Coming off a 15-win season in which the Lady Toppers fell below .500 and lost in the first round of the Conference-USA tournament, the offseason became an important one.
In a new era of college basketball, the transfer portal is paramount in attempting to put together a winning team. WKU understood this and brought in several transfers, along with young players finding a swift change in fortune in just one season.
Saturday, the Lady Toppers secured their 19th win of the season, exceeding last season’s win total by four games. The offseason additions and internal improvement have been essential to the new heights reached by the Lady Toppers.
Due to the chemistry of the new additions and the Lady Topper’s already spectacular trio of guards in Acacia Hayes, Destiny Salary, and Alexis Mead, WKU has brought together an established identity of defense and ball movement on offense.
Internal Improvement
Junior guard Josie Gilvin has been an integral part of the turnaround of the Lady Toppers. Gilvin has gone from the seventh leading scorer to the fourth, averaging 11.8 points and 5.7 rebounds a game while shooting 40% from three.
Gilvin has also been a massive addition on the defensive end, averaging 2.4 steals a game, which is good for first in the CUSA. In advanced stats, Gilvin leads the team in plus/minus with 2.4, which takes into account what a player has done on the defensive end above an average player.
The work from Gilvin has led the Lady Toppers to the top spot in the CUSA in steals per game (12.1) and a fourth-ranked defense, only giving up 63.5 points per game.
“One thing that hasn’t changed since day one is Josie’s drive to win,” Head Coach Greg Collins said. “Something she has done the last three years is continue to work on her skill development, and she doesn’t miss practices or take days off.”
Last season, the Lady Toppers gave up 70 or more points nine times, and so far this season it has only happened five times. In games the Lady Toppers give up less than 70, they are 16-1.
Sophomore guard Mackenzie Chatfield has been essential to this hot start as the sixth leading scorer. In her second season, she is putting up career highs, averaging almost six points a game, and hitting key shots off the bench.
Chatfield has been important on the defensive end as well, averaging the fourth most steals on the team at 3.7.
Transfers
Junior forward Zsofia Telegdy, a transfer from Kansas, is the fifth leading scorer on the Lady Toppers, rounding out the starting lineup.
Telegdy averages 8.5 points and five rebounds a game, both career-highs. The junior forward put together a masterful performance against Middle Tennessee on Feb. 15, racking up 20 points and seven rebounds, while shooting 6-11 from the 3-point line.
Transfer guards Marima Sow and Caleigh-Rose West each are spark plugs off the bench, both averaging around three points per game this season.
West scored a season-high 10 points against CUSA juggernaut Middle Tennessee, and Sow scored a season-high 17 points against Kentucky State earlier this season.
“Marima and Rose have given us huge minutes,” Collins said. “That depth and that size is invaluable.”
The Lady Toppers have already improved on their win total, sitting at 19-7 on the season after a thrilling comeback win over Louisiana Tech on the road. The Lady Toppers are currently on pace for their best campaign since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season in which they finished 22-7.
Whether this ends in a CUSA tournament championship and NCAA tournament appearance is to be seen, but this has been a remarkable turnaround in just one season, and as Coach Greg Collins stated, they’re getting better every week.
Sports Reporter Austin Rice can be reached at [email protected].
