BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) -The WKU women’s basketball team (4-8) opened its Conference USA schedule on a difficult note Friday night, falling 75-48 to Jacksonville State. Despite several flashes of momentum in the first half, the Lady Toppers were unable to keep pace with the Gamecocks (7-6) following the halftime break.
Head coach Greg Collins shook up the rotation for the opener, handing Enni Ahervuo her first career start alongside Trinity Rowe, Torri James, Zsofia Telegdy, and Jeniffer Silva. The game began with Jacksonville State asserting control early, rattling off six unanswered points before Silva broke the ice for WKU at the 5:32 mark. The Lady Toppers fought back with a 4-0 run to pull within three late in the first quarter, though a late Tatum Boettjer triple helped JSU maintain a 14-10 lead.
The second frame saw WKU nearly erase the deficit when a Telegdy layup made it a one-point game. However, every WKU surge was met with a Jacksonville State answer. An 8-0 Gamecock run late in the half pushed the lead to double digits, and while a personal 5-0 scoring burst from Trinity Rowe briefly narrowed the gap, WKU headed into the locker room trailing 34-26. The momentum swung entirely to the home team in the second half, as the Gamecocks outscored the Lady Toppers 41-22 to secure the win.
Caleigh-Rose West provided a bright spot for the WKU offense, leading the team with 10 points and five rebounds. It was her second double-digit effort of the season and the first time this year she paced the squad in scoring. While WKU displayed depth by getting nine different players into the scoring column, the team’s struggles to reach the 60-point threshold proved costly once again. The Lady Toppers remain winless this season when failing to hit that mark, a trend that has historically challenged the program under Collins.
WKU (0-1 CUSA) will look to bounce back and even their conference record as they continue their road trip. The Lady Toppers are set to face Kennesaw State this Sunday, Jan. 4, with the action scheduled to begin at 1 PM CT. you can catch it live on ESPN+
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