Bowling Green, Ky. - Four Lady Toppers - including two freshmen - scored in double figures as the Western Kentucky University women's basketball team opened the curtain on the 2009-10 season with a 96-63 exhibition win over Lindsey Wilson Monday night at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Kenzie Rich led all scorers with 21 points, while Dominique Duck added 18. Freshmen Lashay Davis and Courtney Clifton came off the bench to score 14 and 10, respectively.

"I think we saw some really good things tonight, especially how unselfish this basketball team can be," said Lady Topper head coach Mary Taylor Cowles. "I thought our transition game was really solid tonight, and defensively we played hard from opening tip to final buzzer."

That unselfish play resulted in 22 assists for WKU, while the defense was able to force 27 Lindsey Wilson turnovers.

WKU shot just 30.8 percent from the field in the first half, but used a late run to open up a double-digit lead at intermission. After seeing their lead cut to 26-23 after a Sierra Rambert three, the Lady Toppers turned up the defense to score 11 unanswered points over a 2:30 stretch to open up a 37-23 lead after a Teranie Thomas free throw with 30 seconds on the clock. However, Bethany Spillman knocked down a pair of charity shots in the closing seconds to make it a 37-25 score at the half.

After Rich knocked down a three to open the game, Lindsey Wilson did not allow its deficit to grow any larger for a majority of the half. In fact, the Blue Raiders scored six unanswered points midway through the period to pull out to a 12-9 lead after a Kasey Litzinger layup. Another Rich three at the 9:44 mark tied the game at 14-14 and WKU's first big run of the half - a 14-2 spurt - that made it a 25-16 game before the late run stretched the advantage at intermission.

The Lady Topper shooting improved in the final 20 minutes as they connected on 22 of 36 shots - 61.1 percent shooting - and also hit 4-of-7 from three-point range.

WKU's 12-point halftime lead quickly ballooned to 21 less than five minutes into the half, and never got below 19 the rest of the game. In fact, Caitlin House scored seven straight Lady Topper points during one stretch to extend the lead to 30 when her three-point play made it a 78-48 game with just under five minutes remaining.

The lead grew as high as 36 in the closing seconds before a Britney Payne three-point play for LWC ended the scoring and set the final margin at 33.

In all, 13 Lady Toppers saw action, with nine finding their way into the scoring column. In addition to the four in double figures, Arnika Brown and Hope Brown each added nine points, with Arnika Brown also adding a game-high 11 rebounds. Viktoria Krell paced the Blue Raiders with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

WKU finished the game shooitng 45.3 percent from the field, and 78.6 percent at the free throw line.

The Lady Toppers will play their final exhibition game on Sunday (Nov. 8) when they host Brescia at 2 p.m. (CST). The regular-season gets underway on Nov. 14 when Eastern Kentucky visits Diddle Arena for a 7 p.m. tip.