The problem continues to go unsolved, as WKU Women’s Basketball drops its eighth straight game with a 55-51 loss in its “Education Game” at Diddle Arena Thursday morning.
Sophomore guard Torri James led the Lady Toppers in scoring with 12 points. Senior forward Zsofia Telegdy and sophomore guard Trinity Rowe totaled 11 each.
Sophomore guard Salma Khedr struggled, scoring just two points. Khedr leads the Lady Toppers in scoring this season, averaging 10 points a game.
Junior forward Latazia Williamson and senior guard Keyarah Berry led the way for the Owls, combining for 33 points on the night.
Kennesaw State dominated the boards throughout the game, outrebounding the Lady Toppers 39-27. WKU has been outrebounded in 19 of 23 games this season.
“We wanted to be aggressive and grab the ball, but we’re still standing and watching,” Head Coach Greg Collins said.
The Owls also outscored the Lady Toppers 40-32 in the paint.
“When you’re not a great shooting team and you’re not dominating the defensive boards, you can’t also turn the ball over,” Collins said. “You just don’t have enough opportunities to win.”
The first half was close throughout, with the largest lead at four when the Owls took a 4-0 lead to start the game. The Lady Toppers trailed 25-24 at halftime.
A strong third quarter powered WKU to a 42-38 lead entering the fourth quarter. Then the collapse started, with the Owls outscoring the team 17-9 in the final period.
The strategy of the Lady Toppers to force long jumpers instead of allowing three-point shots worked for most of the game, causing the Owls to shoot 40% through three quarters. This collapsed in the fourth quarter, as the Owls shot 61.5% from the field.
“Sometimes our ability to execute what we’re trying to do and what we’ve done all week, when those lights come on, sometimes we get a little heavy-footed,” Collins said.
The Lady Toppers responded by shooting just 28.6% in the fourth quarter.
“A lot of it was really just us,” Rowe said. “I don’t feel like they made us force too much, I feel like we just put that on ourselves.”
The Lady Toppers loss puts them at 5-18 on the season, the loss being their twelfth of the last thirteen.
The Lady Toppers look to end the losing streak against Jacksonville State on Valentine’s Day at Diddle Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
