March 20, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Senior All-America forward ShaRae Mansfield (Louisville, Ky./Manual HS) scored a game-high 24 points and junior guard Natalie Powers (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo HS) added 20 points, but it was not enough as Ohio State defeated Western Kentucky, 70-61, in the quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitation Tournament Tuesday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.
With the win, the Buckeyes (20-11) move on to the WNIT semifinals where they will meet James Madison, who knocked off Mississippi State on Tuesday. WKU completes its season with a 19-14 record, finishing with a winning mark for the 19th consecutive season and the 24th time in the last 28 years.
Mansfield winds up her Lady Topper career with 1,804 points and 1,000 career rebounds, becoming just the second player in school history, and the sixth in Sun Belt Conference history to reach the millennium mark in both categories. She also stands in second place in points and rebounds, passing Tandreia Green (1,781) and Kami Thomas (1,796) on the WKU scoring chart during Tuesday's game.
Not to be outdone, Powers set a new single-season scoring record at Western with 736 points this year, passing Lillie Mason who tallied 721 points in 1985-86. Powers also established school records for points by a junior, single-season scoring average (22.3 ppg), free throws made (218) and free throws attempted (266), setting new Sun Belt standards in both free throw categories. Powers also ended the season by scoring 20-or-more points in 22 of 33 games and will likely rank in the top 10 in the nation in scoring when the final NCAA statistics report is released in early April.
Jamie Lewis led four Ohio State players in double figures with 19 points, including five three-pointers. Lauren Shenk tossed in 14 points, and Courtney Coleman charted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Buckeyes.
Western Kentucky struggled from the field all night long, hitting 39.3 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range. The Lady Toppers' shooting woes were evident early on, as they missed 14 of their first 16 shots and watched OSU bolt to a 19-7 lead with 11:02 remaining. But, the rest of the first half turned into a complete role reversal, as Western closed the frame on a 19-6 run, holding the Buckeyes to two field goals in the final 11 minutes to take a 26-25 lead at the half.
Ohio State scored five of the first seven points to open the second period, taking a short-lived two-point lead. The Lady Toppers countered with a 7-0 run, punctuated by a Mansfield layup that gave Western a 35-30 lead with 15:20 to play. However, that would be the Lady Toppers' largest lead of the night and it wouldn't last long -- D'wan Shackleford hit a transition layup to cap a 9-2 Buckeye run which lifted the visitors in front for good at 39-37 with 12:33 to play.
Western stayed within striking distance for much of the second half, getting as close as two on three occasions, the last coming on Mansfield's layup with 4:17 left. But, Lewis drilled a three-pointer on the ensuing possession and Ohio State hit 13-of-14 free throws in the final three minutes to seal the victory.
-- WKU --
