WKU Womens Basketball hosted the UTEP Miners Saturday afternoon at Diddle Arena, where a game-winning layup by junior guard Destiny Salary with eight seconds remaining sealed the comeback for WKU, winning 66-65.
The team recovered after Thursday night’s loss versus New Mexico State, moving to 13-7 on the season (4-1 CUSA), good for third place. Undefeated Middle Tennesse (3-0) and FIU (4-0) are ahead of them.
“Thursday, it was just frustrating because it was like what? What is going on?” Head Greg Collins said. “It was almost against the grain from what we do in practice. We didn’t play the way we wanted to play Thursday night.”
Salary had a huge game, scoring 25 points and grabbing five rebounds. Her teammates stepped up to help, with sophomore guard Acacia Hayes scoring 19 points. Junior guard Alexis Mead had eight points but added five assists and four huge steals. Senior guard Teresa Faustino had nine points with five rebounds and four steals, including the game-sealing steal to win the game.
WKU grabbed 33 rebounds, 13 of those being offensive, which led to 20 second-chance points. The Miners shot 52.1% from the field but suffered 22 turnovers, which kept WKU in the game.
The intensity and energy amped up out the gate to start the second half as Salary knocked down three from behind the arc in under three minutes, sparking an 8-0 WKU run to start the half. The team shot 3-18 the rest of the third quarter, allowing UTEP to reclaim the lead.
The game came down to the wire in the fourth quarter, with each team knocking down clutch free throws. A UTEP jump shot gave them the lead with 21 seconds left, but a timeout call on WKU’s next possession allowed them to regroup, setting up Salary for the go-ahead layup with eight seconds left.
The Lady Toppers will play at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Florida, where they will play the FIU Panthers on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 6 p.m. CT.
