Despite a loss on Thursday, the WKU Women’s Basketball got to the heart of the matter in their Valentine’s Day win against Jacksonville State University.
After returning from a three-game homestand, the Lady Toppers faced off against the Kennesaw State University Owls and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.
A lesson in loss
Thursday’s “Education Day” game against the Owls ended in a nail-biting loss for the Lady Toppers.
The Lady Toppers exploited the Owls’ offense, forcing bad perimeter shots throughout the second and third quarters. But the Owls outscored WKU in the paint 40 to 32 and in second-chance points 10 to four.
Despite going into the fourth quarter with a six-point lead, the Lady Toppers couldn’t overcome KSU.
WKU’s issue stemmed from a lack of aggression and poor decision-making. The team repeatedly took bad shots and made bad passes, and couldn’t seem to win the rebound battle.
Love and Basketball
Despite falling to KSU on Thursday, the Lady Toppers managed to take down the Gamecocks on Valentine’s Day. The team walked onto the court and looked nothing like in previous games.
WKU outscored Jax State in every quarter but the first, which is rare for the team. The team outperformed the Gamecocks in points in the paint, points off turnovers and steals. The team’s defense forced Jax State to take bad shots, which led to a 23.4% field goal percentage.
Jax State picked up a small victory by outrebounding WKU by five, but they were outdone in every other way.
In my last column, I pointed out redshirt sophomore forward Tatum Boettjer’s issues with poor shooting and defensive performance. She proved me wrong.
Against Jax State, Boettjer had four rebounds and 11 points on 80% shooting. She shot like a sniper from the perimeter and made herself an asset in the paint. Boettjer was unrecognizable against the Gamecocks, and I hope that she keeps up that kind of performance.
Sophomore guard Salma Khedr led the Lady Toppers in scoring with 16 points. Her performance wasn’t unusual, as Khedr is usually the leading scorer, but Khedr’s consistency was key to the team’s success.
The game’s true MVP was senior guard Tia Shelling. Along with Boettjer and Khedr, Shelling was the third player with double-digit points with 10, but her real contributions were on the other side of the court.
Shelling posted four rebounds and a whopping five steals. She was a defensive menace who fought for the ball at every opportunity. Shelling played like a true leader, especially when Sophomore guard Trinity Rowe was on the bench.
Everything worked out for the team this game, but I worry that the Lady Toppers can’t keep up that momentum.
Looking forward
There are only five games until the Conference USA Tournament, and the Lady Toppers are in serious danger of not making the cut.
The two teams at the bottom of the CUSA standings lose out on playing in the tournament, and WKU is ranked last in the conference. Despite this, there is a path forward for the team.
New Mexico State University and the UTEP are ranked 10th and 11th in CUSA, meaning WKU needs to overtake them to make it to the CUSA Tournament.
If WKU and UTEP finish the season with the same record, the Lady Toppers would get priority since they beat the Miners on Jan. 10, so NMSU is the only team of the two that WKU needs to worry about.
Of the next five games, the Lady Toppers need to win three more games than NMSU since a tie would favor the Aggies.
The games against Liberty, Delaware and Missouri State seem the most winnable for the team, as they’re the lowest-ranked teams of WKU’s upcoming opponents.
The future is uncertain for the Lady Toppers, but where there’s a will, there’s a way. If the team wants a chance at the CUSA championship, I think they can get there.
