Feb. 1, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Western Kentucky junior guard Natalie Powers (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo HS) broke a 23-year-old school record with 41 points, but it was not enough as Middle Tennessee handed the Lady Toppers an 85-83 loss in Sun Belt Conference action Thursday night at E.A. Diddle Arena. It is the first win for MTSU over Western since Dec. 8, 1982, snapping the Lady Toppers' nine-game winning streak in the series.
Powers' performance topped that of Brenda Chapman, who poured in 40 points against Murray State on Jan. 21, 1978. Powers also set a new school record with seven three-pointers, and her 7-for-8 (.875) performance from beyond the arc matched the Sun Belt standard for three-point percentage in a conference game. Freshman guard Camryn Whitaker (Cynthiana, Ky./Harrison County HS) added a career-high 12 assists, the most by a Lady Topper in 13 years and just one shy of the school record.
Western suffered its third conference loss of the season despite shooting a season-high 60 percent (30-50) from the field, including a whopping 70.4 percent (19-27) in the second half. The Lady Toppers also connected on 11-of-19 three-pointers, their best long-range output in five years.
Jamie Thomatis scored 37 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Middle Tennessee, which held a 34-23 edge in the rebounding department, highlighted by 18 offensive boards.
Both teams struggled through a sloppy first eight minutes, combining for 16 turnovers. After trailing by as many as five in the opening moments, Western Kentucky moved ahead, 13-11, on a three-pointer by Powers with 13:40 left in the first half. The lead was still two (20-18) at the 8:12 mark when the Lady Toppers went on an 11-0 run to seize their biggest lead of the night at 31-18 with 5:50 remaining. Powers had seven points in the spurt and finished with 21 points in the opening 20 minutes, matching her season scoring average in just one half of basketball.
Middle Tennessee (11-10, 4-6 Sun Belt) came right back and mounted a charge of its own, closing the period on a 20-4 run to retake a 38-35 lead at halftime. WKU was held without a field goal over the final 5:50 of the half, while Thomatis dropped in eight points to spark the Lady Raider comeback.
The second half was tightly contested from start to finish. Neither team led by more than seven points, an edge Middle Tennessee took three times in the period. Trailing 66-59 with 9:56 to play, Western put together a 10-2 run, taking a one-point lead on a fast break layup by Powers at the 6:53 mark. Thomatis answered with a free throw at the other end, forcing the first of four ties over the next four minutes. Thomatis then gave MTSU the lead for good on an offensive rebound and basket with 1:58 remaining. The Lady Raiders iced the win by making 7-of-9 free throws in the last 84 seconds to hold off the Lady Toppers.
Western Kentucky (14-7, 6-3) will look to bounce back Saturday at 7 p.m. (CST) when it takes on another Sun Belt newcomer, North Texas, at the Super Pit in Denton, Texas.
-- WKU --
