Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF) 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - WKU erased an early 10-point deficit inside Halton Arena, but the Lady Toppers fell, 81-72, against Charlotte in a C-USA road clash on Saturday evening.
Kendall Noble tied for the lead among all scorers with 19 points for the Lady Toppers (20-5, 11-3 C-USA), Ivy Brown added 14 and Tashia Brown chipped in 10 points.
For Charlotte (16-9, 8-5 C-USA), Lefty Webster led five 49ers players in double figures with 19 points. Grace Hunter (18), Kira Gordon (16), Alexis Alexander (15) and Laia Raventos (10) joined her in the category.
The 49ers jumped out to an early double-digit lead over the first three minutes, scoring the first 10 points of the contest. Gordon and Hunter each scored four points for Charlotte during the stretch before Jalynn McClain's layup with 6:32 to play halted the run.
Despite falling behind early, WKU fought back with a 10-2 run, culminating in back-to-back three-pointers from Sidnee Bopp and Tashia Brown. Brown's three-pointer with 2:49 on the clock brought the Lady Toppers within two points, 12-10.
WKU grabbed its first lead of the game with 13 seconds to play in the opening quarter as Kayla Smith connected from beyond the arc, giving the Lady Toppers a 19-16 advantage after the first 10 minutes.
The Lady Toppers' lead grew to as many as five points, 25-20, midway through the second quarter, but Charlotte regained the lead on the strength of a 10-3 run. Hunter tallied six of the 49ers' 10 points during the run that gave Charlotte a 30-28 lead with 3:50 to play before the halftime break.
The final four minutes of the half featured three lead changes, but the two sides ultimately carried a 33-33 tie into the locker room.
WKU grabbed an early lead on Jalynn McClain's layup just 14 seconds into the third quarter, but the 49ers got back-to-back scores from Hunter and Raventos to retake the lead, 37-35.
Ivy Brown put the Lady Toppers back in front with a three-pointer at the 5:50 mark midway through the quarter, giving WKU a 42-41 advantage before five quick points by the 49ers rebuilt a 46-42 lead for the 49ers.
WKU cut Charlotte's lead down to six points in the fourth quarter. Ivy Brown knocked down another shot from beyond the arc to make it 61-55 in Charlotte's favor, but the Lady Toppers were unable to close the gap any further down the stretch.
WKU will return to E.A. Diddle Arena for its penultimate home game of the season next Thursday, Feb. 25, at 8:00 p.m. (CT). The Lady Toppers will clash with archrival Middle Tennessee in a nationally-televised contest on FSN and will be looking to avenge an 83-75 setback against the Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro, Tenn., earlier this season.
