Western Kentucky’s women’s basketball team didn’t lead against Louisiana Tech until the final 2:14 of the game, but came away with a 78-73 win against the Lady Techsters on Saturday afternoon in Ruston, Louisiana.

The Lady Toppers (19-7, 10-4 CUSA) used a 31-point fourth quarter to come from behind and clinch the win against LA Tech (13-13, 6-9 CUSA).

LA Tech scored the first points of the game on a pair of free throws just 27 seconds in. The two teams went back and forth, but a 7-0 run from the Lady Techsters built a seven-point lead for LA Tech. The rest of the quarter was mostly even, with LA Tech taking a 21-16 lead into the second quarter.

After a LA Tech layup, WKU’s Alexis Mead connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the Lady Techsters’ lead down to one. LA Tech went back ahead by six, but a jumper from Josie Gilvin and Mead’s third 3 of the quarter got WKU back within one again. The Lady Techsters ended the quarter on a 6-0 run, four points coming from the free throw line, to take a 34-27 lead into halftime.

WKU outscored LA Tech 20-15 in the third quarter to cut into the Lady Techster lead. Acacia Hayes knocked down a 3-pointer to open the quarter, but LA Tech matched with a 3 of its own. The Lady Toppers used an 11-5 run to cut the lead down to one with 2:05 left in the period. Scoring went back and forth the rest of the quarter, with LA Tech taking a 49-47 lead into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter was on offensive burst for both teams. After WKU tied the game three times to start the fourth quarter, LA Tech used a 6-0 run to go back ahead by six. The two teams went back and forth until back-to-back 3s from Destiny Salary and Gilvin tied the game again.

After a LA Tech free throw, WKU went on a 7-0 run to go ahead by six with 1:20 left in the game. A 3-pointer from Mead at the 2:14 mark gave WKU its first lead of the game. The Lady Toppers went 6-of-6 from the free-throw line in the last minute to ice the game.

Gilvin earned her third straight double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds to go along with two assists and two steals. She’s the first WKU player to have three straight double-doubles since Raneem Elgedawy had four straight in 2021.

Mead made four 3-pointers and finished with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. The 5-foot-4 point guard has had five-or-more rebounds in six of the last seven games. She moved up to seventh place on WKU’s career assists list with 442 in her time at WKU.

Hayes had her best offensive game since Kennesaw State with 18 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Mariama Sow provided a spark off the bench, scoring eight points including six in the fourth quarter. It was her best offensive output since scoring nine against Kentucky Wesleyan.

It was only the third time this season that WKU has won after trailing at halftime and the first time winning after trailing with five minutes left.

WKU made eight 3-pointers in the game, bringing the season total to 193 which is the sixth most in WKU history.

The Lady Toppers had zero turnovers at halftime and finished the game with four total. It was the fewest for a WKU team since having four against Liberty last season.

The Lady Toppers improved to 8-4 on the road this season.

WKU moves to 28-29 against LA Tech all-time. It was only the ninth WKU win in Ruston (9-18 all-time).

The Lady Toppers complete the season sweep against the Lady Techsters. WKU has swept four teams in conference this season (Kennesaw State, Jacksonville State, Sam Houston and LA Tech).

With the win, WKU has locked a top five seed in the CUSA Championship in Huntsville, Alabama in March.

The Lady Toppers return home for the last two home games of the season, hosting UTEP on Thursday and New Mexico State on Saturday, March 1.