Dec. 5, 2001
Evansville, Ind. - The Western Kentucky women's basketball team was able to battle back from a 19-point first half deficit, but Evansville used a second-half run to put the Lady Toppers away and pick up a 76-59 win at Roberts Stadium on Wednesday.
Western (3-4) was able to jump to an early four-point lead as in the contest, but Evansville (4-3) came back to even the contest at 10-10 on a three by Tami Masterson with 13:00 remaining. That sparked a 16-6 run by the Purple Aces that gave them a 26-16 advantage with 8:06 remaining. They would increase that advantage to as much as 19 points when a three-point play by Shyla McKibbon give UE a 41-22 lead with 3:50 remaining. However, Western clawed back with a 9-3 run, and got a layup by Camryn Whitaker (So., Cynthiana, Ky.) to end the first half scoring as Evansville took a 44-31 lead into intermission. Tiffiany Diggins (Jr., Des Moines, Wash.) led the Lady Toppers with a season-high 11 points at the half, while Whitaker added 10.
WKU continued its comeback at the start of the second half, opening the period with an 11-2 run, pulling within one at 46-45 on a three by Kristina Covington (Jr., Elizabethtown, Ky.) at the 16:55 mark. Masterson answered with a three for Evansville, but WKU came back with a layup from Shala Reese (Jr., Easton, Texas) and a jumper by Covington to tie the game 49-49 with 14:49 to play. Western was unable to regain the advantage, however, as the Purple Aces went on a 14-2 run over the next 5:33 to increase the lead to 63-51 with 8:34 remaining. Western was unable to get the lead back to single digits, as UE built the lead back to 19 points on a layup by Latasha Austin with 43 seconds remaining. A Whitaker layup with 23 seconds left ended the scoring as the Lady Toppers fell 76-59.
Whitaker led Western with 14 points, while Diggins and Reese scored in double figures with 11 and 10, respectively. McKibbon led Evansville with a game-high 21 points.
WKU will look to regroup when it host Kentucky at 7 p.m. (CST) Saturday in E.A. Diddle Arena.
-- WKU --
