The Lady Toppers are unable to escape the bottom of Conference USA.
The team is ranked 12th in CUSA. The only win they’ve been able to walk away with during conference play came at the expense of the 11th-ranked University of Texas at El Paso.
Dead on Arrival
The Thursday game against Florida International University proved to be too much for the Lady Toppers despite a 17-point game for Sophomore guard Trinity Rowe. The team found themselves outplayed and outmatched by FIU.
Saturday’s game against Missouri State University made itself another powerful obstacle for WKU. No matter what it did, the team was unable to fight back against the dominant opposition.
Going into the games, there seemed to be very little hope for the Lady Toppers given their record this season, but the losses were disheartening nonetheless. After dropping both games, they pushed their losing streak to seven straight.
WKU faced off against two opponents that outplayed them on both sides of the court. FIU outscored them by 26 and out-rebounded them by 22. MSU won by 23 and out-rebounded the team by 19.
Ain’t got no rhythm
One of the most fatal flaws in the Lady Toppers’ play style is their lack of rhythm and momentum. Many lineups feel like pieces from the same puzzle arranged in the wrong order; they just don’t fit.
While some players seem to slot in well in all lineups, many have trouble adjusting to the changes.
Coach Greg Collins often changes the starting lineup, and sometimes that’s necessary. It’s not uncommon to change the starters up to counter a specific team’s strengths, but Collins changes the starting lineup every game.
The first players on the court are rarely the same two games in a row, and that leads to no sense of normalcy for the team. They can’t establish any rhythm to work off of when everything changes so often.
One trick ponies
Another issue plaguing the team is players who struggle to do anything but shoot.
Redshirt sophomore forward Tatum Boettjer is the most obvious of these. She seems to be one of the few capable of shooting 3-pointers. However, she keeps her feet glued on defense and seems deeply averse to scoring in the paint.
Those are flaws that could be overlooked if she were a weapon on the perimeter, but she’s not a consistent shooter. Boettjer shoots 32.5% from three, but that doesn’t represent the variety in her shooting performances.
Boettjer has shot above 30% from three in only 8 games and has shot 29% or lower in 12 games.
Senior forward Jennifer Silva has become another one-trick pony. At the beginning of the season, Silva was a strong player on both sides of the ball, but her defensive instincts have faded as the season’s gone on.
Instead of fighting for rebounds, something that she should be doing as the only player on the team taller than six feet three inches, Silva stands and waits for someone else to get the ball.
Playing like this loses the team a lot of rebounds, especially on the offensive side.
When Silva and Boettjer are on the court playing like that, they take away spots from players who can fight for the ball on both sides of the court.
Future looks (somewhat) bright
Despite the issues plaguing WKU, some bright spots provide some hope for its future.
The Lady Toppers have a lot of young talent; a lot of their biggest assets are younger players.
Guards Trinity Rowe and Salma Khedr are both sophomores along with forward Torri James. Those three are huge contributors to the team’s success and, so long as they don’t transfer out, they will provide a solid foundation for next season.
Freshman guard Enni Ahervuo has gotten some decent minutes recently and has quickly become a favorite of mine. She’s a decent shooter and a menace on defense, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s really entertaining to watch.
Another freshman guard that stands out is Lola Bond. When Rowe was injured, Bond had to step up in moments when senior guard Tia Shelling was unable to.
Though she’s not the greatest shooter, Bond plays well as a facilitating guard. With time, her game is bound to improve into something that can really make an impact on the team.
Players like Rowe, Khedr, James, Ahervuo and Bond give me hope for the Lady Toppers’ future, despite this lackluster season.
