Nov. 9, 2002
Bowling Green, Ky. - New Western Kentucky University women's basketball coach Mary Taylor Cowles got a first look at her 2002-03 team in a 97-54 exhibition win over the Houston Jaguars Saturday afternoon.
After the two teams traded baskets to open the game, Western went on 9-0 run, sparked by five points from Tiffany Porter-Talbert (Fr., Manhattan Beach, Calif.), and took an 11-4 lead into the first media timeout. The Lady Toppers extended the advantage to 14 points when a layup from Tiffiany Diggins (Sr., Des Moines, Wash.) made it 22-8 with 10:30 to play in the half. The lead was pushed to 20 points when an old-fashioned three-point play by Shala Reese (Sr., Easton, Texas) gave Western a 35-15 lead. That started a string of seven straight points by Reese, which pushed the lead to 39-15. Western reached its long lead at the end of the half when a fastbreak layup from Porter-Talbert made it a 53-23 game going into the lockerroom.
Covington led Western in scoring at the half with 12 points, while Reese finished the first 20 minutes with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Shauna Tubbs paced the Jaguars with six points.
The Lady Toppers were able to keep the lead above 30 points for most of the second half. After trading baskets midway through the period, a 14-2 Lady Topper run gave WKU a 40 point lead when a Porter-Talbert jumper made it 87-47 with 4:02 to play. Western closed out the scoring when Jennifer Slaughter (Sr., Brownsville, Ky.) hit a jumper with nine seconds left to give the Lady Toppers a 43-point victory, 97-54.
Porter-Talbert led four Lady Toppers in double-figures with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field. Reese finished the night with 17 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Kristina Covington (Sr., Elizabethtown, Ky.) chipped in 16 points, while Leslie Logsdon (Jr., Munfordville, Ky.) finished with 15. The Lady Toppers shot 49 percent from the field for the game, and forced 26 Jaguar turnovers.
- WKU -
