Ivy Brown and Kyvin Goodin-Rogers each scored 17 points as WKU remained perfect against Old Dominion since joining C-USA, grinding out a 67-62 victory inside the Ted Constant Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon.
With blizzard conditions outside the arena, Brown and Goodin-Rogers combined to go 13-of-27 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three-point range to lead the Lady Toppers. Kendall Noble and Micah Jones also reached double figures for WKU with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Tashia Brown was the team’s leading rebounder with seven boards, and Noble dished out a game-high six assists.
As a team, WKU (11-5, 3-1 C-USA) shot 27-of-62 (43.5 percent) from the floor and 6-of-17 from long range. Despite knocking down 24 of their 49 opportunities (49 percent), Old Dominion (7-8, 2-2 C-USA) connected on just 2-of-10 three-pointers.
Ashley Jackson led the Lady Monarchs with 17 points on the afternoon and was joined in double figures by Destinee Young (15) and Jennie Simms (13). Simms, the second-leading scorer in the nation, was frustrated by the WKU defense all afternoon and was held to just 5-of-18 shooting with seven turnovers.
The first quarter featured a trio of ties before either side could gain more than four points of separation. WKU jumped out to an early four-point lead after baskets from Jones and Goodin-Rogers, but the Lady Monarchs fought back with six of the next eight points. Late in the quarter with 2:28 on the clock, the Lady Toppers finally fired off seven straight points, capped by Goodin-Rogers’ three-pointer, to take a 17-10 lead that it would hold through the end of the period.
Old Dominion whittled away at the deficit, twice tying the game early in the second quarter. A pair of Odegua Oigbokie free throws with 8:37 to play knotted the game at 17-17, and Goodin-Rogers’ layup just over a minute later created the fifth tie of the contest at 19-19.
Out of that tie, Old Dominion tallied six of the next eight points to take their largest lead of the afternoon. Jackson scored four points during the short burst and Simms’ layup with 5:41 to play before the break gave the Lady Monarchs a 25-21 lead.
Facing its first two-possession deficit of the day, WKU used a 7-0 run to pull back in front. Over the next three and a half minutes, three different Lady Toppers scored and WKU maintained its edge through the break, carrying a 32-28 advantage into the locker room.
Late in the third quarter, WKU took its largest lead of the day off Ivy Brown’s triple with 27 seconds to play. After Old Dominion cut the deficit to two points, Brown scored the next five points, including that three-pointer, to give the Lady Toppers a 53-46 edge.
In the fourth quarter, Old Dominion pulled within two points on three different occasions, but WKU never surrendered the lead en route to the 67-62 victory.
WKU will return to E.A. Diddle Arena for its longest C-USA home stretch of the season, beginning next Thursday morning at 11 a.m. (CT) against UAB for the Lady Toppers’ annual Education Day matchup. WKU will then take on archrival Middle Tennessee next Sunday at 2 p.m. (CT) before battling Marshall on Saturday, Jan. 21, at 2 p.m. (CT).
How to Follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Lady Topper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @LadyTopperHoops on Twitter, @LadyTopperHoops on Instagram and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUWomensBasketball.
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Currie P. McFayden
WKU Associate Director of Media Relations