Carla Stubbs nets a season-high 20 points in loss Florida Atlantic was outscored in the paint 38-18 as Western Kentucky knocked off the Owls 80-74 on Wednesday night at FAU Arena. Their inside game was unbelievable, said head coach Chancellor Dugan. Weve got to do a better job of bowing our necks and getting stops in order for us to be successful. The Owls (14-13, 10-7) received a season-high performance from Carla Stubbs as the senior poured in 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting and made 6-of-7 free-throws. She was really tough tonight, Dugan said. We need her to play like that every night and I think she is capable of doing so. The Lady Toppers (19-9, 13-4) held a 31-24 lead with 4:07 to play in the first half. However, the Owls closed the half on an 11-4 run to tie the score at 35-35 heading into the break. In the second half, WKU forward Dominique Duck began to take over the game as the senior scored 14 of her 16 points in the final period. She [Duck] played like her hair was on fire in the second half, said Dugan. Despite falling behind 65-60 with 4:43 remaining after Duck finished off a three-point play, the Owls persevered and cut the lead to 68-67 with 2:16 to go after a Teri Stamps three-pointer. Stamps scored 12 points, all coming in the second half and all coming on three-point field goals. The sophomore finished 4-of-7 from behind the arc in the game. Stamps entered play on Wednesday ranked 3rd in the Sun Belt in three-point field goal percentage (38.8%). Over the final two minutes, Amy McNear helped seal the game for the Lady Toppers scoring 7 of WKUs final 12 points, five of which came from the foul line. McNear finished tied with Duck for a team-high 16 points. The junior also finished with eight rebounds and four assists. The Owls will be back in action on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale against Middle Tennessee State. Tipoff is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. at FAU Arena. The game will be televised on CSS as part of the Sun Belt Network package.
© 2004 BLEACHER BROTHERS MEDIA CORP. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.