Tashia Brown broke the 20-point barrier for the 18th time this season with 23 points and freshman Sherry Porter added 12 more for WKU as the Lady Toppers fended off Old Dominion, 62-48, inside Diddle Arena on Thursday evening for the team’s sixth straight victory. WKU (18-5, 9-1 C-USA) extended its home winning streak in conference play to 17 straight games and never allowed the Lady Monarchs (5-19, 3-7 C-USA) within single digits over the final 20 minutes of play. The Lady Toppers have not dropped a home C-USA decision since falling to UTEP, 85-78, on Feb. 6, 2016.
In addition to her game-high 23 points, Tashia Brown picked up her second straight double-double by adding 11 rebounds; the C-USA Player of the Year candidate also chipped in three assists and a steal on the night. Porter turned in her best scoring effort in nearly a month with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field, and Ivy Brown fell just shy of another double-double with eight points and 10 rebounds.
As a team, WKU held Old Dominion to just 37.3 percent shooting (19-of-51) from the field and only 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from three-point range. Victoria Morris, who entered the game with the most three-pointers made and attempted by any freshman in the nation, was held to just 1-of-7 shooting beyond the arc and 3-of-16 overall.
Taylor Edwards led the Lady Monarchs with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Ashley Jackson also added 10 points for Old Dominion.
Despite falling into an early 4-0 hole, WKU rallied back to take its first lead of the night with a 15-2 run over the next eight minutes of the opening quarter. Tashia Brown netted six points during the stretch for the Lady Toppers, and Raneem Elgedawy added five points to push WKU out to a 15-6 lead with 54 seconds remaining in the first frame.
Midway through the second quarter, Old Dominion cut the Lady Topper advantage to just four points after a quick 5-0 burst, capped by Edwards’ layup at the 4:41 mark to close the gap to 22-18. Following that run, however, WKU answered with a 12-4 streak to end the first half, including a long three-pointer by Terri Smith with less than a minute remaining, to carry a 34-22 lead into the halftime break.
WKU never allowed the Lady Monarchs within single digits through the third quarter, pushing its lead to as many as 20 points on a pair of free throws by Dee Givens with 25 seconds left on the clock to take a 51-31 lead.
Despite being outscored 15-11 in the fourth quarter, WKU refused to allow Old Dominion to overcome that 20-point deficit. The Lady Monarchs got within 14 points four different times, but each time the Lady Toppers’ defense held strong and did not allow Old Dominion any closer. Whitney Creech’s jumper with 2:40 left put WKU up 57-41, and the two sides battled almost evenly through the end of the game to reach the final 62-48 scoreline.
(Courtesy WKU Athletics)