Jan. 27, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Western Kentucky raced out to a 16-point first half lead and kept Florida International at arm's length the rest of the way, shocking the 27th-ranked Golden Panthers, 76-59, Saturday night in Sun Belt Conference action at E.A. Diddle Arena. With the victory, the Lady Toppers break FIU's 10-game winning streak and move within one game of the Golden Panthers for second place in the Sun Belt's East Division.
Junior guard Natalie Powers (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo HS) paced WKU with a game-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Powers also made all three of her three-point attempts and canned all seven of her free throws in the game. Senior All-America forward ShaRae Mansfield (Louisville, Ky./Manual HS) added her ninth double-double of the season, and the sixth in her last seven games, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, Mansfield moved into third place on Western's career rebounding list with 881 boards, passing Tandreia Green (875 from 1987-90).
Gergana Slavtcheva logged 22 points and 10 rebounds for Florida International (15-3, 7-1 Sun Belt).
"This was a big win for the Lady Toppers," WKU head coach Steve Small said. "After not playing well for 40 minutes (Thursday) at Arkansas State, we came out and put together a complete 40-minute effort. I don't know what the difference was from 48 hours ago, but I think a lot of it was between the ears. Tonight is what makes this game of basketball so special."
After three ties in the first five minutes, Western Kentucky pulled out to a 15-8 lead on the strength of a 7-0 run that was capped by a layup by Aja Brown (Bronx, N.Y./Manhattan Center HS) at the 13:25 mark. Florida International came right back with an 8-0 spurt of its own, taking a one-point lead two minutes later. But, the Lady Toppers responded with a staggering 23-6 charge, including 12 points by Powers, to take their largest lead of the game (38-22) with 4:23 remaining in the period. WKU would end the first half with a 45-33 lead, hitting a season-best 58.1 percent from the field behind 19 points and 8-of-9 shooting by Powers.
Western (13-6, 6-2) opened up a 15-point lead on three occasions in the opening moments of the second half, the last coming with 15:20 to go. Florida International then began a slow march back, going on an 18-5 run and closing within 57-55 on a three-pointer by Anita Heller with 8:50 left. A triple by Lady Topper guard Jamie Truitt (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo HS) gave the hosts some breathing room, but Slavtcheva answered with a layup to get FIU within 60-57 at the 6:54 mark. Truitt then hit another long three-pointer, igniting a game-ending 16-2 run which propelled WKU to its fourth consecutive win over the Golden Panthers.
The Lady Toppers will not have much time to rest, as they continue their three-game homestand Monday at 7 p.m. (CST) with a non-conference battle against #13/12 Southwest Missouri State and the nation's leading scorer, Jackie Stiles.
-- WKU --
