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Lady Toppers Rally to Upset No. 11 Vanderbilt, 85-77 12-10-04 12/10/2004 BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Western Kentucky’s Tiffany Porter-Talbert scored a game-high 24 points to lead three Lady Toppers in double figures as Western Kentucky upset No. 11 Vanderbilt, 85-77, Thursday night in Diddle Arena. Box Score Senior forward Ashley Earley and sophomore guard Dee Davis each recorded their second consecutive double-doubles, but the Lady Toppers shot 60 percent in the game. Earley finished the game with a team-high 19 points and 15 rebounds. Davis had 12 points and 10 assists while Carla Thomas poured in 16 points. WKU freshman Crystal Kelly added 18 points while Cacie Pope reeled in a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Vanderbilt shot 44.8 percent in the second half and committed 13 turnovers in the half. VU finished the game shooting 48.4 percent. Western Kentucky shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second stanza. The Lady Toppers went 15-of-27 from the free throw line in the second half as the Commodores wore whistled for 20 fouls in the half. Earley hit a jumper right out of halftime to put the Commodores ahead, 46-36, with 19:42 left in the game. Western used a 7-0 run to pull within 48-45 on a lay-up from Camryn Whitaker. After the Commodores led 50-45, a lay-up from Pope and five straight points from Porter-Talbert gave the Lady Toppers a 52-50 lead with 16:26 left. Three-pointers from Abi Ramsey and Davis helped the Commodores regain a 60-54 advantage at the 13:20 mark. Vanderbilt led 68-64 with 8:33 left before Western started its come-back. Pope tied the game, 69-69, with a basket with 6:37 remaining. Western then used an 11-2 run to go ahead, 80-71, with 2:43 remaining. The Commodores got within five points twice in the closing minute, but a lay-up from Porter-Talbert in the closing seconds sealed the game for the Lady Toppers. Earley scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the first half to help the Commodores to a 44-36 halftime lead. Vanderbilt shot 51.5 percent in the half and forced 10 turnovers. Western finished the half 14-of-22 (.636) from the field. The Commodores controlled the boards out-rebounding the Lady Toppers, 17-10, in the half. VU built an early 13-6 lead within the first six minutes of the game. Western took its first lead of the game, 14-13, with 11:59 left before half. VU regained a 19-14 lead after a 6-0 run capped off by a lay-up from Thomas. Another Thomas lay-up gave the Commodores a 29-21 advantage at the 6:55 mark. The Commodores built their largest lead of the game, 40-28, after Ramsey hit a three-pointer with 3:32 left before half. The Lady Toppers closed the first half with an 8-4 run. Davis and Katie Antony each added nine points for the Commodores. Vanderbilt returns home Sunday to take on Saint Louis at 2 p.m. in Memorial Gymnasium. |
