Dec. 7, 2000
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Junior guard Natalie Powers (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo HS) tallied a team-high 19 points and senior All-America forward ShaRae Mansfield (Louisville, Ky./Manual HS) added 18 points and seven rebounds, but it was not enough as Western Kentucky lost at No. 23 Vanderbilt, 89-58, Thursday night at Memorial Gym in Nashville.
The Commodores blitzed the Lady Toppers with a tremendous shooting performance, connecting on 35-of-55 (63.6%) of their field goal attempts, including a staggering 80.8% (21-26) in the second half. WKU tried to stay with their hosts, hitting 51.7% from the floor in the second period, but Vandy remained in control throughout the contest.
The Lady Toppers (4-4) looked solid early on, taking a 7-3 lead on a jumper by Mansfield, and later pulling in front, 11-10, with 13:11 remaining on a pair of free throws by Mansfield. However, Western then went nearly seven minutes without a basket before Powers broke the drought with a long three-pointer. Still, the Lady Toppers trailed by just 19-17 after Powers canned her second triple at the 5:57 mark. But, that would be WKU's final points of the half and it would be as close as the Lady Toppers would get all night.
Leading by four at the final media time-out (2:58) of the first half, Vanderbilt heated up from three-point range, knocking down four treys in the final 2:24, highlighting a 14-0 run to end the stanza which put the Commodores comfortably ahead by 18 points at the intermission.
Vandy (6-1) was virtually perfect from the field in the opening minutes of the second half, connecting on its eight shots and jumping in front, 46-20. Western made just one field goal in the first four minutes of the period, and would never recover. The Commodores bumped their lead to a game-high 40 points (86-46) with 3:32 to play before the Lady Toppers closed out the contest on a 12-3 run for the final margin.
Western Kentucky returns to action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CST) when it plays host to Denver at E.A. Diddle Arena in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams. Prior to the game, the Lady Toppers will recognize their 1999-2000 NCAA Tournament squad and unveil the team's postseason banner, which will be the 14th NCAA Tournament flag to hang on the east wall at Diddle Arena.
-- WKU --
