Lady Toppers fall to 3-9 with 37-point loss to No. 15 Texas Tech

Brad Stephens

WKU went into Wednesday night having lost each of its five road games by double-digits.

The sixth was the most lopsided yet.

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The Lady Toppers were dismantled by No. 15 Texas Tech 75-38 in Lubbock, Texas.

WKU (3-9) shot just 22 percent from the field while the Lady Raiders shot at a 53.3 percent clip.

Texas Tech (10-0) also went 8 of 12 from the three-point line.

โ€œThey came out from the tip and knocked down shots,โ€ said freshman guard Alexis Govan, who scored six in the loss. โ€œAnd from the tip we got good looks, but we just werenโ€™t converting.โ€

Texas Tech forced the Lady Toppers into 20 turnovers, five of which came on steals by guard Monique Smalls.

Smalls, who also scored nine points, was one of four Lady Raiders to score between nine and 11 points apiece.

WKU didnโ€™t have a double-digit scorer for the first time this season.

Senior forward LaTeira Owens led the Lady Toppers with seven points, three below her team-high season average of 10.1 coming into Wednesday.

WKU was playing in Lubbock without its third-leading scorer, senior forward Keshia Mosley.

Mosley was suspended before the game for violating what Head Coach Mary Taylor Cowles called a โ€œteam policy.โ€ She sat with the team during the game but was not in uniform.

โ€œWe wouldโ€™ve loved to have Keshia tonight, but unfortunately she wasnโ€™t able to play due to coachโ€™s decision,โ€ said freshman guard Ileana Johnson, who added six points and a team-high two assists off the bench. โ€œIt is what it is.โ€

Texas Tech opened the game on an 11-0 run, shutting out the Lady Toppers for the first 5:06 of the game.

WKU cut the deficit to 16-10 at the 10:36 mark of the first half on a made jumper from sophomore forward Mimi Hill, but that was the closest the Lady Toppers got.

Texas Tech finished first half on a 16-4 run to take a 35-16 lead into the United Spirit Arena locker rooms.

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โ€œTheyโ€™re a good enough basketball team that they have the ability to make those kind of runs,โ€ Cowles said. โ€œWe didnโ€™t step up and knock those down quick enough.โ€

The Lady Raiders stretched their lead to 31 with an 11-point second-half run that turned a 43-23 lead into a 54-23 blowout.

โ€œOn the offensive end we just werenโ€™t converting, and they got a couple of steals there which led to easy points for them,โ€ Johnson said.

The Lady Toppers, who had to wait 10 days since their Dec. 11 win over Florida International, will have to wait another eight days before taking on Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 29.

WKU will be looking to run its Sun Belt Conference record to 2-0 while facing a Warhawk team which finished tied for third in the Sun Beltโ€™s West division last year.

ULM (2-11) is led in scoring by center Larrie Williams (16.0 points per game) while guard Elizabeth Torres is dropping 10.1 ppg and dishing 6.2 assists per game.

Govan said the preseason slate was โ€œbehindโ€ the Lady Toppers, and that the team is looking forward to getting back into Sun Belt play.

โ€œTexas Tech was good preparation of conference,โ€ she said. โ€œWhen it comes to conference, weโ€™re going to be mad and all the beatings weโ€™ve gotten, weโ€™re going to take them out on somebody else in conference.โ€