WKU’s Matthews, Bauer earn C-USA weekly honors
Published 1:03 pm Monday, November 14, 2022
- Western Kentucky’s Callie Bauer (14) serves the ball in the Lady Tops’ 3-2 win over Rice at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky., on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Bauer earned her 1,000th career assist during the match. (Grace Ramey/gramey@bgdailynews.com)
Western Kentucky’s Lauren Matthews and Callie Bauer were recognized Monday for their performance in the Hilltoppers’ 3-2 victory over Rice last week, which gave the team the Conference USA regular-season title with a perfect 14-0 record in league play this season.
Matthews was named the league’s Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, while Bauer was named Co-Freshman of the Week.
Matthews put up a career-high 30 kills against No. 21 Rice, operating at a .377 hitting clip – good for 37 points, which tied for the school record – and 13 blocks.
In her first season as the Hilltoppers’ starting setter, Bauer collected a career-high 51 assists in the five-set thriller. She also posted a .500 hitting clip with seven kills. She added two service aces and five blocks.
WKU will host the conference championship for the first time since 2017 at E.A. Diddle Arena. WKU is the No. 1 seed and will face No. 8 seed Middle Tennessee at noon Friday. The tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Frampton honored by C-USA
Western Kentucky sixth-year guard Luke Frampton was named Conference USA Player of the Week, the league announced Monday.
This is the first award of the season and it is Frampton’s second of his career at WKU. It is the second consecutive season that a Hilltopper has earned the first Player of the Week honor of the year.
Frampton leads the team in scoring, averaging 20.5 points per game. He’s made 11 3-pointers, which is tied for third in the country, on 13 attempts, shooting 84.6%. His 3-point shooting percentage is the fourth-best mark in the nation.
The Poca, W.Va., native is the only player in the top five in the 3-point shooting percentage category who has attempted 12 or more 3-pointers.
Frampton’s 3-point shooting, along with the help of his teammates, has WKU leading the country in 3-point shooting percentage as a team, holding a clip of 63%. The next closest team is Villanova at 55.6%.
In the Hilltoppers’ opener at EKU, Frampton shot 5-of-6 from long range while he netted 6-of-7 against Kentucky State. He accomplished all of this in just 26.5 minutes per game and was limited to just 22 minutes against KSU.
