WKU Women’s Basketball (13-9, 10-3 C-USA) defeated University of Texas at El Paso (14-7, 7-5 C-USA) 77-75, on Saturday, Feb. 4 at the Don Haskins Center. 

The Lady Toppers have now marched one game closer to obtaining first place in the Conference-USA standings. WKU mounted a 19 point comeback in the fourth quarter to maintain control of second place in the conference. 

The women are still trailing Middle Tennessee State University (18-4, 11-2 C-USA) by one game in the C-USA standings. The Lady Toppers and Lady Raiders are set to play Thursday, Feb. 9 at the Murphy Center. 

The upcoming match between the two rivals could flip the script for the 2022-2023 Conference-USA season.

WKU dominated the turnover differential with a margin of 13. The Lady Toppers played smart, efficient basketball with only six turnovers compared to the Miners’ 19. They were able to score 23 points off the turnovers.

The red and white were led by a trio of scorers in double-digits. Junior guard Hope Sivori led the way with 16, sophomore guard Mya Meredith tallied 15 and sophomore guard Alexis Mead created 13. 

In the first quarter both squads battled for control of the game. The Lady Toppers were 9-14 from the field in a stellar offensive start to open to the game. No team led by more than three points in the quarter until Sivori nailed a three in the final seconds to make the score 23-19. 

The Miners went on a run out-scoring the Lady Toppers 23-10 in the quarter. WKU could not find a basket until there was 5:47 left in the quarter. The Lady Toppers shot 20.0% from the field compared to 52.6% by the Miners. The score at the end of the half was 42-33, with UTEP leading.

In the third quarter, UTEP shot 70.6% from the field and was 3-7 from behind the arc. WKU shot 43.8% and went 3-8 from three. The Miners extended their lead to 19, making the score 69-50. 

In the fourth quarter the Lady Toppers went on a 27-6 onslaught. WKU scored 16 straight making the score 69-66 with 4:40 left in the game. 

The teams battled to the finish, but the Lady Toppers would grab and hold the lead after Meredith hit a three to make the score 76-74. UTEP had an opportunity at the free throw line to tie the game, but junior guard Erin Wilson missed the game tying shot from the charity stripe. 

The Lady Toppers will travel to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to play Middle Tennessee State University on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. CT.

Sports reporter Cole McIntire can be reached at [email protected] .