WKU Women’s Basketball refused to go down without a fight, defeating Delaware on the road in a 73-71 thriller Thursday night.

The Lady Toppers marginally led for the majority of the game. WKU led by a game-high nine points with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Delaware responded with two scoring runs, retaking the lead with under a minute and a half to play.

A clutch rebound and put-back from senior guard Tia Shelling put WKU back up top with 25 seconds left, after which Delaware could not recover.

“What we talked about in our huddle was maintaining poise and just keeping that mindset that even though we’re in adversity…we’re going to stay focused on the task at hand…I was proud of their poise,” Head Coach Greg Collins said.

Three Lady Toppers scored in double figures. Leading the way was sophomore forward Salma Khedr with 19, followed closely behind by sophomore point guard Trinity Rowe (16) and sophomore forward Torri James (13).

WKU started the game hot from beyond the arc, shooting a scorching 83.3% from 3. An evenly matched second quarter included 14 points from each team. WKU led 37-32 at halftime.

The Lady Toppers continued their momentum in the third quarter. Despite a couple of scoring runs from Delaware, WKU never gave up its lead. Going into the nail-biting fourth quarter, the Lady Toppers held a 60-53 advantage.

Four other WKU players contributed at least six points. The Lady Toppers finished the night with 45% field-goal and 40% 3-point shooting and with a season-low nine turnovers.

“We needed help from just about everybody,” Collins said.

The victory improves WKU to 8-18 overall and 4-11 in Conference USA. It also extends the Lady Toppers’ winning streak to three.

“If you’re riding a bike uphill, the last thing you can do is stop pedaling…we’re trying to maintain that focus of being in the present moment and not letting something that was negative carry over,” Collins said.

The Lady Toppers stay on the road to face Liberty Saturday afternoon.