Jan. 25, 2001
JONESBORO, Ark. - Arkansas State continued its recent success at home against Western Kentucky, handing the Lady Toppers a 75-67 loss Thursday night in Sun Belt Conference action. ASU has won five consecutive games over WKU at the Convocation Center and three of the last four matchups overall with the Lady Toppers.
Junior guard Natalie Powers (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo HS) led all scorers, tying her career high with 29 points. Senior All-America forward ShaRae Mansfield (Louisville, Ky./Manual HS) added 13 points and 10 rebounds to pick up her eighth double-double of the season, and her fifth in the last six games. Mansfield also logged her 1,500th career point in the first half, becoming the fifth Lady Topper and 19th Sun Belt player to reach that milestone.
Keeshia Evans had 25 points, including five three-pointers to lead ASU. The Lady Indians connected on 10-of-20 treys in the contest to offset a WKU opponent season-high 26 turnovers.
Arkansas State (10-9, 4-4 Sun Belt) used a strong perimeter shooting game to jump out to a 14-3 lead five minutes into the contest. Western came right back with a 10-0 spurt to pull within one, but the Lady Toppers were then held to just one basket over a six-minute stretch midway through the half. The Lady Indians used that WKU dry spell to piece together a 14-2 run, pushing their lead back into double digits. But, late buckets by Powers and Mansfield brought Western back within 36-27 at the half.
The Lady Toppers (12-6, 5-2) came out on fire to begin second half, cutting the ASU lead to three points twice in the first five minutes. However, the Lady Indians stopped Western in its tracks and kept the visitors from moving in front. In fact, the Lady Toppers made several charges in the period, but each time they tried to push ahead, the Lady Indians had an answer. Three times, WKU got as close as five points in the second half, and three times, Arkansas State hit a clutch shot to halt the Lady Toppers' momentum.
Western will try to get back to winning form Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) when it opens a three-game homestand with a Sun Belt contest against Florida International.
-- WKU --
