conference performance clocks back to 2007.
It had to come back down to Earth at some point, though.
Topper fans may not know much about Kennesaw State, but they’re a good team and have been in the upper tier of their previous conference for years. Now in Conference USA, they’re showing their quality. At home, they are a true top 100, possibly top 75 team in the country. They have single digit losses at home in the last several seasons, winning over 80% of their games in their arena. They are no joke at home.
Perhaps WKU fans thought the Owls would be a roll over because of the way WKU handled them in Diddle Arena, never really allowing them in the game. That was not to be, and the Tops paid the price - shooting just 27.6% from the floor in the first half and getting outrebounded 50(!!!)-32 for the game.
Don McHenry continued his stretch of stellar play - scoring 30 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including a 10-12 day from the free throw line - but the Owls proved the extent of his limits to lift all Topper boats.
This is going to be the theme as long as WKU is shorthanded: The Tops must play well to win. They played well the previous three games, and consequently won. They did not play well at all and looked like the less energetic team Thursday night.
With Jack Edelen (suspended for violation of team rules), Babacar Faye (MCL), and Julius Thedford (dislocated knee) out, it was going to be a monumental ask for the Tops to continue their streak. In hindsight, maybe Enoch Kalambay (10 minutes, zero points) may have been coming down sick Thursday and no one knew it (he would go on to miss Saturday’s game). That last bit is pure speculation, of course, but the overarching point would be that WKU was shorthanded and maybe just hit an energy wall on the road this week.
Tops Need a Raucous Diddle Arena to Carry Them Back into Contention
The damage Thursday’s loss did (not even to mention what happened Saturday) is undeniable, though. The Tops dropped from tied for third to alone in eighth in the CUSA standings, meaning they have serious work to do heading into a massive homestand against MTSU, Sam Houston and La Tech. The Tops need at least two of three to maintain contact, and sweeping would vault them back up into the standings.
If ever there was a time for Diddle Arena’s “Wall of Noise” to show up in spades, this is the moment.
- Matt McCay
😖 Shorthanded Hilltoppers fall Short at Jacksonville State
WKU’s southeast swing did not get better Saturday afternoon into the evening when, despite leading the Gamecocks with a 19-point gap halfway through the first half, they allowed that lead to dissipate as JSU completed the season sweep with an 85-83 win.
WKU shot at a near impossible pace of 60% from three in the first half, but came back down to earth in the second half, shooting 42.9% from distance in the back 20 minutes (48.1% overall in the second half).
The game itself was very competitive from start to finish. The Tops hit the first 20 points easily before the 15-minute mark of the first half. During JSU’s comeback, the lead changed hands nine times.
In the end, it was the Gamecocks who were able to outlast the shorthanded Hilltoppers, cementing an 85-83 victory.
Khristian Lander had his career-best game in a huge offensive effort, totaling 30 points. Tyrone Marshall added 22 points. Even with being shorthanded on the road, Saturday was a more promising effort for setting the tone for the rest of the season.
- Alex Sherfield
🏀 Where We Stand: Feb. 10, 2025
With the dust settled from this weekend’s play, here’s what the conference tournament picture looks like.
The Hilltoppers currently occupy the 8th seed, which would see them play in the first game of the tournament on Tuesday, March 11. However, the Hilltoppers are only two wins behind Liberty and MTSU for the No. 2 or 3 seeds - and still have a game against each of them, both at Diddle Arena.
In fact, of the Tops’ final seven games, five of them are in Bowling Green where WKU is 11-2 on the season and 3-1 in conference play. On the road, WKU is 3-8, with a 2-5 conference mark.
While the adage of “there’s a lot of basketball left,” isn’t quite applicable here, the Hilltoppers season is not yet lost: If the Tops get healthy (Faye cannot return to the lineup soon enough), WKU could go on a run and bust their way through the log jam as five of the Tops’ final seven games are against teams above them in the standings.
