Western Kentucky rallied from a double-digit deficit in each half and briefly took the lead at the end of the third quarter, but a strong fourth quarter from Southern Miss dealt the Lady Toppers a 69-63 setback Thursday at Reed Green Coliseum in Hattiesburg, Miss.

The Lady Toppers (21-7 overall, 12-3 Conference USA) fought back from a 12-point deficit in the second quarter to tie the game and from a 13-point hole in the third quarter to take the lead, but they were outscored 22-14 over the final 10 minutes by the Golden Eagles (15-13, 7-8 C-USA).

WKU’s Ivy Brown led all scorers with 20 points and had a team-high 13 rebounds for her 15th double-double of the season; 18 of Brown’s points came during the second half. Raneem Elgedawy added 17 points and pulled down six rebounds. Tashia Brown chipped in 14 points to round out the trio in double figures.

For Southern Miss, Shonte Hailes led the way with 17 points and was one of four Golden Eagles in double figures alongside Alarie Mayze (13), Amber Landing (11) and Jayla King. King also added 13 rebounds to finish with a double-double.

Southern Miss jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first six points, including back-to-back baskets from Landing. WKU cut the lead back to four points before another quick burst from the Golden Eagles left the Lady Toppers facing a double-digit first-quarter deficit, down 11 points with 2:51 on the clock.

WKU remained down by double digits until a strong run spanning just more than six minutes in the second quarter. Trailing by 12 (26-14) at the 9:42 mark, WKU used a 13-2 run to battle back. Four Lady Toppers scored during the stretch, and Tashia Brown’s three-point play with 3:29 remaining cut the deficit to 28-27.

Two free throws from Elgedawy tied the game at 30, but a 3-pointer from Southern Miss’ Mayze just before the buzzer sent the Lady Tops into the halftime break facing a 33-30 deficit.

Southern Miss opened the third quarter on an 11-1 run over the first three minutes. Six Golden Eagles notched at least one point during the run, and Megan Brown’s 3-pointer at 6:51 put the Lady Tops down 44-31.

The Lady Toppers rallied again, scoring 18 of the final 21 points of the third quarter, including 11 points from Ivy Brown. Her triple with less than 10 seconds remaining gave WKU its first lead of the night, 49-47.

Southern Miss scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to retake the lead, and despite a strong push down the stretch, the Lady Toppers couldn’t get back out in front. WKU closed the gap to four points on several different occasions, but could not cut it back to a one-possession game.

WKU will close the regular season at 2 p.m. Saturday at UTEP. The Lady Toppers are 2-1 against the Miners since joining C-USA, including a 71-54 victory in El Paso last season. Following Saturday’s game, WKU will have the No. 1 or No. 2 seed in next week’s C-USA Tournament in Frisco, Texas.{&end}