Junior All-America candidate Chastity Gooch of Franklin-Simpson had 24 points, 12 rebounds, 2 each of blocks and steals, and an assist without any turnovers to lead WKU to a 86-63 win over Murray State on Saturday afternoon at E.A. Diddle Arena. Gooch hit 11-of-16 shots from the field to lead four Lady Toppers in double figures.
"I was really pleased with our effort and just our intensity,” said head coach Michelle Clark Heard. “We came out of the locker room, and I talked to them about getting off to a good start and I think we did that. I was just really pleased with a lot of different things. We made free throws tonight, which was really important. We got on the boards, too. I’m really excited about that… I’m really proud of the team. I think we got a chance to see a lot of different rotations and different substitution patterns that we’re trying to work on. You know, I keep saying to myself, this is the third game of the season. So, we’re going to have to keep working so that we can continue to build on the things we’re working on.”
It was the Lady Toppers’ 14th straight win over Murray State.
The Lady Toppers’ faced paced offense posted 45 points in the first half, tying the record for most points in a first half under Clark-Heard, to take a 45-34 lead into the halftime break. A 10-0 run early in the second half allowed the Lady Toppers to coast to the 23-point victory.
In addition to Gooch’s performance, Jalynn McClain had 12 points and 10 rebounds while Micah Jones had 16 points and Alexis Govan had 10. Bianca McGee finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
Jessica Winfrey and Keiona Kirby led the Lady Racers (2-1) with 11 points each. Winfrey had 8 rebounds and Taylor Porter 5. Nikia Edom added 3 assists. A bright spot for Coach Rob Cross’ team was hitting nine 3-pointers.
Redshirt freshman Kendall Noble had four points as she played her first game since returning from a series of injuries, including a torn ACL and a stress fracture. It was her first game in a WKU uniform in E.A. Diddle Arena despite playing in six tournaments in the venue as a high school player.
COMING UP NEXT: WKU returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 19 when the Lady Toppers face SEMO at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Tipoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. The game will be televised by KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau with a webcast available via www.kfbs12.com/webcast. The contest at SEMO marks the first of two straight games on the road for WKU. WKU travels to Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 23.
The Lady Toppers return home on Wednesday, Nov. 27 to face fifth-ranked Louisville in E.A. Diddle Arena. The Cardinals are coached by former WKU assistant Jeff Walz. The game has been labeled as a “White Out,” with the first 1,000 fans receiving a free shirt commemorating the event. The matchup with the Cards will likely be WKU’s first game against a top-five opponent since third-ranked North Carolina on Dec. 20, 2007 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
It also will mark the first time since March 11, 2000 that WKU has welcomed a team that reached the Final Four in the previous season to E.A. Diddle Arena. All-time, WKU has hosted 12 teams that played in the Final Four the previous season and played 32 games against teams that had reached the Final Four the previous season.
Season tickets and single-game tickets for the 2013-14 season are currently available for purchase by contacting the WKU Ticket Office. Individuals can call the WKU Ticket Office at 1-800-5-BIG-RED to learn more about season ticket opportunities, visit www.wkusports.com or visit the ticket office in E.A. Diddle Arena. A complete look at the 2013-14 schedule, including game times, is available at www.wkusports.com.