Dec. 5, 2011

Box Score

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Freshman Chasity Gooch scored a career-high 19 points to lead Western Kentucky to a 69-54 win over Louisiana Tech Monday night before 814 fans at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Tech (2-6) lost for the third straight time as the Lady Techsters shot only 35 percent (21-60) from the field in the loss while surrendering 19 offensive rebounds and committing 18 turnovers.

Whitney Jones led three players in double figures for the Lady Techsters with 13 points while Shantale Bramble-Donaldson added 12 points and 10 rebounds and Jasmine Bendolph added 11 points and four steals.

For the second straight game, Louisiana Tech never saw the lead. The game was tied three different times in the early going, the last coming at 12-12 on a Jones jumper with 11:12 to play in the opening half.

Chaney Means hit on the first of her three first half three-pointers to give Western Kentucky (2-6) a 15-12 advantage and after a pair of free throws by Tech freshman Whitney Frazier cut the deficit to 15-14, Western used a 9-2 run to push the advantage to 24-16 with 4:33 to play.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Jasmine Bendolph bookended a trifecta by Means and cut the Lady Toppers lead to 27-22 with 3:01 to play. However, Western used a 9-2 run to end the half highlighted by Vanessa Obafemi's 45-foot desperation heave at the buzzer as Western led 36-24 at the half.

Tech had an opportunity to close the gap early in the second half as Western didn't score on its first seven possessions, but the Lady Techsters misfired on their first five attempts from the field and a pair of free throws as well. A Bramble-Donaldson layup at the 16:05 of the second half broke the drought and cut the deficit to 10 but Keshia Mosley answered with a layup for WKU to push the lead back to 12.

The lead remained double figures as WKU pushed it to as many as 15 at 54-39 on another Obafemi three-pointer with 8:13 to play before Tech chipped away and cut it to single digits at 60-51 on a conventional three-point play by Bramble-Donaldson with just over four minutes remaining.

However, Western scored five straight points and Tech got no closer than 13 the rest of the way.

In addition to Gooch's career-high, Mosley added 12 points and Obafemi chipped in with 10 points. Western outrebounded Tech 44-35, including 19 offensive rebounds.

Tech returns to action Wednesday when the Lady Techsters travel to Houston to face the Cougars at 7 p.m.