Nov. 17, 2000
HONOLULU - Junior guard Natalie Powers (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo HS) poured in a career-high 29 points, but it was not enough as Western Kentucky lost to Pepperdine, 88-81, in the first game of the Hawaiian Regent Classic Friday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The setback is just the second season-opening loss in the last 17 years for the Lady Toppers, and the first since a 74-56 loss to top-ranked Connecticut four years to the day on Nov. 17, 1996.
Powers connected on a career-high four three-point field goals and hit 9-of-10 free throws in 36 minutes of action. Senior All-America forward ShaRae Mansfield (Louisville, Ky./Manual HS) added 21 points, including 9-of-11 free throws and eight rebounds for Western. The Lady Toppers were 23-for-35 from the free throw line, capitalizing on 30 Pepperdine fouls. However, WKU was hampered by 20 turnovers, many caused by the Waves' full-court pressure.
Pepperdine, the defending West Coast Conference champion, was led by Nadja Morgan, who tossed in 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Damaris Hinojosa nearly had a triple-double for the Waves, winding up with 20 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.
"We were not the aggressors tonight," Lady Topper head coach Steve Small said. "From the very beginning, they put us back on our heels with their press and they really got after our freshmen. We were just out of sync all night and never played our style of basketball."
Pepperdine (1-0) took control five minutes into the game, scoring five straight points to open up a 12-7 lead and the Lady Toppers would play from behind the rest of the way. WKU made just three field goals in the first 10 minutes of action, but eight free throws kept the Lady Toppers within striking distance. But, after Western sliced the lead to 14-13 with 13:26 remaining in the first half, the Waves countered with a 10-1 run, capped off by a three-point play from Hinojosa, to grab a 10-point lead midway through the half.
The Lady Toppers (0-1) recovered well and pieced together a 12-4 run, highlighted by a pair of three-point field goals from sophomore guard Kristina Covington (Elizabethtown, Ky./Elizabethtown HS), to pull within 28-26 at the 7:05 mark. Pepperdine then mounted a game-turning 18-6 charge, taking their biggest lead of the period (46-32) on Morgan's layup with 45 seconds left.
Western fought gamely in the second half, cutting the deficit to 54-47 on the second of two treys by Powers with 16:11 to play. But, that was quickly erased by a 9-2 Pepperdine run which boosted the lead back into double digits. A layup by Sarah Richen gave the Waves their largest lead of the night at 79-60 with 8:19 remaining. The Lady Toppers would rally late in the contest, ending the game on a 12-2 run, with nine points from Powers.
"We're not going to have a whole lot of time to recover, but we'll have to learn from our mistakes," Small said. "I thought we made a valiant effort in the second half, but we dug ourselves too deep a hole to get out of."
Western Kentucky continues its three-game Hawaiian excursion Saturday afternoon when it meets Northern Arizona at 5 p.m. (CST) at the Sheriff Center on day two of the Hawaiian Regent Classic.
-- WKU --
