Coming off its first loss of C-USA play at UAB on Saturday, WKU will look to rebound on Thursday morning at 11 a.m. (CT) as the Lady Toppers host UTSA in the seventh annual Spread the Red Education Day game inside E.A. Diddle Arena.

Thursday’s game will feature free admission for all Lady Topper fans and will be carried nationally on Fox College Sports and locally on WKU PBS with Jeff Younglove and Paul Sanderford on the television call.

In their most recent game, WKU (12-5, 3-1 C-USA) could not overcome a strong fourth quarter by UAB on Saturday as the Blazers outscored the Lady Toppers 22-7 in the final frame to claim a 79-61 victory in Birmingham. Ivy Brown turned in a strong game for WKU, falling just shy of a double-double with 25 points and nine rebounds and posting a career-best six blocks.

Tashia Brown leads all C-USA players with 22.5 points per game and fellow preseason All-C-USA pick Ivy Brown is just short of averaging a double-double at 16.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. The pair have combined to score just over 50 percent of WKU’s points this season.

UTSA (3-13, 1-3 C-USA) is led by Marie Benson, who averages 13.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Crystal Chidomere (12.9) and Carlie Heineman (11.1) round out the Roadrunner trio in double figures, and Chidomere has also dished out a team-best 33 assists this season.

Following Thursday’s early tilt, WKU will begin a three-game road trip at Marshall on Sunday afternoon at Noon (CT) as it seeks its third straight win over the Thundering Herd.

GAME #18 / C-USA GAME #5 – WKU VS. UTSA

WKU (12-5, 3-1 C-USA) vs. UTSA (3-13, 1-3 C-USA)
January 18, 2018 | 11:00 a.m. (CT)
Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena (7,326)

QUICK SHOTS

- As of Jan. 17, WKU is ranked No. 48 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings and has faced three teams in the top 30 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. 82.

- Against UTSA on Thursday, WKU will be aiming for its 14th consecutive home victory in conference play. The Lady Toppers’ last setback against a C-USA foe in Diddle Arena came in an 85-78 defeat against UTEP on Feb. 6, 2016, nearly two years ago.

- Since beginning the annual tradition during the 2010-11 season, WKU has posted a perfect 6-0 mark in Education Day games with all six victories coming against conference foes. The Lady Toppers have picked up wins over South Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia State, Florida Atlantic, Old Dominion and UAB in their Education Day tilts, most recently defeating the Blazers, 60-48, on Jan. 12, 2017, last season.

- Through 17 games, Ivy Brown has broken into the top 10 in rebounding in school history, ranking 10th all-time with 833 boards. The Hodgenville, Ky., native is also sixth in school history with 128 blocks and her 80.5 percent mark from the free throw line for her career is fifth among all Lady Toppers who have made at least 200 free throws.

- Tashia Brown leads C-USA and is 10th among all players in the nation with 22.5 points per game in 2017-18. Brown has not scored fewer than 13 points in any single game this season and has moved into the top 10 in school history in both field goals made (ninth, 656) and attempted (seventh, 1,534) for her career.

- Already 11th in program history with 1,713 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 50 more points during her final season on The Hill.

- Through 17 games, WKU leads all C-USA teams and ranks fifth nationally for the fewest turnovers per game, giving up the ball only 11.6 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 +6.7 per game.

- WKU is currently shooting 263-of-336 (.783) 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’ 263 made free throws lead all C-USA squads so far this season, and their 78.3 percent success rate tops the league and ranks sixth in the nation.

- 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 16.8 offensive boards per game, and Ivy Brown leads all C-USA players with 4.2 offensive rebounds per game. WKU’s 16.8 offensive boards also ranks 10th in the nation among Division I teams alongside UCLA.

- 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 38.8 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.

- 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’sgame against UTSA, 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 14th 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.

- 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.

- 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 (17) and Sherry Porter (8) have been consistent starters for the Lady Toppers this season.

BROADCAST

Listen: 102.7 FM and 1450AM in Bowling Green (Jevin Redman, pxp)

Watch: Fox College Sports, WKU PBS (Jeff Younglove, pxp; Paul Sanderford, analysis)
Live Audio: C-USA TV (Online Audio)
Live Stats: Courtesy of WKU Athletics