March 24th, 2004
Las Vegas, Nev. —- The 2003-04 season for the Western Kentucky University women's basketball team came to an end Wednesday night with a 78-75 loss at UNLV in the quarterfinals of the WNIT.
"If we had to end our season on a loss, I'm very proud of the girls for how hard they fought," said Lady Topper head coach Mary Taylor Cowles. "We left every ounce of effort on the floor tonight, and it was just an unbelievable performance by our ballclub."
After the start of the game saw two ties and four lead changes in the first 6:22, UNLV (25-7) used a 10-0 run to open up a 20-10 lead on a InFini Robinson three with 11:48 to play. A Tiffany Porter-Talbert jumper at the 10:52 mark ended a three-minute scoring drought by the Lady Toppers (20-14), but Robinson hit another three to stretch the lead back out to 11 (23-12). That would be the largest lead for the Lady Rebels in the half, however, as Western used a 13-2 run to erase that 11-point deficit and tie that game at 25-25 on a Leslie Logsdon three with 6:47 to play in the half. A Sherry McCracklin free throw gave UNLV a 26-25 lead, but WKU scored the next seven points to take a 32-26 lead on another Logsdon three with 4:00 left before halftime.
UNLV scored five straight to pull within two, but Logsdon scored the final five points of the half, including a three with 23 seconds left, to take a 37-30 lead into the lockerrrom.
Porter-Talbert led all scorers at the half with 14 points, while Logsdon was the only other player in double figures at the break with 13. Robinson led the Lady Rebs with eight points in the opening half.
RanDee Henry took control of the game offensively for UNLV at the start of the second half, scoring the Lady Rebels' first eight points to pull them within a point (41-40) just three minutes into the half.
After a Western turnover, Kameca Simmons hit a layup on the break as UNLV regained a 42-41 lead. A quick Carla Bartee bucket gave the Lady Toppers a one-point lead, but UNLV hit four straight free throws to regain a three-point lead with 14:48 to play. Bartee scored back-to-back baskets again as Western regained a 47-46 lead, but an quick 4-0 spurt by UNLV gave the Rebs a 50-47 advantage. Logsdon tied the game with a three that sparked an 8-0 Lady Topper run as they took a 55-50 lead with 10:50 remaining. UNLV chipped away to tie the game on a Sheena Moore three with 8:15 to play. A Porter-Talbert free throw gave Western a 58-57 lead, but the game would see seven lead changes over the next three minutes. Trailing 68-66, a pair of Porter-Talbert free throws tied the game with 3:13 to go. UNLV scored the next four points to go up 72-68 with 2:07 left, and had a 75-70 lead with just 43 second remaining. A Tifany Zaragoza three pulled WKU within two (75-73) with just 37 seconds to play, and two McCracklin free throw stretched the lead back to 76-73 with just 32 ticks left. Porter-Talbert knocked down two free throws to again get WKU within a point, but Robinson stretched the lead to 78-75 with 14 seconds remaining.
Western got the final possession as Logsdon got two looks at a three, but both fell short as Western's season came to an end with a three-point defeat.
Porter-Talbert finished the game with a game-high 27 points, while Logsdon finished with 23 and Bartee dropped in 12 before fouling out.
Henry paced the Lady Rebels with 23 points.
SBC News Release
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WKU's season ends in WNIT quarterfinals
