Hilltoppers get swept in men’s and women’s road action
The Lady Tops stayed in-state to take on the Cardinals, and it would be all Louisville from opening tip to final buzzer. The Cards, at one point, lead by a 22-8 score and took a 44-26 into the halftime break. 20 points each from Chastity Gooch and Alexis Govan wouldn’t be enough to keep the Lady Tops close, in what UofL head coach Jeff Walz called in his post game comments a “very tired Western Kentucky team.” They did grab a total of 40 rebounds (10 from Gooch, who recorded yet another double-double), but turned the ball over 17 times and only recorded six assists – three each from Micah Jones and Kendall Noble. Tashia Brown set an early career high with 14 points, but those came off the bench, as Ivy Brown started in her spot, Ivy’s first collegiate start. Four total Lady Cardinals scored in double figures, including three of the starting five, lead by 22 from Bria Smith and 16 were scored by each Sara Hammond and Myisha Hines-Allen. UofL shot 52% from the floor compared to 35% by the Lady Tops, but didn’t hit a single three pointer and actually shot worse from the free throw line than WKU did (61% vs. 59%). I echo Walz’s sentiment about how tired this team was, with their travel schedule during the WNIT, and this loss shouldn’t be taken too harshly. This is not what this WKU team is. You know it. I know it. They know it. They’ll be fine.
The Hilltoppers, once again, failed to close out a game and fell for the third straight game to the Seawolves by 10 points. The Tops got out to an 8-1 lead to open the game, and came all the way back to tie the game in the second half, but much like against Belmont on Saturday, they couldn’t find a way to hold onto the lead for good, and would fall. Three Tops did score in double figures, lead by 19 points from T.J. Price as well as 10 each from George Fant and Chris Harrison-Docks. Both Price and Fant fouled out, with Price logging 38 minutes of playing time and George had 22 minutes on the floor. Ben Lawson was a small bright spot for WKU, as he grabbed seven boards, and in the words of Zach Greenwell, both he and Alex Rostov looked better – they have a long way to go, but he made a point to say they did look better than they have the first three games. The Tops had no answer defensively for the two offensive juggernauts for SBU, Carson Puriefoy (who lead all scorers with 21 points) and Jameel Warney (17), who had his way in down low for the Seawolves tonight. Stony Brook is a tough team to play at home, but things don’t get any easier as a Thanksgiving Day matinee with St. Joseph’s awaits the Hilltoppers.