SUN BELT WOMEN : Reed has Western Kentucky seeing red
Posted on Sunday, January 4, 2009
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The UALR women ended years worth of frustration in a big way Saturday.
Sophomore forward Chastity Reed recorded her third career high in three Sun Belt Conference games as UALR defeated Western Kentucky 78-66 before 1,889 at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky.
UALR (11-3, 3-0 Sun Belt Conference) entered the game 0-18 all-time against Western Kentucky with most of those games ending up extremely lopsided.
Reed made 16 of 28 field goals and finished with 35 points. She had 27 points against Arkansas State and 29 points against Louisiana-Monroe, both previous career highs.
"I'm tickled to death. I'm tired of them beating us all the time," UALR Coach Joe Foley said. "This place has a lot of tradition. It's a great place to play and a fun place to play. Playing at places like this helps make you a better ball club."
Reed also had 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocked shots.
"I'm proud of my team. They kept me going. And Anshel [Cooper] and Kim [Sitzmann] are threats, and that opened up the floor for me," Reed said.
UALR built a 22-point second half lead on Saturday in a game that was only as close as the final margin of 12 points after two three-pointers by Western Kentucky (7-6, 1-2) in the final minute.
"It was really no surprise on our end what Little Rock brought in," Western Kentucky Coach Mary Taylor Cowles said. "They are extremely talented, very experienced and very well coached."
Reed's 35 points were three short of UALR's all-time scoring record of 38 points, set by B.J. Higginbotham in 1979. Jocelyn Love's 36 points are the most since the program restarted in 1999.
"I have to give her props. She had a great game. She was hitting stuff with our hands in her face," said Western Kentucky's Amy McNear, who led the Lady Toppers with 18 points. "I think she just had a good night. We did our best to defend her but it didn't work out."
Teammate Arnika Brown, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds, just shook her head in disbelief of Reed's performance as McNear spoke.
UALR led by 12 points in the first half before a three-point play by Western Kentucky just before halftime cut the lead to 38-34.
UALR then went on a 19-1 run to start the second half and push the lead to 22 points, effectively putting the Lady Toppers away.
Sitzmann, a junior guard, added 16 points for UALR, making 4 of 7 three-pointers. Sophomore point guard Asriel Rolfe had 11 points and 9 assists, while sophomore guard Shanika Butler had 10 points.
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