The Lady Toppers have turned the ball over 20-plus times in eight games this season and have lost half of those games, but in Sunday’s 83-74 win over Florida International, that wasn’t the case.

Western turned the ball over only 12 times, while forcing 21 FIU turnovers.

Last week’s practices paid off for the Lady Toppers in Sunday’s game. Western exploded late in the first half, scoring 15 points in the last six minutes and continued in the second half to take the game’s biggest lead, 12 points.

“I feel like in the second half, we took our last two days of practice and applied it,” Coach Mary Taylor said. “I think it goes with knowing what we want to do offensively.”

Junior guard Kenzie Rich led both the guards and the team in scoring with her 18 points, 12 of which came from four three-pointers.

Western’s bench combined for 23 points, with nearly the entire team seeing 10 or more minutes of play.

Freshman guard Caitlin House provided some key minutes and rotated in to provide rest for the starting guards.

House and fellow freshman Teranie Thomas, a forward, each came off the bench to score seven points and each had one steal for the Lady Toppers.

House admitted that from the beginning of the season to now, she has made huge strides, not just in her play but in her understanding of Western’s plays as well.

“At the beginning, I didn’t know all of the plays that well,” House said. “From the beginning to now, the improvement has been tremendous, I think.”

House’s competitiveness and hard work have paid off throughout the year and are keys to where she is now as a player, Cowles said.

Western started three guards and stuck to that formation for almost all of the game, a large part of the Lady Toppers’ success using the full-court press.

Sophomore guards Amy McNear and Hope Brown both had two steals apiece, while only turning the ball over five times between the tandem, compared to FIU’s sophomore guard Michelle Gonzalez who turned the ball over nine times.

The team realizes in order to have success, it has to find ways to cut down its turnovers, Brown said.

“I think there was focus on (the turnovers),” Brown said. “Coach Cowles told us that we are not a good enough team to turn the ball over and still win.”

Western will be challenged in its next two games as its opponents have proved they can force turnovers.

The Lady Toppers’ next opponent, Florida Atlantic, has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over an average of 18 times per game. Western’s last opponent Middle Tennessee forces 21-plus turnovers per game.

Western will be playing for a possible fifth seed in the Sun Belt tournament. Should the Lady Toppers be seeded fifth, the team will host a first round game on March 4.

The Lady Toppers’ next game is at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Diddle Arena.