Lady Toppers “out-grit” Louisiana Tech for fourth straight win

Published 2:44 pm Thursday, January 23, 2025

by Micheal Compton

The Western Kentucky women’s basketball team gave the Education Day crowd something to cheer about, stretching its win streak to four straight with a 69-61 win over Louisiana Tech on Thursday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

With 4,313 in attendance, mostly boisterous students from area school systems, WKU (13-5 overall, 4-2 Conference USA) jumped out to an early lead and was able to turn away every Louisiana Tech comeback attempt to secure the win.

“They are always gritty,” WKU coach Greg Collins said. “They are always tough. It wasn’t always going to come down to who was the best team. It was who was going to be the grittiest and the toughest and fight the most.

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“It was a good win against a really good team. It’s a team that is going to be tough down the stretch. They are going to keep getting better and better.”

WKU started strong with Zsofia Telegdy scoring eight straight to fuel a 14-1 run that made the score 19-5 less than five minutes in.

Louisiana Tech (11-7, 4-3) closed the first quarter with an 11-2 spurt and trimmed the deficit to 27-24 after a free throw from Jordan Marshall with 6:07 left in the half.

This time it was Salma Khedr’s turn to spark the offense, with the freshman wing scoring seven points during a 12-0 run that pushed the advantage to 39-24. The Lady Techsters were able to answer again, scoring the final eight points to slice WKU’s lead down to 39-32 at the half.

“That first quarter we got off to a really good start,” Collins said. “I know they changed defenses and we made some unforced turnovers, but really what they did is they ramped up their aggressiveness for rebounds and we didn’t match it. We talked about that at halftime – nicely.”

WKU kept control in the third quarter, finally stretching the lead back to double digits when Mackenzie Chatfield’s 3-pointer made the score 54-43 to end the period. The Lady Techsters answered again, with a 12-4 run to cut the deficit to three with 5:03 left.

Louisiana Tech was unable to get any closer than that, with WKU scoring five straight to make the score 67-59 with 31.6 seconds left to seal the win. It was the second straight game in which WKU was able to hold off a fourth-quarter rally, something that plagued the Lady Toppers last season.

“I think it is a lot of growth, especially with me and Destiny (Salary) being out there those last seven games of the season last year,” WKU senior guard Alexis Mead said. “We were the two that were out there the most and so we know how it feels to battle every single game and lose. We are coming out in these games and we are able to battle and be up. Even when they go on their runs, we are able to be poised. I think last year gave us a lot of growth for this year.”

Salary led a balanced attack with 17 points. Mead finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Telegdy and Josie Gilvin had 12 points each, with Gilvin adding six rebounds and five assists.

“That’s my favorite game of the year, when the kids come out,” Mead said. “Any time I get to go up there and sit with them they are so loving and caring, so it is always a bunch of fun.”

Collins always praised the atmosphere during Thursday’s win.

“That is the best school day that we’ve had, that I can remember,” Collins said. “It was a lot of fun to have them here. It was good to see our players run up there, get high fives and sign and take selfies with the kids.”

Jianna Morris had 19 points, while Jordan Marshall added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Louisiana Tech outrebounded WKU 45-29 with a 22-8 advantage in second-chance points.

“We’ve got to be deliberate about boxing out early, getting two hands on the ball and securing some rebounds,” Collins said. “Now we did get some important rebounds down the stretch that we needed, including against Middle Tennessee. We had some big ones that we needed to finish the game off, but we don’t put ourselves in that spot if we limit second-chance opportunities throughout the game.

“We try to make up for it other ways, but that is something that if we are going to compete at the tape that we’ve got to compete at the top in that area.”

WKU’s defense forced 21 turnovers, leading to 23 points. Offensively, WKU finished with 19 assists on 26 made field goals.

“When we are passing the ball like that and knocking down shots I guarantee it is going to be hard to beat us,” Salary said.

WKU will return to action at 2 p.m. on Saturday, wrapping up a three-game homestand when it host Sam Houston.

About Micheal Compton

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

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