Feb. 3, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, K.Y.- Five players scored in double-figures for Western Kentucky as the Lady Toppers dominated Butler 86-57 Monday evening at Diddle Arena. The non-conference loss dropped the Bulldogs to 4-16 on the season, while Western Kentucky improved to 12-8 overall.
Sophomore Cortney Urquhart led Butler with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Lisa Pryor added 12 points and Jessica Monaco tied a career-high with 11 points.
Butler struck first off of Angel Mason's layup, but the Lady Toppers responded by going on a 7-0 run to take a 7-2 lead. Urquhart's putback at 12:57 closed the Bulldogs to within 13-8, but a pair of jumpers by Shala Reese propelled an 11-0 WKU run to give the hosts a 24-8 advantage.
Urquhart's three-point play at 5:07 narrowed the gap to 26-16, but Tiffany Porter-Talbert answered with back-to-back three-point plays of her own to put the Lady Toppers up 32-16. Western Kentucky went on an 10-2 run over the next three minutes, but Stephanie Boeke's halfcourt shot at the buzzer cut Butler's deficit to 42-24 heading into halftime.
The Lady Toppers, who were led by Porter-Talbert's 4-for-4 performance from the field, shot an impressive 61.5 percent on the half. Porter-Talbert finished with 11 first-half points, while Urquhart recorded 11 points of her own on the half. The Bulldogs were plagued by 16 first-half turnovers.
Western Kentucky quickly built up an insurmountable lead in the second half, going ahead by 28 points, 59-31, with 14:26 remaining. Pryor's three-pointer cut the margin to 79-56 at 4:08, but the Bulldogs could get no closer.
"I felt like we didn't show up to play tonight," said head coach Beth Couture. "Western Kentucky is such a quality program that you have to be ready to play. I was disappointed that we didn't do the little things that make a difference - we got out-hustled on many occasions and didn't do a good job of taking care of the ball."
Porter-Talbert, who shot 6-of-7 from the field, led the Lady Toppers with 15 points and nine rebounds. Reese (14), Kristina Covington (13), Leslie Logsdon (11) and Tiffiany Diggins (10) also posted double figure scoring for Western Kentucky.
Western Kentucky overpowered Butler on the boards, holding a 45-30 rebounding edge. The Lady Toppers forced 22 Butler turnovers and shot 50 percent on the game. The Bulldogs posted a 32 percent clip from the field.
Butler concludes its three-game road trip on Saturday (Feb. 8) at Horizon League foe UIC. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m.