WKU Drops Hard-Fought 73-71 Decision at Indiana

Friday, November 17

Bloomington, Ind.

6 P.M. CT

Western Kentucky University

1-3

Indiana

3-0

WKU

Indiana

11/17/2017 9:34:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes (PDF)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.. – Sophomore Whitney Creech scored a career-best 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting and WKU erased a 15-point third-quarter deficit, but fell just short, 73-71, against Indiana inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Friday evening.

Creech scored 11 of her 25 points in the fourth quarter and spurred WKU's strong comeback attempt. The Jenkins, Ky., native followed up her 17-point performance against Notre Dame on Tuesday with another career-best performance on Friday; she finished with multiple three-pointers for the first time in her career, knocking down two of her three chances on the night.

Tashia Brown joined Creech in double figures with 14 points. Both Ivy Brown (nine points, 11 rebounds) and Raneem Elgedawy (seven points, nine rebounds) fell just shy of double-doubles.

As a team, WKU finished 28-of-61 (45.9 percent) from the floor and held Indiana to 42.2 percent (27-of-64) shooting. Both sides had 32 points in the paint, but Indiana held a 26-8 edge in second-chance points on the night.

Both sides battled back and forth for much of the first quarter, with neither side able to gain more than a four-point lead. The Hoosiers led by four on two different occasions, but the Lady Toppers closed out the first frame on an 8-0 run to seize control of the game after 10 minutes. Ivy Brown kick-started the run with a layup at the 1:58 mark, and three-pointers from Whitney Creech and Dee Givens paced WKU to a 24-19 edge at the end of the quarter.

WKU's quarter-ending run continued early in the second frame, finally ending with a 12-0 run for the Lady Toppers. Indiana's Keyanna Warthen halted the run with a three-pointer with 7:52 on the clock, but Tashia Brown answered with three consecutive pullup jumpers to build WKU's largest lead of the night to that point, 34-22.

Indiana cut the lead back to single digits with four straight points over the next two minutes, spurred by a layup from Royster and a pair of free throws by Cahill. Tashia Brown briefly rebuilt a 10-point edge on a fast-break layup with 1:38 to play, giving WKU a 36-26 lead.

The Hoosiers closed the first half with five unanswered points over the final 90 seconds, sending the two sides into the locker room with WKU holding a 36-31 advantage.

Indiana's Buss opened the third quarter with a three-pointer on the Hoosiers' first possession, but Creech immediately answered with a jumper to rebuild a four-point edge for the Lady Toppers. The Hoosiers responded with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to retake a 43-38 lead at the 7:13 mark. Bendu Yeaney keyed the run with four points, and Royster capped the stretch with a layup to give the Hoosiers a five-point edge.

Indiana's lead grew to as many as 15 points with 1:25 to play in the quarter, but the Lady Toppers netted the final four points of the frame to cut the deficit to 60-49 entering the final quarter.

Three points from Elgedawy and a layup from Creech slashed the Hoosiers' lead to just five points, 62-57, with 7:16 to play in the fourth quarter. WKU continued to gradually chip away at the deficit, closing to within two points, 66-64, on another layup from Creech just three minutes later.

WKU completely erased the 15-point hole and surged into the lead with just over two minutes to play, taking a 71-68 lead after a steal from Sherry Porter that set up a pullup jumper from Creech. On Indiana's next possession, however, Buss knocked down a three-pointer from the corner to again tie the game at 71-71.

Looking to win in regulation or force overtime, the Lady Toppers were unable to stop Buss as she drove into the lane on Indiana's final offensive possession. Creech had a look at a long three-pointer as time expired, but her chance hit the backboard and rimmed out as WKU fell just short, 73-71.

WKU will return to action next Friday and Sunday at the Georgia State Thanksgiving Classic in Atlanta, Ga. The Lady Toppers will first battle Mercer, a team that won 25 games in 2016-17, on Friday at 5 p.m. (CT), before squaring off against former Sun Belt rival Georgia State on Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT). WKU and Georgia State were briefly members of the Sun Belt together for one year, with WKU winning both conference matchups between the two sides in 2013-14.