Nov. 24, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Junior guard Natalie Powers (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo HS) put back her own missed shot with 20 seconds to play, and senior All-America forward ShaRae Mansfield (Louisville, Ky./Manual HS) hit two free throws with six seconds remaining, lifting Western Kentucky to a 68-64 win over Evansville in its home opener Friday night at E.A. Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers trailed by nine points with nine minutes left, but rallied to stay perfect in seven lifetime meetings with the Purple Aces.
Mansfield played all 40 minutes in the contest, finishing with game highs of 23 points and 16 rebounds to pick up her first double-double of the season. Powers carded 18 points and seven rebounds and freshman guard Camryn Whitaker (Cynthiana, Ky./Harrison County HS) chipped in with eight points, five steals and four assists. With the win, Western improves to 26-2 in home openers in the modern era (since 1973).
Jenna Hayes had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Evansville, which connected on 10-of-32 three-point tries in the game. Andi Speer and Latasha Austin also chalked up 10 points for the Purple Aces.
"It was a good win against a very good and scrappy basketball team," Western head coach Steve Small said. "We got aggressive when we had to, and we had some Diddle Arena magic tonight. Our team really wanted to win this one and just refused to lose."
UE (2-1) came out firing from long range early in the game, hitting five three-pointers in the first 12 minutes to take a 21-14 lead. The Lady Toppers fought back, going on an 11-4 run capped by seven straight points from Powers (five at the free throw line). Whitaker canned a pair of free throws with 2:06 left in the half to give WKU its largest lead of the game at 34-28.
As they did in the first half, the Purple Aces began the second period on a hot shooting streak, mounting a 13-4 run to wipe out a four-point halftime deficit and seize a 43-38 lead with 15:09 remaining. Western cut the UE lead to a single basket on two separate occasions, but Evansville responded with a 7-0 spurt to grab a 52-43 advantage with 9:03 to play.
The Purple Aces' lead was eight (54-46) when Mansfield hit a layup to ignite a 13-2 Lady Topper run to pushed Western back in front, 59-56, at the 5:04 mark. Mansfield herself accounted for eight points and four rebounds in the three-minute spree.
Evansville came back to tie the game three times down the stretch, the last coming on a long three-pointer by Alison Langham with 1:40 remaining. Following a WKU turnover, Speer had a chance to give the Purple Aces the lead, but her three-point try was off line with 45 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Mansfield found Powers on a back-door cut and, after missing her first shot, the junior guard gathered the rebounds and gave Western the lead for good with 20 seconds to play. Speer had another opportunity to tie the game in the waning seconds, but Powers forced a held ball with the possession arrow belonging to the Lady Toppers. Mansfield was fouled on the inbounds pass and she hit two charities to seal the victory.
Western Kentucky (2-2) continues its three-game homestand Sunday at 1 p.m. (CST) when it plays host to defending Big Sky Conference champion Montana at Diddle Arena.
-- WKU --
