Western Kentucky coach Greg Collins talks to his players during WKU’s 102-80 loss to Louisville on Tuesday at E.A. Diddle Arena.

Central Michigan, an NCAA Women’s Sweet 16 participant last season, picked up where they left off by taking down Western Kentucky 108-90 on Saturday in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

CMU (2-1) shot a scorching 68.5 percent from the field on 24-of-35 shooting in the first half, including 10-of-19 from behind the 3-point arc. First quarter scoring favored the Chippewas as well, as they ran out to a 38-24 lead at the first intermission.

WKU coach Greg Collins’ squad clamped down in the final three frames, including a 26-20 margin in the third quarter, but the Lady Toppers could never totally close the gap.

Redshirt junior Dee Givens, the reigning Conference USA Sixth Player of the Year, led WKU with a career-high 23 points in 31 minutes, another career high for the Lexington native. Sophomore Raneem Elgedawy also tallied a career-best 20 points.

The Lady Toppers shot 54.5 percent as a team, as they racked up a season-high 90 points on 36 made field goals, but all five CMU starters finished in double-digits led by senior guard Presley Hudson’s 34 points. Senior forward Reyna Frost added a double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds.

WKU got out to a 4-2 lead in the first quarter, but a quick foul on the other end put CMU at the line to make it 4-3. After a missed 3-point attempt at the other end, CMU answered back with a trey of its own for a 6-4 advantage. A 3 by freshman Meral Abdelgawad knotted the game back at 10-all with 6:46 remaining in the first quarter, but that was as close as the Lady Toppers got.

CMU outscored WKU 28-14 the rest of the way in the first and built a lead it held the remainder of the game.

Another bright spot for WKU was the measured return of senior guard Sidnee Bopp. The Marmaduke, Ark., native had just 23 minutes of game action through the first three games this season, but played 26 minutes Saturday. She tallied a season-high nine points on 4-of-8 shooting, including her first 3-point basket of the year.

Following that trey, a pair of Givens free throws with 3:58 to go in the second got the Lady Toppers back within single digits at 48-39, but CMU’s Micaela Kelly, coming off the bench, drilled a triple to push the lead back to 12 just six seconds later.

WKU’s defense in the second half helped the Lady Toppers close the gap with a 26-20 scoring advantage to pull within seven at 78-71, but that was as close as they could get.

The Lady Toppers (0-4) have faced one of the nation’s toughest opening schedules and are still looking for their first-regular season win for Collins. They get another chance Tuesday at E.A. Diddle Arena where the Lady Toppers host Southern Illinois in the annual Education Day Game. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m.