Western Kentucky forward Tashia Brown shoots March 10 during WKU’s 72-57 win over UAB to win the Conference USA Tournament championship at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

If their hair was ever pulled back the same way – and it often was – then telling Dee Givens and Tashia Brown apart was only a difference in their uniform number.

They both stand 6-foot-1 and bring a dynamic guard-forward combo skill to Western Kentucky. Brown had the ability to take complete control of a game and Givens is showing early signs of the same strength.

Filling the role Brown left after graduating in May as the Lady Toppers’ third all-time leading scorer is the job Givens has taken on fully in leading WKU’s youth movement.

Now a redshirt junior in a consistent starting role, the comparison to a recent WKU legend is a weighted expectation Givens embraces.

“Ever since the summer, I feel like I can bring a lot to the table and I’ve been in the gym working on my shot,” Givens told the Daily News before practice Friday. “Getting my 3-point shot where I want it, ball handling and mid-range as well.”

Through 11 games, Givens has become the most dynamic player for the Lady Toppers (5-6). She leads the team in scoring (19.6 points per game) and minutes played (30.5 per game). She’s also WKU’s best free-throw shooter with a 93 percent success rate at the line and most aggressive defender with 31 steals.

Givens is thriving in a starting role after serving as the spark off the bench last year when Brown ran the show with Ivy Brown. Tashia Brown averaged 22.5 points per game and took nearly twice as many shots as anyone else on the team on her way to earning the Conference USA Player of the Year honor.

Brown finished her career with 2,073 points and currently plays professionally in Greece.

The most obvious difference in Brown’s and Givens’ skill set is shooting range. Brown made a living off mid-range jumpers and Givens is better shooting behind the arc. Of Brown’s 647 field goal attempts last season, just 50 of them were 3-point attempts.

Givens is already 30-of-70 from long range this season. Brown and Givens are also similar in their ability to drive. Brown shot 129 more free throws than anyone else in 2017-18 and shot 75 percent.

Givens is currently on a streak of 36 made free throws and is 52-of-56 from the stripe this year.

Per WKU’s Stats and Info Twitter account, Brown averaged a point every 95.9 seconds on the court last year. Givens is nearly mirroring that mark with one point every 95.6 seconds played.

Junior Whitney Creech played plenty of point guard with Tashia Brown on the floor and sees similarities in the two as well as individual characteristics.

“Same body build, long and athletic,” Creech said. “Both phenomenal scorers. (Givens) has been consistent with the 3 and getting to the rim and she’s scored for us in all three levels. The biggest thing she does for us is energy not just offensively, but defensively. She’s one of our best defensive players and that helps a lot.”

Defense is the biggest area of consistency Greg Collins demanded of Givens entering the season. The first-year coach, but longtime assistant to former coach Michelle Clark-Heard, often refers to Givens’ past of making one spectacular play per game.

The energy and consistency Givens has brought thus far is exactly what Collins needed from the redshirt junior.

“She’s become a very consistent player,” Collins said. “Not just points, but a consistent effort in defense, practice and prep before the game. All those things show a level of maturity she’s had.”

Givens came to WKU as the Region 11 Player of the Year from Lafayette High School in Lexington in 2014-15. She was the only freshman to appear in all 34 games during the 2015-16 season for WKU.

She played in just eight games as a sophomore before a hand injury forced her to redshirt.

She bounced back to 8.8 points off the bench last season on her way to being named the C-USA Sixth Player of the Year. She scored double figures in 15 games and had a career-high 20 points in the first game of 2017.

This season, she’s scored no less than 13 points in a game and marked a new career-high with 25 points against East Tennessee State on Nov. 23. Her current 36-made free throw streak dates back to Nov. 22 against Oregon State. She made all 11 free throw attempts at Arkansas-Little Rock on Dec. 1 and made eight free throws in WKU’s last outing against Bellarmine.

“Dee has grown so much when I got here to where she is,” Creech said. “It’s been unreal to see the big steps she’s taken this year from last year. She’s really taken a leadership role vocally.”

Being vocal is a new role for Givens, who watched the Brown duo lead by example and vocally last year. So far, her attempt to reflect that leadership is paying off.

“Yes, some days I’m tired so it is a little hard to bring energy, but I know it’s what the team needs,” Givens said. “I try to come in, put a smile on my face and bring as much energy as I can.”{&end}