WKU women’s basketball hosted their preseason press conference Wednesday, with Head Coach Greg Collins, graduate guard Destiny Salary, senior guard Alexis Mead and junior guard Acacia Hayes
Here are my key takeaways from the press conference.
Plenty of New faces
Of the 14 players on the 2024-25 WKU roster, nine are new to the Hill. The newcomers are made up of two freshmen, forward Torri James and guard Salma Khedr, and seven transfers.
“It’s honestly been fun getting to know everybody but also working together to become the team that we want,” Mead said. “(There are) a lot of new girls with different talents and just seeing that on the court and in practice, it’s fun just being together.”
Collins said that the coaching staff did a “great job” in the off-season finding players to fit two needs on the roster – depth and size.
“I need where we’re not going to have to play Lexi (Alexis Mead) and Acacia and Destiny 32, 35, 38 minutes. That wore down all of them,” Collins said. “We’ve not been able to get through a season. We’ve been in a lot of good spots and then an injury would happen and it really affected the outcome of the season.”
Experience, Leadership and Motivation
When asked about the strengths of this year’s team, Mead, Hayes and Salary all seemed to agree that experience, leadership and motivation all fit under that category.
Despite what the magnificent number of new faces may say, Mead said that this roster is “one of the most experienced teams” WKU has had since she has been here.
Only four players on the roster are freshman or sophomore status. WKU hosts six juniors, three seniors and a graduate student.
Salary said that leadership is the “biggest thing” for the team.
“Having people who are willing to be pushed and help push others is a big thing,” Salary said. “Someone who is willing to listen and be able to help, it takes us a long way.”
Mead also said that the motivation on the team is “unlike any other team we’ve had.”
“Every single girl down the line are very motivated to actually win and wants to be here. We like that a lot,” Mead said.
A Group With a Chip on Their Shoulder
WKU had a disappointing end to their last season, losing their last seven games including their first round Conference USA tournament loss to Liberty. Six of those seven games were within 10 points and three were within a score.
“I tell the girls, ‘sometimes before you can win you got to learn how not to lose,’” Collins said. “Sometimes we just did things to ourselves from turnovers or bad shots or missed box outs that just let the game go a different direction.”
Even with the tough close to the season, Mead said the team woke up the morning after the C-USA tournament loss to Liberty with immediate championship aspirations.
“We didn’t end the season well last year and we think about that every day. We really do take that personal,” Mead said. “Since we lost to Liberty last year… (the) next day we were like…’we’re winning a championship next year.’”
C-USA Outlook
WKU was picked to finish fourth in Conference USA, a ranking that Mead said she thought would be lower. However she said conference rankings are not something the team takes into account.
“Preseason rankings come out every year… whether we’re picked first, second, third, we honestly don’t care because we want to be first no matter what,” Mead said. “We know that at the end of the day it’s about what you do when you step on that court.”
Collins said he thinks the Lady Toppers will be able to compete with anyone in C-USA.
“I think we’re going to be right there. I think we’re going to be able to compete with everybody in the conference,” he said. “ I think the conference is as competitive as it’s been in a while.”
The Lady Toppers will un-officially tip-off their season in a home exhibition against Lee University (Tenn.) on Oct. 29. The season is officially set to begin on Nov. 4 at Indiana State.
