BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The WKU men’s and women’s basketball programs entertained a crowd of approximately 4,500 Saturday night at E.A. Diddle Arena during Hilltopper Hysteria activities.
Following performances by the WKU cheerleaders and WKU dance team, both programs were introduced to the crowd and Lady Topper head coach Michelle Clark-Heard and Hilltopper head coach Ray Harper addressed those in attendance.
The Lady Toppers held a 20-minute, running-clock scrimmage, and the Black Team earned a 44-29 victory over the Red Team. Senior Alexis Govan led the Black Team with 15 points, and sophomore Bria Gaines added 12 points and nine rebounds. Freshman Ivy Brown contributed nine rebounds and had two blocked shots. The Red Team was paced by eight points and five rebounds from senior Chastity Gooch, and junior Micah Jones had seven points.
The Red Team edged the White Team, 43-41, in the Hilltoppers’ 20-minute, running-clock scrimmage. Justin Johnson had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Ben Lawson hit nine field goals en route to 19 points. Chris Harrison-Docks hit four three-pointers and finished with 14 points, and six different players scored for the Red Team in the contest.
Trency Jackson, Ayinde Sprewell, DJ Clayton and Johnson participated in the Slam Dunk Contest, with Johnson and Sprewell advancing to the finals. Sprewell won the contest with a dunk over teammate Brandon Price’s head while grabbing the ball out of Price’s hand.
The Lady Toppers held a three-point contest with members of The Red Wave, WKU’s official student group, and Jones helped her Red Wave teammate take down Brown and her teammate in the shooting contest.
The Lady Toppers are looking to build off last year’s conference tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance, and the squad was picked to finish second in the 14-team Conference USA preseason poll. The Lady Toppers are led by senior Chastity Gooch, who was named Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year.
The Hilltoppers return nearly 75 percent of their scoring from a team that finished 20-12 a season ago. A 20-win season in 2014-15 would mark the first instance of three-straight 20-win seasons for the program since 2008-10. WKU seniors George Fant and T.J. Price were voted to the Preseason All-Conference USA Team by the league’s head coaches earlier this month.
The first chances to see the squads in game action come during exhibition games on Friday, Nov. 7 for the Lady Toppers and Monday, Nov. 10 for the Hilltoppers. The Lady Toppers open the 2014-15 season at home against Central Arkansas on Friday, Nov. 14 as part of the Preseason WNIT. The Hilltoppers start the season the following day, Nov. 15, against Austin Peay.
Season tickets for both programs are on sale and can be purchased at WKUSports.com or through the WKU Ticket Office in-person at E.A. Diddle Arena or over the phone at 1-800-5-BIG RED or 745-5222 locally. WKU is offering a three-game mini plan for men’s basketball season, featuring tickets to the Louisville (Dec. 20), Belmont (Nov. 22) and Chicago State (Dec. 17) games for $75.
