The Lady Tops took on Mercer in their first game of the 2023-2024 season Monday. WKU came out on top of a back-and-forth battle 70-64.
Coming just under a week after their 100-37 win over Lane College in the team’s only exhibition, the Lady Tops continued their stride in their season opener.
After a defensive first half to the 1st Period, both WKU and Mercer were able to find their strokes. The Bears led WKU coming out of the 1st, 16-15.
Not to be out done, WKU opened the 2nd Period with a 5-0 run. It was the Lady Topper’s inability to capitalize on their trips to the free-throw line that kept the score to a one-point game at the end of the half. WKU opened up their night 2-8 from the charity stripe.
At the end of the 1st Half, WKU led the Bears 30-29. Freshman Forward, Caitlin Staley led the charge for the Lady Tops mounting eight points and three rebounds in her 11 minutes on the floor.
Taking notes from Period 2, WKU yet again went on a run in the 3rd Period. An 8-0 run headlined a strong offensive outing from the Lady Toppers. However, Mercer was able to keep it close, as the two teams went into the 4th tied 47-47.
It was WKU’s sophomore Acacia Hayes who struck first in the 4th, her first points of the game. It was a back-and-forth battle in the 4th. The Lady Tops found themselves with a two-point lead with just over a minute left to go.
It was junior Alexis Mead and Hayes’ sets of free-throws that capped off the victory for the Lady Tops, as they defeated the Bears 70-64.
When asked about his take on the win, Head Coach Greg Collins chose to speak out keeping the ball in his team’s possession.
“We had two players who you expect to be strong with the ball, they had 9 of our 21 turnovers. We don’t need that many turnovers,” Collins said, “Not being fundamentally sound sometimes, trying to make risky plays instead of making the safe play, we can’t hide from what those numbers show.”
The Lady Tops have their next game on Nov. 10 when they take on the Southern Utah Thunderbirds.
