Lady Topper Hoops: WKU falls to Oregon State, 82–58, to Close Season

This story was written by our own Sam Gormley.

The key entering the game for WKU was to find a way to slow down Oregon State’s Marie Gulich. The Lady Toppers were not able to do that and, in turn, fell to Oregon State 82–58 in the first round of the NCAA women’s tournament.

The Lady Tops started well in the first quarter but quickly fell ice cold, going on a nearly four-minute scoring drought and going four and a half minutes without hitting a field goal.

All the while, the Beavers were hitting shots and dominating the glass, finishing with 13 rebounds (compared to WKUs five) and shooting 50% from the floor.

In the second quarter, another scoring drought and foul trouble for the Lady Tops allowed for Oregon State to pull away for an 18-point halftime lead.

After the break, things didn’t get better for Western Kentucky. The Beavers came out red hot to open the lead up to 24 points. The Lady Toppers got some confidence after Oregon State’s bench was called for a technical after a shooting foul was called against them. Ivy Brown proceeded to knock down all four free throws to bring it to within 20.

At that point, Oregon State did exactly what they did for the previous two and a half quarters: Get the ball to Gulich and hit three pointers.

Gulich finished with a game-high 29 points and 15 rebounds and proved to be the difference in the game.

For WKU, Tashia Brown finished her career with 17 points and seven rebounds. Ivy Brown pulled down six boards and added 14 points of her own.

Overall, Oregon State was just the better team. As Michelle Clark-Heard said, “They’re probably the highest ranked 6-seed in the history of the NCAA Tournament.” The Beavers came in as the nation’s top three point shooting team and proved just that.

The Lady Toppers finish their season at 24–9 after the 24 point loss.

What’s Next? WKU will have to replace two of the best players in program history in Tashia and Ivy Brown, but do have a lot to look forward to. Fans will be able to see transfers Alexis Brewer and Arame Niang, while also getting to see another talented incoming freshman class headlined by Akira Levy. Michelle Clark-Heard also plans on returning 9 more players, including 6 that have made at least 5 career starts.

Final Stats

Michelle Clark-Heard, Ivy Brown and Tashia Brown after the game

Note: Get the tissues ready before watching