Jan. 2, 2003
Cookeville, Tenn. - The woes continued for the Western Kentucky women's basketball team as it dropped its third straight game 61-55 at Tennessee Tech Thursday night.
The two teams found themselves in a defensive struggle from the opening tip as they combined for eight points in the first three minutes of action. However, a basket by Tennessee Tech (5-5) at the 17:29 mark would be the final points it would score for almost nine minutes as the Lady Toppers (5-6) used a 5-0 run to push the lead to 9-4 with 8:41 to play. TTU got back within a point when a basket by Emily Christian made it an 11-10 game with 6:23 to play, but a jumper by Elisha Ford (Jr., Lebanon, Tenn.) at the 6:10 mark sparked an 8-0 Lady Topper run over the next two minutes as Western extended the advantage to 19-10 on a layup by Shala Reese (Sr., Easton, Texas) with 4:10 remaining. The Golden Eaglettes continued to hang around, and scored the final six points of the half, including a jumper by Christian at the buzzer, to send the teams into the lockerroom tied at 25-25.
Reese led all scorers with nine points at the break, while Tiffany Porter-Talbert (Fr., Manhattan Beach, Calif.) added eight and Ford tossed in six for the Lady Toppers. Christian paced Tennessee Tech with eight points, and Emily Lane contributed seven off the bench.
TTU scored the first two points of the second half to take its first lead since the opening minutes. The game went back and forth over the next few minutes, as the game was tied four times until the midpoint of the half. A three by Arleigh Brackin pushed the Golden Eaglette lead to six (47-41) with 8:40 to play., but Kristina Covington (Sr., Elizabethtown, Ky.) answered with a three for Western to pull the Lady Toppers back within three. That would be as close as Western would get as Tennessee Tech stretched the lead to eight, and held off Western for a six-point victory.
Reese paced Western with a game-high 17 points, but was the only Lady Topper to finish in double figures. Christian and Tynisha Alexander led TTU with 14 points each.
The Lady Toppers will complete their two-game swing through the Volunteer State on Saturday as they open Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday (Jan. 4) at Middle Tennessee. That game will tipoff at 4:30 p.m. (CST) and will be a doubleheader with the WKU and MTSU men's teams.
- WKU -
