Lady Toppers rally to end MTSU’s conference win streak

Published 12:16 am Sunday, January 19, 2025

by Micheal Compton

Saturday’s game against Middle Tennessee didn’t start the way the Western Kentucky women’s basketball team wanted, but it certainly ended on a high note — with WKU celebrating a 63-58 win over the Blue Raiders at E.A. Diddle Arena.

WKU (12-5 overall, 3-2 Conference USA) rallied from 14 points down to earn its first win over the Blue Raiders in almost three years — and snap MTSU’s CUSA-record 33 game conference win streak.

“I think anytime you play against a really good team like Middle Tennessee, I have so much respect for them and what they’ve built there, I think you have to play together,” WKU associate head coach Todd Buchanan said. “That’s what we talked about all week. We’ve been trying to break this thing down and work on specific things since about Monday. Then we got really into the scouting part of it more on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. I think it’s all about team. It’s all about the five on the floor and playing together and playing with the huge heart they had in the second half.”

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Middle Tennessee (12-6, 4-1) controlled the first half, using a strong advantage on the glass to overcome shooting 35%. The Blue Raiders held a 10-0 advantage on the boards and an 8-0 advantage on the scoreboard in the first two minutes.

The lead was 19-10 after a 3-pointer from Jalynn Gregory late in the first quarter and grew to 28-14 with 5:35 left in the first half. WKU got as close as six, getting a spurt from senior Caleigh Rose-West with eight points off the bench, but a putback and free throw from Anastasiia Boldyreva made the score 34-25 at halftime.

Middle Tennessee finished the half with 15 offensive rebounds and a 20-4 advantage in second-chance points.

WKU’s comeback began at the start of the third quarter with a 9-2 run that trimmed the deficit to two. Josie Gilvin’s two free throws tied the score 38-38 with 4:15 remaining in the quarter. After two baskets by Middle Tennessee gave the lead back to the Blue Raiders, WKU answered with a 3 from Mariama Sow and a jumper inside the free-throw line from Alexis Mead to take its first lead at 43-42.

An MTSU free throw tied the game again, but Destiny Salary’s runner in the lane as time expired gave WKU a 45-43 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Middle Tennessee opened an 8-2 surge to move in front by four points, but WKU answered with Gilvin and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, native Acacia Hayes providing the spark with leading scorer Mead on the bench with four fouls. Gilvin and Hayes combined for 12 points — including a pair of 3s from Gilvin — during a 12-3 run that gave WKU a 59-53 lead with 3:18 left.

“I think we did a really good job of penetrating and moving the ball during the fourth quarter,” Gilvin said. “It was easy to get our shots up. We were just finding the right people at the right time, executing on those easy baskets.”

Middle Tennessee scored the next five to get it down to one, but Givin’s layup pushed the advantage back to 61-58 with 1:11 remaining. After WKU’s defense forced a turnover, Zsofia Telegdy was unable to connect on a 3. Gilvin pulled down the offensive rebound to extend the possession and Salary was able to follow a missed layup with a putback that secured the win.

“It’s huge,” Buchanan said. “There is no mistake about it. When you are playing arguably the best team in conference and you get them on your home court and you have already kinda stubbed your toe twice at home, it’s a huge thing for us. From a confidence standpoint it is going to be huge moving forward, especially having a three-game homestand. Now we’ve got one and we’ve got to go get two more.”

Gilvin led the way with 17 points — 10 in the fourth quarter — six rebounds and five steals. Hayes added 15 points, while Rose-West added a career high 10 points.

“There was no other option but to come out with the W,” Rose-West said. “We spent a lot of time this week working on us and fixing our things that we needed to work on because at the end of the day that’s who we are playing for.”

T’amia Scott led Middle Tennessee with 25 points. Boldyreva added 17 points and 16 rebounds, but was held to six points and four boards in the second half. MTSU’s leading 3-point shooter Gregory was held to three points on 1-for-8 shooting from 3.

The Blue Raiders had three second-chance points in the second half.

“It was all about limiting touches for Boldyreva and Gregory,” Buchanan said. “The thing I think made the difference in the rebounds is the points we scored off turnovers. It just kind of offset everything. We got into the game, got into our plan of really working on our stance — staying down, not running at shooters with the dribble — everything changed.”

WKU will continue the homestand hosting Louisiana Tech at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

About Micheal Compton

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

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