The Lady Toppers officially began their 2021-22 campaign at Diddle Arena on Wednesday night, losing their opener to the Purdue Boilermakers 79-69.

The Lady Toppers could not find their offensive rhythm all night. The team shot just 38% from the field and turned the ball over 21 times. The Lady Toppers were also out rebounded 42-33.

Free throw shooting was the difference in Wednesday’s season opener. Purdue converted on 22 of its 28 trips to the line as the Lady Toppers made just 14 of their 23 opportunities.

Head coach Greg Collins believes the Lady Toppers beat themselves with their mistakes but knows his team will bounce back from the loss.

“We were our own worst enemies tonight,” Collins said. “Purdue is a really great team, but we can’t foul as much as we fouled and we can’t turn the ball over as much as we turned the ball over. I liked how hard they played, they never quit. They kept competing and we missed a ton of easy looks.”

Senior forward Meral Abdelgawad was a bright spot for WKU throughout the night. She scored 20 points while shooting 7-15 from the field. She dished out three assists and grabbed three rebounds. Abdelgawad was the only member of the team to shoot over 50% from the field. Freshman guards Macey Blevins and Mya Meridith also had solid nights, both scoring in double digits. 

Abdelgawad has taken on a greater leadership role in her senior season. With a lot of players struggling in the season opener, she wanted to stress to them to keep being aggressive.

“I was trying to tell my teammates to get a rebound or get a steal,” Abdelgawad said. “I think we need to do other things than just score. Me, Macey and Mya did a good job scoring tonight so they don’t need to get disappointed when they don’t score, so I advised them to keep playing and help whoever scores by playing defense.”

The Boilermakers started the game on a 11-0 run with the help of three straight WKU turnovers, forcing the Lady Toppers to play from behind the entire game. Purdue outscored WKU 20-14 in the first quarter.

The Lady Toppers battled back in the second period, getting as close as four points behind. WKU held Purdue to only 13 total points in the second frame. Abdelgawad had a good first half, scoring nine points, leading all Lady Toppers. WKU was down just 33-31 at the break.

The Lady Toppers lost their momentum coming out of halftime. They allowed the Boilermakers to drain three consecutive three pointers in the third quarter, which extended their lead to 15. The Boilermakers out-rebounded WKU in the third quarter. Purdue out-rebounded WKU 25 to 15 in the second half. Every time WKU made a run, Purdue had an answer. 

Coach Collins told his team before the game that whether they win or lose to Purdue, showing improvement was the most important thing.

“I told my team before the game that whether we win or lose this game it’s not going to define our season,” Collins said. “We want to win every game, but the most important thing is that we get better. This team has gotten better each week in practice, so I think we will be better next game than we were this game.”

The Lady Toppers’ next game will be in the preseason WNIT tournament against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 12. WKU and North Carolina A&T will be meeting for the first time in school history.

Women’s basketball reporter Joseph Thompson can be reached at [email protected].