Western Kentucky’s season was always going to come down to the second week of March in Huntsville, Alabama. CUSA has actually been a competitive league this year, ranking Top 10 in KenPom rankings. But, it isn’t to the level of being given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to being a multi-bid league. What the Tops do come conference tournament time will make or break the season, just as it was always going to.
And for you pessimists out there - who were abundant this weekend - here’s a fun note for you: in each of WKU’s last three NCAA tournament seasons, they’ve finished no better than .500 in conference play. The last time a better-than-.500 WKU team made the Big Dance was the 2008/09 team, that went 15-3 in the Sun Belt.
- Fletcher Keel
🏀 Gilvin, Mead Power Lady Tops to Weekend Sweep
As much as the Fella Tops may have struggled this weekend, it was a perfect weekend for Greg Collins and the Lady Toppers, who swept their weekend at home.
🦉 WKU thumps Owls, 78-57
Josie Gilvin led all scorers with a career-high 28 points and Acacia Hayes added 20 points as Western jumped out early 28-16 after the first quarter and cruised to a 21 point win.
After the first quarter, Kennesaw was only able to come as close as 11 and the Topper lead ballooned out to 27 in the third quarter. Early in the fourth, Western started playing substitutes and the starters got much needed rest. This was a good bounce back game after the disappointment at New Mexico State.
🐔 Lady Toppers Outlast Gamecocks 68-64 in OT
Jacksonville State matches up very well with WKU in height and athletic ability, plus they rebound and defend well too. So this was a very different game from the get go.
In a back and forth game, Western ended the first quarter up six, but that lead was erased by the end of the second quarter. Jax State got up by as much as four in the second half.
The fourth quarter and overtime seesawed until WKU got ahead for good with 1:46 left and held on to win by four. Alexis Mead led all scorers with a career high 29 points and nine rebounds. Jacksonville State was led by Maria Sanchez Ponce, with 20 points and nine rebounds.
⛹️♀️ Toppers Mead business
Gilvin may be the energy person for the Lady Toppers, but Alexis Mead is the heart of the team. A leader on and off the court, the 5’4” senior point guard from Moreno Valley, California has been a consistent player for Western all four years. Alexis has netted double-digit scoring in 17 of her 23 games this season.
Mead is also a Master Thief who is teaching her craft to all the other players on the team. Western averages almost 12 steals per game. Mead, Gilvin and Acacia Hayes each average more than two per contest.
For WKU to continue to be successful and have a chance to win a championship this season, Mead must continue to be consistent and have games where she is exceptional, like her career high 29 points and nine rebounds this past Saturday. She has proven she is a very good player. Now is the time for very good players to elevate their game, bring their teammates along, and win championships.
- David McCay
🥎 Play Ball!
The 2025 softball season is underway across the country, and the Hilltoppers opened their year in the Buzz Classic, hosted by Georgia Tech, against GT, Belmont and Eastern Kentucky.
It was not the best opening weekend, with the Hilltoppers going 1-4, although all but one game was competitive (7-1 loss to Belmont in the opener Friday).
Opening Day was rough for the Tops, who scored just twice in two games in losses to Belmont (7-1) and EKU (5-1). The offense came to life a bit on Saturday, with a 3-1 win against the Bruins and a 3-2 loss to the hosts, tying the game in the top of the seventh but allowing a walk off single to drop the game.
In Sunday’s rematch against Tech, the Tops took an early lead but couldn’t hang on, falling 4-2, to finish the weekend 1-4.
Through the first weekend, it’s been designated player Maci Masters who has paced the offense. The Virginia Tech transfer slashed .462/.533/.923 and accumulated 12 total bases (two home runs) with three RBI.
Next weekend, it’s off to Troy for the Trojan Classic against former WKU’s former Sun Belt foe, as well as Eastern Illinois and Alabama State.
- Fletcher Keel
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Two very bad losses, especially the last one. In reality, this season is looking at a loss. . Not bcause of the team, but beause of all the injuries. And some bad coaching along the way. I have very little faith in that coach at this point. Grand Canyon was a disasater and was totally on him. If WKU has to play three games in the tournament, extremely hard to win with a very seriously injured team.