BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- With junior Viktoria Krell and sophomore Lindsey Waters sidelined with three first-half fouls, the Lindsey Wilson College women's basketball team lost its inside presence and its close score as Western Kentucky University won 96-63 in an exhibition contest on Monday at E.A. Diddle Arena.
Krell paced the Blue Raiders with a 17 point, 10 rebound double-double performance, while senior Sierra Rambert finished with 12 points and three assists.
Before foul problems plagued the Lindsey Wilson lineup, the Blue Raiders were within four points of the Lady Toppers (27-23) with three minutes to play in the half.
Once Krell and Waters both were relegated to the bench, Western Kentucky went on a 10-2 run over the final three minutes, creating the separation that kept the Blue Raiders out of the game the rest of the way.
At halftime, LWC trailed the Lady Toppers 37-25, while being outrebounded 31-20. Western Kentucky also held a 10-0 advantage in fast break points.
The second half belonged to WKU, as they built a lead as large as 36 points near the end of the game. The Lady Toppers blistered the nets for a 61.1 percent field-goal percentage in the second half after shooting just 30.8 percent in the opening half.
Turnovers plagued the Blue Raiders for most of the game, giving up a 33-8 points off turnovers advantage to the Lady Toppers.
Kenzie Rich led Western Kentucky with 21 points, hitting 4-of-9 shots from behind the arc. Arnika Brown was a force inside for the Lady Toppers, finishing the contest with a near double-double performance with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Lindsey Wilson returns to action at 2 p.m. CT on Nov. 7 against Union (Ky.) College in the season's first regular-season game at Biggers Sports Center.
