With one streak over, the Western Kentucky women’s basketball team looks to start a new one when it hosts Kennesaw State at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

It is the first of two home games this week, with the Lady Toppers hosting Jacksonville State at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

WKU (15-6 overall, 6-3 Conference USA) had a six-game win streak snapped in a 65-59 loss at New Mexico State on Saturday. The Lady Toppers led by 11 points at halftime, but New Mexico State was able to rally with a 45-point outburst in the second half.

“The streak was just trying to win one game,” WKU coach Greg Collins said. “We played a decent first half at New Mexico and in the second half our defense wasn’t as strong. We went through the third quarter and missed seven layups. There are other things that probably affected the game, but it was our 3-point percentage defense and our inability to finish some baskets in the third quarter that would have extended the lead. We’ve watched film. We’ve talked about it. We’ve worked on it. Now we are getting ready for a really gritty, tough Kennesaw State team.”

That win streak began with the two teams WKU will face this week. The Lady Toppers won 51-44 at Jacksonville State on Jan. 9 before pulling out a 72-62 win at Kennesaw State two days later.

Both teams are 3-6 in conference play, with Jacksonville State 9-11 and Kennesaw State 8-12. Collins said both teams are better than their records indicate.

“They both play really aggressive defense,” Collins said. “Jacksonville State does a great job of guarding the 3-point line. They don’t give up a lot of good looks at the 3-point line. Kennesaw State also does a really good job of forcing turnovers and playing aggressive defense. We’ve got to take care of the ball. We’ve got to work for quality shots. We have to stick with what worked well for us at Jacksonville and Kennesaw, which was good ball movement.”

Thursday is the start of the second half of conference play. Collins said his team heads into the second half with a rotation that is starting to come together – finding production throughout the roster.

“I think our depth is starting to be more productive,” Collins said. “That is something that was one of the goals at the beginning of the season – get taller and get deeper. We got bigger, but when you add a lot of new players sometimes it takes some time to jell. You are seeing improved play from those players coming off the floor. I think that is one area we have been improving.”

Collins said he also thinks defense has been a strength. New Mexico State’s 64 points was the most WKU has allowed in the last seven games.

“The defense has been pretty solid,” Collins said. “At Kennesaw we were in control and we let a couple of players start hitting 3s in the fourth quarter, just like what happened in the third and fourth quarter at New Mexico. We’ve done this consistently, kind of lost our focus on guarding that 3-point line late in ballgames. That is an area we have to continue to work on, but I think the defense has been pretty solid.”

And while WKU sits in third place heading into the second half of conference play, two games behind co-leaders Middle Tennessee and Liberty, Collins said he thinks this team is capable of taking its play to another level.

“We are still a work in progress,” Collins said. “We are not in a bad spot. We are not where we want to be, but we just have to keep grinding and keep working at it.”