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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - In a tight battle featuring the top two teams in the C-USA standings, WKU fell just short against UTEP in an 85-78 decision inside E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday afternoon.
The Lady Toppers (18-4, 9-2 C-USA) got a career-high 29 points from Tashia Brown as well as double-digit efforts from Ivy Brown (12) and Kendall Noble (12). Ivy Brown pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, while Noble added eight rebounds and eight assists in a near triple-double effort.
Starr Breedlove led the Miners (19-2, 10-1 C-USA) with 21 points and was one of five Miners in double figures. Cameasha Turner tallied 17 points, Lulu McKinney had 14 and Tamara Seda (11) and Sparkle Taylor (10) rounded out the group.
Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the floor. WKU knocked down 30 of its 55 (54.5 percent) attempts, while UTEP hit 33 of its 63 (52.4 percent) shots.
The Lady Toppers took control of the game over the first six minutes, opening the contest by scoring 14 of the first 16 points, including 10 unanswered. Tashia Brown notched seven points during the run, while Noble added five of her own to build the early double-digit advantage.
Early in the second quarter, UTEP responded with a 7-1 run to cut WKU's lead to just five points, 25-20, with 8:04 to play before the halftime break. McKinney sparked the run with a three-pointer, while preseason All-C-USA selection Turner netted the final five points to close the gap.
Both sides battled nearly evenly over the final eight minutes of the half. WKU rebuilt a double-digit lead several times, but the Miners scored five of the final six points of the second quarter to cut the Lady Toppers' halftime lead to 46-40.
UTEP earned its first lead of the afternoon by opening the second half on a 14-4 run over the first four minutes of the third quarter. Seven points from Breedlove and another five from McKinney keyed the run for the Miners, who took a 54-50 lead with 6:16 remaining in the quarter.
WKU responded with nine unanswered points of its own, retaking a 59-54 lead on Ivy Brown's three-pointer with 3:49 to play. The Lady Toppers maintained their lead through the remainder of the third quarter.
In a fourth quarter that featured five lead changes, WKU powered ahead on the strength of a 9-2 run over two and a half minutes midway through the quarter. Ima Akpan scored seven of the nine points during the stretch, including a final layup to put the Lady Toppers ahead 76-75 with 3:41 to play.
Trailing by just one with under a minute to play, the Lady Toppers fell just short in their comeback attempt as UTEP scored the final six points of the game.
WKU will return to action next Sunday, Feb. 14, at 12:00 p.m. (CT) as the Lady Toppers travel to Huntington, W. Va., to face Marshall. WKU earned an 81-52 victory over the Thundering Herd inside Diddle Arena on Jan. 2 earlier this season.
