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Dec. 3, 2000
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Western Kentucky will try to win back-to-back games for the first time this season when it meets up with defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Tennessee Tech Monday at 7 p.m. (CST) at the Eblen Center in Cookeville, Tenn. The Lady Toppers have alternated wins and losses in their first six games this season, although all three of their defeats have come by nine points or less.
WKU (3-3) evened its record with a wire-to-wire 86-79 home victory over intrastate rival Louisville last Thursday night in the 18th annual Area Bank Classic. It was the 300th win for the Lady Toppers at E.A. Diddle Arena and it improved Western's record to 24-3 all-time in the event formerly known as both the Bowling Green Bank Invitational and Bowling Green Bank Classic.
Senior All-America forward ShaRae Mansfield paced the Lady Toppers, matching her career high with 26 points and pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds. She also set a new Diddle Arena record by making 14 free throws (on 16 attempts). Junior guard Natalie Powers equalled Mansfield's scoring output, tallying 26 points of her own, including 5-of-7 three-point field goals. As a team, WKU set season highs with 34 free throws and 46 free throw attempts and finished on the positive side of the assist/turnover ratio for the first time this year (19 assists, 18 turnovers).
The Lady Toppers jumped out to an early lead behind four treys from Powers in the first 12 minutes. Western expanded its edge to as much as 22 points and led by a 49-29 score at halftime. Louisville made a second-half charge, cutting the deficit to three points twice in the final two minutes, but the Lady Toppers hit 7-of-10 free throws in the last 1:39 to secure the victory.
The win was the eighth straight for WKU over U of L, the longest success string for the Lady Toppers in the 31-game series which dates back to 1921.
-- WKU --
