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Game Notes

RICHMOND, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky University will open its 39th season of women’s basketball on Saturday when the Lady Colonels face Western Kentucky University at 8 p.m. ET in Bowling Green, Ky. The game will mark the first time since the 1975-76 season that EKU has began its season against the Lady Toppers.

Last season EKU and WKU met for the first time in 17 years. The two programs had not faced each other since Nov. 23, 1991, before taking the court on Nov. 23, 2008. Between 1974 and 1991 the two teams met 22 times.

In last year’s game, 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 an 80-54 victory at McBrayer Arena. Arnika Brown led the Lady Toppers with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Freshman Kayla Drake’s 21 points led the Lady Colonels.

Colette Cole recorded her first career double-double for Eastern, finishing with 14 points and 11 rebounds. 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 shot only 27.1 percent from the field. The Lady Colonels went 4-of-27 from behind the three-point arc. WKU shot 41.3 percent for the game.

The Lady Toppers have won 10 straight over EKU and lead the all-time series between the two schools 17-6. Western is 7-2 against Eastern in games played in Bowling Green.

Eastern Kentucky has six returning letter winners and nine new players on its 2009-10 roster. Seven of those are eligible to play this season, two will have to sit-out this year due to NCAA transfer rules. In Eastern’s exhibition game against Findlay, junior Cherie White led the team with nine points and grabbed eight rebounds. Freshman Brittany Coles scored eight points in a span of 3:17. Freshman Alex Jones finished with four points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Western Kentucky returns all five starters, and 11 total letter winners, from last season’s team that finished 16-13 overall and 10-8 in the Sun Belt Conference. Three Lady Topper seniors were selected to the Preseason All-Sun Belt team. Arnika Brown was a first team selection, Dominique Duck made the second team and Kenzie Rich earned a spot on the third team.

Brown averaged a double-double last season with 14.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. She led the conference and finished fifth in the nation in rebounding. Brown finished her season with 18 double-doubles. Duck’s 2008-09 season was cut short due to the effects of a knee injury. She played in nine games and averaged 9.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game before taking a medical redshirt. Duck is a two-time All-SBC selection and the 2008 Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Rich finished ninth in the league in scoring (14.4 ppg) and led the conference with a .845 free throw percentage last season. She was also fourth in the Sun Belt averaging 2.28 made three-pointers per game.

Western has played a pair of exhibition games before kicking off the regular season. On Nov. 2, Rich scored 21 points and Duck added 18 in a 96-63 victory over Lindsey Wilson. On Sunday, the Lady Toppers shot 51.4 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from behind the arc in a 105-44 win against Brescia. Hope Brown came off the bench to lead WKU with 20 points. Rich added 17 points.