Jan. 25, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - The Western Kentucky women's basketball team dominated Sun Belt West Division leader New Mexico State from the opening tip and cruised to an 80-54 win over the Aggies Saturday night
Western (10-8, 5-2 SBC East) got on the board quickly as Shala Reese (Sr., Easton, Texas) got a layup on the Lady Toppers' first possession. After a New Mexico State (10-8, 4-2 SBC West) turnover, Kristina Covington (Sr., Elizabethtown, Ky.) knocked down a three to give WKU a 5-0 lead with 18:39 to play. Sinnamonn Garrett got the Aggies on the board with a three at the 18:06 mark, but a Leslie Logsdon (Jr., Munfordville, Ky.) sparked an 8-0 Lady Topper run to give WKU a 13-3 lead with 14:51 remaining in the half. A three by Jenia Dimitrova brought NMSU back within seven (13-6), but that would be as close as the Aggies would get in the half. A 9-0 Lady Topper run midway through the period pushed the lead to 32-13 on a Logsdon jumper with 8:30 remaining, giving Western its largest lead of the half. The Aggies put together a run of their own, scoring 13 of the next 17 points to pull within 10 (36-26) on a Princess Moore jumper with 2:14 left in the half. Western allowed the Aggies to get no closer, however, as it took a 42-28 lead into the lockerroom.
Reese led all scorers at the half with 16 points on six-of-six shooting from the floor. Logsdon also finished the half in double figures with 14 points. Dimitrova paced the Aggies with 14 points off the bench, and was a perfect four-of-four from behind the three-point arc.
Covington and Krystal Gardner (Fr., Munfordville, Ky.) combined to score the first seven points of the second half, pushing WKU's advantage to 51-28 with 17:22 left in the game. Western built its lead to 26 points (60-34) on two free throws from Leah Lineberry (Jr., Calvert City, Ky.) with 11:31 to play, but could not expand on it further as the Aggies used an 10-1 run to cut the deficit to 66-52 with 5:22 remaining. Tiffany Porter-Talbert (Fr., Manhattan Beach, Calif.) stopped the bleeding with a driving layup at the 4:32 mark that sparked a 12-0 Lady Topper run to increase the lead to 78-52 with 1:06 to play. That put the nail in the coffin as Western picked up the 26-point victory.
Reese led four Lady Toppers in double figures with a game-high 24 points. Logsdon tossed in 19, while Porter-Talbert and Covington added 12 and 10, respectively. Reese also finished with a game-high 11 rebounds for her tenth double-double of the season. Dimitrova led NMSU with 21 points off the bench.
The Lady Toppers will head back on the road Thursday (Jan. 30) for a showdown with Sun Belt East Division frontrunner Florida International at 6 p.m. (CST) in Miami, Fla.
- WKU -
