After sweeping its first three games in C-USA action inside E.A. Diddle Arena, WKU will go on the road for the first time in conference play this season on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. as the Lady Toppers battle a UAB team with a perfect 7-0 record inside Bartow Arena this season.
In their last time out, the Lady Toppers set a new conference record for margin of victory in a C-USA contest, defeating FIU, 101-47, on Thursday night. WKU hit triple digits for the first time under Michelle Clark-Heard behind a dominant performance of 13 points, 23 rebounds and five blocks from C-USA Freshman of the Year candidate Raneem Elgedawy.
Tashia Brown leads all C-USA players with 23.1 points per game and fellow preseason All-C-USA pick Ivy Brown is averaging a double-double at 15.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. The pair have combined to score just over 50 percent of WKU’s points this season.
UAB (13-2, 2-0 C-USA) features a balanced attack with three players in double figures: Rachael Childress (14.0), Deanna Kuzmanic (13.5) and Miyah Barnes (11.3). The Blazers also lead the nation in three-point field goal percentage at a .418 clip and are shooting 46.5 percent (415-of-893) overall from the field this season.
Following Saturday’s bout, WKU will be back in action inside Diddle Arena for Thursday’s annual Education Day game against UTSA at 11 a.m. featuring students from local schools.
GAME #17 / C-USA GAME #4 – WKU AT UAB
WKU (12-4, 3-0 C-USA) at UAB (13-2, 2-0 C-USA)
January 13, 2018 | 6:30 p.m. (CT)
Birmingham, Ala. | Bartow Arena (8,500)
QUICK SHOTS
– As of Jan. 12, WKU is ranked No. 43 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings and has faced three teams in the top 20 in Notre Dame, Missouri and Iowa. WKU is one of only two C-USA representative in the top 100 of the rankings, with UAB second at No. 100.
– Against UAB on Saturday, WKU will be aiming for its 13th consecutive victory in conference play. The Lady Toppers’ last setback against a C-USA foe came in an 80-77 defeat on the road at UTSA on Jan. 28, 2017, last season.
– Raneem Elgedawy’s dominant 23-rebound performance against FIU set several records. Her 23 rebounds were tied for the most ever by an individual in a C-USA game, tied for third-most in school history and by any individual C-USA player in a single game and are the most in a single game by any underclassman in the nation this season.
– Against FIU on Jan. 11, WKU pulled down a season-best 61 rebounds, including 27 on the offensive glass. Those 61 total rebounds were tied for the eighth-most ever in a C-USA contest, as were WKU’s 27 offensive boards. As a team this season, WKU is averaging 39.2 rebounds per game, currently its best mark in a single season since totaling 41.4 per game in 2011-12.
– In WKU’s 101-47 victory over FIU, the Lady Toppers set a new C-USA record for the largest margin of victory ever in a C-USA contest. The 54-point win topped the previous record of 53 that occurred on three separate occasions, most recently in an 84-31 win for Rice over UTEP on Feb. 1, 2007. WKU’s 54-point win was its largest against a conference foe since downing South Alabama by 58 points, 100-42, as a member of the Sun Belt on Feb. 26, 1998.
– Ivy Brown (22 points, 14 rebounds), Dee Givens (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Raneem Elgedawy (13 points, 23 rebounds) each had a double-double against FIU on Jan. 11, marking the first time under Michelle Clark-Heard that three different players have recorded a double-double in the same game. The double-double was the first of Givens’ career on The Hill, while Brown (9) and Elgedawy (3) have each tallied multiple double-doubles this season.
– Through 16 games, Ivy Brown has broken into the top 10 in rebounding in school history, ranking 10th all-time with 824 boards. The Hodgenville, Ky., native is also sixth in school history with 122 blocks and her 80.6 percent mark from the free throw line for her career is fifth among all Lady Toppers who have made at least 200 free throws.
– Already 11th in program history with 1,700 career points, Tashia Brown is looking to move even further up the charts during her senior season. To move into the top 10 in school history, Brown would need to score 63 more points during her final season on The Hill.
– Through 16 games, WKU leads all C-USA teams and ranks seventh nationally for the fewest turnovers per game, giving up the ball only 11.8 times per contest. The Lady Toppers have had single-digit turnovers in seven games this season and rank second in the league in turnover margin at +7.1 per game.
– Tashia Brown leads C-USA and is fifth among all players in the nation with 23.1 points per game in 2017-18. Brown has not scored fewer than 14 points in any single game this season.
– WKU owns an impressive record under Clark-Heard when breaking the 80-point barrier. The Lady Toppers have posted a near-perfect 53-3 mark when scoring 80 or more since the 2012-13 season.
– After knocking down 15 of her last 25 three-point attempts, Sidnee Bopp now leads all C-USA players with her 49.0 three-point field goal percentage this season. Heading into Thursday’s game against FIU, Bopp is 24-of-49 from three-point range this season, and her 49.0 percent mark would currently top the program’s single-season charts in the category.
– Ivy Brown is currently tied for 12th in the country with nine double-doubles, already surpassing her total from the entire 2016-17 season. Brown has 27 career points-rebounds double-doubles, the seventh-most in program history by an individual.
– When holding opponents under 70 points this season, WKU owns a perfect 11-0 record and is 116-13 (.899) in that category dating back to the 2012-13 season.
– WKU is currently shooting 252-of-323 (.780) from the free throw line this season, with only four players shooting below 80 percent among those who have attempted at least five free throws. The Lady Toppers’ 252 made free throws lead all C-USA squads so far this season, and their 78.0 percent success rate tops the league and ranks ninth in the nation.
– After allowing an average of 82.8 points per game across its first four matchups this season, WKU’s defense has buckled down over its last 12 games. During that stretch, the Lady Toppers are giving up only 58.1 points per game and have allowed more than 64 points just one time over that same span.
– WKU has been very strong at collecting its own misses this season and has tallied nearly as many offensive rebounds as those on the defensive end. The Lady Toppers have pulled down a league-leading 17.0 offensive boards per game, and Ivy Brown leads all C-USA players with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game. WKU’s 17.0 offensive boards also ranks seventh in the nation among Division I teams.
– Just one week after Ivy Brown tied the program record with 16 points in the third quarter at Southern Illinois, Tashia Brown matched that mark in the third quarter against Toledo on Dec. 17. Brown scored 16 of the team’s 18 points in the frame, including 14 straight points, and outscored the entire Toledo team, 16-13, over the 10-minute span.
– Since its last home C-USA loss against UTEP on Feb. 6, 2016, WKU has won 14 consecutive home tilts against conference competition. That streak is WKU’s longest in the category since winning 17 straight home conference games in Sun Belt competition from 2003-04 to 2006-07.
– WKU has started a true freshman at least five times in each of the last four seasons. Tashia Brown earned five starts in 2014-15, Kayla Smith drew 31 starts in 2015-16, Sarah Price appeared in the starting lineup five times in 2016-17 and Raneem Elgedawy (16) and Sherry Porter (7) have been consistent starters for the Lady Toppers this season.
BROADCAST
Listen: 102.7 FM and 1450AM in Bowling Green (Jevin Redman, pxp)
Watch: beIN Sports
Live Audio: C-USA TV (Online Audio)
Live Stats: Courtesy of UAB Athletics
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.
– @WKUSports –
Currie P. McFayden
WKU Associate Director of Athletic Communications
Women’s Basketball | Women’s Soccer
