Behind a record-setting performance from C-USA Freshman of the Year candidate Raneem Elgedawy, WKU closed its four-game homestand with a C-USA-record 54-point win, 101-47, against FIU inside E.A. Diddle Arena on Thursday evening.
Elgedawy hauled in 23 rebounds, tied for the most by an individual in a C-USA game in conference history, and added 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Elgedawy’s 23 rebounds were also the third-most in a single game in school history and were the most in a single game by an underclassman in the nation this season.
The Lady Toppers (12-4, 3-0 C-USA) also had double-double performances from both Ivy Brown (22 points, 14 rebounds) and Dee Givens (16 points, 10 rebounds). Tashia Brown scored a game-high 23 points, and Sherry Porter rounded out the WKU quintet in double figures with 13 points, her most in a C-USA game thus far during her freshman campaign. WKU’s 54-point margin of victory stands as the most ever in a single C-USA game dating back to the creation of the conference in the 1995-96 season.
WKU held FIU to just 25.0 percent shooting (16-of-64) from the floor and capitalized on 21 Panther turnover, converting them into 24 points on the night.
For FIU (4-12, 1-2 C-USA), only Kristian Hudson reached double figures with 10 points
WKU raced out of the gate, scoring the first 10 points of the game behind four points apiece from Porter and Tashia Brown. The freshman knocked down a pair of jumpers in the first two minutes of the game, and Brown’s pair of free throws at the 5:55 mark left the Lady Toppers with a 10-0 lead.
Behind the strength of a 7-2 run, FIU trimmed WKU’s advantage to 5 points, 12-7, over the next three minutes, but another long 7-1 run from the Lady Toppers, punctuated by four points from Tashia Brown to end the quarter, gave WKU a 19-8 lead after the first 10 minutes.
The Lady Toppers’ lead continued to grow over the first three minutes of the second quarter as WKU netted 11 unanswered points against the Panthers. Givens sparked the run with five points while Tashia Brown chipped in four during the stretch to stretch the edge to 30-8.
FIU was unable to cut the lead below 20 before the halftime break, and WKU took a 49-18 lead into the locker room after Givens’ layup with five seconds remaining in the first half.
Early in the third quarter, FIU got five straight points behind a three-pointer from Lauryn Snipes and a Kiandre’a Pound layup to cut WKU’s lead to 56-25, but the Panthers would get no closer than that during the frame. Ivy Brown tallied four consecutive points to rebuild a 35-point lead and the advantage grew to 41 points by the end of the third quarter.
Over the final 10 minutes of play, FIU closed the gap to under 40 points only one time as WKU continued battling down the stretch for the 101-47 victory.
With its four-game homestand behind it, WKU will go on the road for the first time in C-USA play this season with a short trip south to Birmingham, Ala., to battle UAB on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. (CT). The Lady Toppers are a perfect 5-0 against the Blazers since joining C-USA prior to the 2014-15 season, but have scored no more than 64 points in any of those hard-fought victories, including a 62-52 win in the most recent meeting between the sides on Feb. 18, 2017.
How to Follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Lady Topper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @LadyTopperHoops on Twitter, @LadyTopperHoops on Instagram and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUWomensBasketball.
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Currie P. McFayden
WKU Associate Director of Athletic Communications
Women’s Basketball | Women’s Soccer
