WKU Women’s Basketball “turned into a train wreck” following its star point guard’s battle with injury in its 80-54 road loss at Florida International Thursday night, Head Coach Greg Collins said.

An underwhelming offensive production from the Lady Toppers included just 25% 3-point shooting and only nine assists, which converted to poor defense on the other end of the floor. WKU grabbed just seven offensive rebounds and 18 overall, coming nowhere near FIU’s 17 offensive and 40 total boards.

“A bucket leads to better defense, but a missed offensive rebound or a turnover leads to bad defense,” Head Coach Greg Collins said. “That’s happening just too many times.”

The Lady Toppers came out of the gate determined, as did the Panthers. The fast-paced first quarter included multiple ties, but FIU took a 24-17 lead following a 7-0 scoring run.

Sophomore point guard Trinity Rowe began dealing with back spasms and saw just five minutes of playing time in the second quarter. In her absence, WKU struggled to control the ball, committing seven turnovers in the period. The Panthers took advantage, shooting 60% from beyond the arc and going on a 12-2 run to end the quarter. WKU trailed 43-27 at halftime.

“We had to sub her out, and then it just turned into a train wreck because we got a bunch of players that just can’t take care of the ball and stay focused,” Collins said.

Despite the Panthers outscoring the Lady Toppers 17-14 in the third quarter, WKU managed to prevent FIU from running away even more, forcing six turnovers. FIU had its way offensively in the fourth quarter despite WKU’s defensive adjustments, ultimately handing the Lady Toppers their sixth-straight loss.

Despite her back issues, Rowe still led WKU in scoring with 17. No other Lady Topper scored in double figures. Rowe finished the game with 26 minutes played.

WKU is now 5-15 overall and 1-9 in Conference USA.