Hilltoppers win big 75-54

There was little the Colonels could do against Western Kentucky in Bowling Green on Saturday.The Hilltoppers jumped out to a 15-4 lead to start the game, and cruised to a 75-54 win in Eastern's season opener.Eastern didn't help its cause, committing 28 turnovers.Western scored 29 points off of the miscues.

Eastern women's head coach Chrissy Roberts saw some bright spots in the game.

"I saw solid team ball," Roberts said."Playing a strong team like Western on the road, it was a decent performance.Decent is not what we want, but we are growing."

The Lady Colonels were outscored by 5 points in the second half, compared to the 16-point deficit at half time.

Senior forward Collete Cole led the Colonels with 12 points, including a three-pointer that cut the deficit to 13 points with less than six minutes to go in the game.

Western squashed hopes of an upset by stretching the lead to 21 within the last minute.

The Colonels out-rebounded the Hilltoppers 35-to-33.

"Defensively, our post players did a good job," Roberts said."I expect more from up top. We gave up too many three's.We need more of a sense of urgency on the perimeter."

Western hit five of nine three-pointers in the first half, and eight-for-20 throughout the game.The Colonels made four of 13 from behind the ark.

Roberts acknowledged improvement from the exhibition loss against Findlay State.

"I really like the leap we made from the foul line," Roberts said. "Against Findlay, we shot less than sixty-percent.Shooting eighty-percent at Western is a plus."

The Colonels' schedule will not get any easier, with non-conference match-ups against teams like Wright State, West Virginia and Cincinnati.

"Playing teams like that will make us have to grow up pretty fast," Roberts said. "But if we keep plugging away, it will really help us prepare for conference play."

The Colonels play at Wright State in Dayton, Ohio Thursday at 7 p.m. and against Florida Atlantic in the home-opener Saturday at 2 p.m.

Speaking of the future, three recruits signed with Eastern last week.Among next year's freshmen is Aimee Bouie, a 6-foot-2 forward from Delaware, Marie Carpenter, a guard from Nashville and Jennifer Smiley, a guard from Radcliff, Ky.

Carpenter was a finalist for Tennessee's Miss Basketball.

Roberts says she is excited for the future of the team.

"These incoming freshmen next year are very talented," Roberts said."They are versatile, athletic and play up-tempo.That fits our system."

Roberts went on to say they should fit well into the chemistry of the team.

"That's the most promising thing about this year's team," Roberts said."They look out for each other.When the new players come in next year, we'll embrace them.