Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF) 
| Postgame Notes
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - Sophomore Ivy Brown and freshman Taylor Brown each tallied career-high marks in points and WKU led nearly wire-to-wire in a tight 80-76 victory inside the Cam Henderson Center against Marshall on Sunday afternoon.
Ivy Brown knocked down all five of her three-pointers and finished 9-of-10 from the field to reach 26 points and added 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Kendall Noble poured in 22 points for the Lady Toppers (19-4, 10-2 C-USA) and Taylor Brown connected on 7-of-13 shots for 16 points.
Norrisha Victrum scored a team-high 23 points for the Thundering Herd (16-7, 6-6 C-USA) and was joined in double figures by Leah Scott (18), Taylor Porter (13) and Talequia Hamilton (11).
As a team, WKU finished 27-of-52 (51.9 percent) from the field and knocked down 70 percent (7-of-10) of its three-point attempts. Marshall knocked down 50.9 percent (27-of-53) of its shots and was a near-perfect 14-of-15 (93.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
WKU jumped out to an early lead as the Lady Toppers scored eight of the first 10 points of the game. Kayla Smith keyed the run with a pair of layups, while Taylor Brown and Noble each added two points apiece to push WKU to the 8-2 advantage.
Leading by nine, 18-9, with 2:05 to play in the opening quarter, WKU allowed an 8-0 run by the Thundering Herd over the final two minutes of the frame. Hamilton netted four points to pace the run that cut the Lady Toppers' lead to 18-17.
The Lady Toppers used an unanswered stretch of their own early in the second quarter to rebuild their lead. Holding a 21-19 advantage at the 8:57 mark, WKU scored the next seven points, including a three-point play by Dee Givens, to go up 28-19 over the Thundering Herd.
Both sides battled nearly evenly over the final seven minutes of the half and WKU carried a 43-38 lead into the halftime break.
Marshall used a 6-0 run midway through the third quarter to pull even with the Lady Toppers at 48-48 with 4:24 remaining in the frame. Shayna Gore capped the stretch for the Thundering Herd with a three-pointer for the tie.
WKU's lead grew back to as many as five points, but the two sides traded three-pointers in the final 25 seconds to head into the final 10 minutes even at 58-58.
Marshall pulled even two more times in the fourth quarter, first at 65-65 and again at 70-70, but the Lady Toppers never allowed the Thundering Herd to take the lead. Noble and Ivy Brown combined to score the final 10 points for WKU to secure the victory.
WKU will return to action next Thursday evening for the second outing of its three-game road trip as the Lady Toppers travel to Norfolk, Va., to square off against Old Dominion at 6:00 p.m. (CT). WKU earned a 68-51 victory over the Lady Monarchs in Bowling Green in the first meeting this season on Jan. 21.
