Head Coach Mary Taylor Cowles said it was all too clear that Eastern Kentucky was putting a large focus on containing senior guard Kenzie Rich on Saturday night.

But the Lady Colonels didn’t account for freshman guard Courtney Clifton.

Clifton scored a game-high 22 points, and Western rolled to a 75-54 win in its regular season opener in Diddle Arena.

Clifton’s six three-pointers tied for fourth on the Lady Toppers’ individual game record list, and it was the most since Rich netted six against Denver on Feb. 8, 2008.

“She’s tremendous,” Cowles said of Clifton. “It was a great opportunity for her tonight to take advantage of those open shots.”

Clifton quickly attributed her success in her Western debut to those around her.

“My teammates got me open shots,” Clifton said. “The way that we run our plays, coming off screens, I don’t know, I had a hot hand tonight I guess.”

The Lady Toppers began the game on a 15-4 run that was capped by Clifton’s first three-pointer of the game.

Western pushed the lead to 43-27 at halftime, and the Lady Colonels never came within 13 points again.

Junior guard Hope Brown said that the team benefited from committing to playing inspired basketball at all times.

“We have a lot of energy,” she said. “We always bring it from practice onto the game floor. We might do some things wrong on defense, but we’ll pick it up the next time on the defensive end.”

The Lady Toppers shot 41.1 percent for the game, but were held to only 30 percent shooting in the second half.

They were also outrebounded 35-33, but Cowles said the team was able to overcome its miscues with effort.

“We’re not doing everything right, by no means,” Cowles said. “We’ve got some mistakes we’ve got to continue to work on and some kinks we’ve got to try to get out, but I just love the fact that we’re playing so hard and we’re so intense. I think that can really make up for a lot of mistakes you do make.”

The Lady Toppers forced Eastern Kentucky into 28 turnovers and converted those into 29 points.

Junior guard Amy McNear followed Clifton with 15 points, while senior forward Arnika Brown pitched in eight points and 13 rebounds. Hope Brown and freshman guard Lashay Davis each had seven.

Senior forward Colette Cole paced the Lady Colonels with 12 points.

The Lady Toppers now head to the road for a game at Ball State on Monday at 6. p.m.

Western lost to the Cardinals 72-71 in overtime last year in Diddle, but Cowles said she doesn’t doubt that the team is ready for a rematch.

“I think this team understands how important it is to pack it up and take it with us,” Cowles said. “It will be a new environment for us on the road…so we definitely have to be ready.”