Mosley stands out in WKU’s exhibition win over Lee

Cole Claybourn

Head Coach Mary Taylor Cowles said this season’s team doesn’t have a superstar, and that on any given night, any player could break out.

On Sunday, that player was junior forward Keisha Mosley.

Mosley paced the Lady Toppers with 13 points and 13 rebounds en route to a 72-47 win over Lee (Tenn.) in WKU’s last exhibition before the regular season.

“We were lacking rebounds the last game, and that was the main thing coach was telling us — getting offensive and defensive rebounds,” Mosley said. “That was my mentality the whole game.”

It wasn’t all easy for the Lady Toppers, though.

They turned the ball over 14 times in the first half and headed to the locker room up 32-25 after Lee shot 7-of-11 from 3-point range.

Cowles said that she didn’t know much about Lee’s style of offense prior to the game. But once the 3-pointers started to fall, Cowles said that’s when she knew a defensive change was needed to stop the shooting barrage.

“We just really clamped down 1-on-1,” Cowles said. “We still had some breakdowns, but we weren’t going to let off our man and give them that kick (pass) that they’re so good at.”

The adjustment worked, as Lee was 0-of-10 from 3-point range in the second half and shot 21.4 percent from the field.

While Lee’s offense struggled in the second half, the Lady Toppers got in to a rhythm, especially from 3-point range. They went 4-4 in the second half after going 1-4 in the first half.

Cowles said good defense in the second half led to good offense.

“We don’t talk much about offense at halftime,” she said. “As our defense allows us to get more comfortable, it takes a lot of stress off and feeds right in to our offensive system.”

The Lady Toppers forced 28 turnovers but turned the ball over 25 times themselves.

Senior guard Amy McNear credited the turnovers to Lee’s 2-3 extended zone defense — something the Lady Toppers weren’t used to.

“We were kind of like a deer in the headlights when we saw that,” she said. “We just need to calm down and look for the open pass.”

The Lady Toppers won the rebounding battle by 10 thanks to Mosley, who grabbed 10-second half boards.

Sophomore Janae Howard led all scorers with 14 points, and McNear and freshman guard Chaney Means added 13 apiece.

Hollie German led Lee with 13 points and six rebounds.

Senior Arnika Brown saw her first action this season but played just 13 minutes and didn’t record a point.

Cowles said Brown is still recovering from a stomach virus that kept her out of Tuesday’s game against Lindsey Wilson.

The Lady Toppers now enter a nine-day break before their first regular-season game Nov. 16 at Louisiana Tech.