BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- The Old Dominion women's basketball team lost at first-place Western Kentucky, 62-48, on Thursday evening at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green.
Taylor Edwards led Old Dominion (5-19, 3-17 C-USA) with 16 points and eight rebounds, but the Monarchs were unable to overcome a game-high 23 points from WKU's Tashia Brown, the nation's sxith leading scorer.
"We played well in stretches," said head coach Nikki McCray-Penson. "Being on a contender's home court, you can't have mental mistakes and you can't have defensive breakdowns. I thought we had some defensive breakdowns tonight that really cost us."
The Lady Toppers (18-5, 9-1 C-USA) utilized a run midway through the first quarter to take a lead that they would not relinquish.
The Monarchs were able to cut the lead to four at 22-18 midway through the second quarter, but WKU ended the first half on a 12-4 run to take a double-digit lead at 34-22 into the locker rooms.
WKU would then lead by double digits for the remainder of the game.
Aside from Edwards, Ashley Jackson also finished in double figures with 10 points. Victoria Morris and MaKayla Timmons both added seven points.
"I was really proud of our effort," said McCray. "Our team continues to get better. I see progress when you can come in against an NCAA Tournament team and be in a position to be in the game."
Up next, ODU travels to Southern Miss on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on CUSA.tv.
FOLLOW ODU WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow @ODUWBB on Twitter for the latest updates on the Monarchs.