Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky took a two-point lead late in the first half, but Western Kentucky answered with a 25-2 run on its way to a 80-54 win Sunday at McBrayer Arena. Arnika Brown led the Lady Toppers (3-1) with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Freshman Kayla Drake's 21 points led the Lady Colonels (2-2).

Junior Colette Cole recorded her first career double-double for Eastern, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds, both of which were career-bests. Sophomore Cherie White posted 10 points and four rebounds.

Jasmine Johnson contributed 14 points off the Western Kentucky bench. Hope Brown finished with 13 points for the Lady Toppers.

EKU grabbed 23 offensive boards due in large part to connecting on only 27.1 percent of its shots from the field. The Lady Colonels went 4-of-27 from behind the three-point arc. WKU shot 41.3 percent for the game.

Western Kentucky opened the game by scoring the first seven points and led by eight, 10-2, after Arnika Brown’s bucket and free throw with 16:43 showing on the clock.

Eastern Kentucky battled back. A lay-up by White made it a 13-10 game in favor of the Lady Toppers with 13:48 remaining in the first half. WKU built a seven-point advantage twice more, including a 23-16 lead following a lay-up by Hope Brown with just over seven minutes before intermission.

The Lady Colonels answered Brown’s basket with a 10-1 run. Drake’s off-balance, running jumper with 2:40 to go in the first half capped the run and gave Eastern its first lead, 26-24. However, EKU did not score again in the first half as Western scored the final seven points to take a 31-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Both teams shot less than 39 percent in the first half. The Lady Toppers made only one of seven three-point attempts. Eastern went 1-for-11 from behind the arc in the first half. Western held a 24-15 rebounding advantage at the break.

Western Kentucky stretched its run to 25-2 through the first seven and a half minutes of the second half. Dominique Duck’s tip-in pushed the Lady Topper lead to double figures, 39-28. Back-to-back three-pointers by Kenzie Rich made it a 21-point, 49-28, WKU advantage with 12:28 remaining in the game.

A 6-0 Lady Colonel spurt cut the deficit to 14 points, 55-41, with 7:38 to play, but Eastern wouldn’t get any closer.

The game was the first meeting between the two schools in 17 years. The last time the Lady Colonels and Lady Topper met was Nov. 23, 1991 in Bowling Green.

The Lady Colonels will return to action on Tuesday when they host Wright State University. Tip-off at McBrayer Arena is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.