WKU Women’s Basketball struggled to find an offensive rhythm in its 50-38 loss at Sam Houston Thursday night.
The Bearkats’ suffocating high-pressure defense forced 33 turnovers by the Lady Toppers, which they converted into 22 points. Sam Houston leads Conference USA in turnover margin, forcing an average of 28.1 turnovers.
“They were aggressive and spit us up, and we just were sloppy,” Head Coach Greg Collins said. “We’re just really fundamentally not sound.”
An evenly matched first quarter resulted in an 11-9 Sam Houston advantage. A 3-pointer from sophomore guard Trinity Rowe to start the second quarter gave the Lady Toppers their final lead of the game, as the Bearkats quickly responded with a 9-0 run to take a 26-17 lead at halftime.
Senior guard Tia Shelling returned to the starting lineup for the first time in over a month. She finished with six points on 3-5 shooting, eight steals and a team-high eight turnovers.
Sam Houston extended its lead to a game-high 15 points with under a minute in the third quarter. The Bearkats maintained the lead during the fourth for a 50-38 victory.
Rowe and senior forward Zsofia Telegdy each scored 11 points to lead the Lady Toppers in scoring. Telegdy’s performance marked her fourth straight game scoring in double-digits.
The loss dropped the Lady Toppers to 5-11 (1-4 CUSA). WKU has lost seven of its last nine games.
The Lady Toppers look to rebound as they stay on the road to face Louisiana Tech Saturday afternoon.
