Lady Toppers head to Colorado for second round of WNIT
The Lady Toppers have made the quick turnaround, and even quicker preparations for their second round WNIT matchup with the Colorado Buffaloes, as WKU didn’t know who they’d play until late Saturday night. But, the stage is set, and Michelle Clark-Herd’s squad will look to punch their ticket to the tournament’s semifinals with a victory.
The Buffs defeated North Dakota 68-59 Saturday night, thanks to a game high 21 points from senior forward Jen Reese and 16 points from junior forward Jamee Swan, who also contributed eight rebounds and four blocks, which tied a career best (first done in last year’s NCAA tournament against Kansas). As a team, Colorado shot 43.3% from the floor and 68.8% from the free throw line. North Dakota kept close all game, but an opportunistic Buffs team grabbed key rebounds (totaling 46 on the night) and forced late turnovers to pull away and, eventually, seal the deal.
The Lady Toppers seemed well matched to go into a close game late, especially if it’s like what Colorado saw Saturday, as WKU grabbed 44 boards and only turned the ball over 11 times Friday against Central Arkansas. The Lady Toppers will return a starting line up to the floor that saw four of the five starters score in double figures. Speaking of which, let’s go through our projected starting lineup:
Micah Jones – G
Tashia Brown – G
Kendall Noble – G
Alexis Govan – G/F
Chastity Gooch – F
Shouldn’t come as to big a surprise that the lineup is expected to be the same, especially with how well they performed Friday night, granted Colorado will prove to be a much more difficult task. All time, WKU is 12-4 against teams from the state of Colorado, but have lost the only time they’ve played head to head against the Buffs – a Dec. 27th, 1991 matchup that went into overtime, and eventually saw the Lady Toppers fall 71-68.
For those of you not traveling to Boulder (I’d be surprised if any of you are planning on doing so), you can watch the game live online, and for free, here. We will also have full gameday coverage throughout the evening to make sure you know what’s happening all throughout the evening.