Lady Toppers outlast Georgia State, 79-63, to clinch No. 2 seed

Kyle Williams

The Lady Toppers wrapped up the regular season with a 79-63 victory over Georgia State in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon, capping a seven-game win streak.

WKU (21-8, 13-5 Sun Belt Conference) has solidified itself as the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and will play the No. 7 seed (TBD) Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. in New Orleans, La.

Junior forward Chastity Gooch led the way for the Lady Toppers with 13 points, while freshman forward Bria Gaines added a career-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. Redshirt freshman guard Kendall Noble chipped in 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals.

WKU converted just four of its first 21 field goal attempts and trailed GSU, 18-12, at the 8:52 mark before belting out an 11-0 run.

The Lady Toppers headed into halftime tied at 33 despite shooting just 27 percent from the floor, including 0-of-9 from three-point range.

Noble scored four straight points to begin the second half for the Lady Toppers, but the Panthers responded, tying the game at 43 with 13:49 remaining.

A 9-0 Lady Topper run gave WKU a lead it never gave back en route to a 79-63 win to end the regular season.