Feb. 3, 2001
DENTON, Texas - For just the second time in the last four years, Western Kentucky has lost back-to-back games after a 74-67 loss at Sun Belt Conference newcomer North Texas Saturday night at The Super Pit in Denton. The Lady Toppers have now lost consecutive games since knocking off #27 Florida International and #13 Southwest Missouri State earlier in the week.
Junior guard Natalie Powers (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo HS) led Western with 23 points, including 19 of them in the second half. Senior All-America forward ShaRae Mansfield (Louisville, Ky./Manual HS) also contributed her 10th double-double of the season, logging 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in the loss. In fact, Mansfield was the lone bright spot for the Lady Toppers on the glass, as North Texas held a 51-31 rebounding edge for the game.
Jalie Mitchell led the Lady Eagles with a game-high 26 points.
Western Kentucky (14-8, 6-4 Sun Belt) came out strong from the opening tip, scoring the first eight points and racing to a 16-9 lead midway through the period. Meanwhile, North Texas misfired on 15 of its first 18 shots and had turned the ball over five times. But, fortunes for both teams changed abruptly in the final 10 minutes of the first half, as the Lady Toppers went cold from the floor, while the Lady Eagles connected on 11 of their last 15 shots. UNT rode its hot shooting to go on a 29-8 run over a 9:24 span, taking its largest lead of the period at 38-24 on a three-pointer by Mitchell with 36 seconds left. The Lady Eagles also picked up their intensity on the glass, owning a +15 edge on the boards, along with a 39-28 lead at halftime.
North Texas (13-8, 5-5) remained hot early in the second half, hitting seven of its first 12 field goal tries and opening up its biggest lead of the night at 56-38 with 14:21 to play. But then, just as Western did in the opening half, UNT went ice cold from the field, going nearly 10 minutes without a field goal. Still, the Lady Eagles maintained their edge and were up by a 60-44 count with 10:30 to play.
The Lady Toppers made one last charge, putting together a 14-1 run, getting within three on two free throws by freshman guard Camryn Whitaker (Cynthiana, Ky./Harrison County HS) with 6:05 to play. Western would have four chances to cut further into the lead, or possibly tie the game, but misfired on each of its next four possessions over a two-minute span. UNT awoke from its slumber down the stretch and canned six free throws in the last two minutes to preserve its victory.
Western Kentucky will try to get back on the winning track Tuesday at 7 p.m. (CST) when it plays host to New Orleans in a Sun Belt matchup at E.A. Diddle Arena.
-- WKU --
