Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball
WKU Lady Toppers | |||
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University | Western Kentucky University | ||
First season | 1914–15 | ||
Conference | C-USA | ||
Location | Bowling Green, KY | ||
Head coach | Michelle Clark-Heard (4th year) | ||
Arena |
E. A. Diddle Arena (Capacity: 7,326) | ||
Nickname | Lady Toppers | ||
Colors |
Red and White[1] | ||
Uniforms | |||
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NCAA/AIAW Tournament runner-up | |||
1992 | |||
NCAA/AIAW Tournament Final Four | |||
1985, 1986, 1992 | |||
NCAA/AIAW Tournament Elite Eight | |||
1985, 1986, 1992 | |||
NCAA/AIAW Tournament Sweet Sixteen | |||
1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995 | |||
NCAA/AIAW Tournament appearances | |||
1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2014, 2015 | |||
Conference tournament champions | |||
Sun Belt: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2003, 2008, 2014 C-USA: 2015 | |||
Conference regular season champions | |||
KIAC: 1929 Sun Belt: 1989, 1992, 1993, 1997 Sun Belt East: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 C-USA: 2015 |
The Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team represents Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The team currently competes in the NCAA Division I as a member of Conference USA. The current head coach of the Lady Toppers is Michelle Clark-Heard.
Postseason
Western Kentucky University's women's basketball team has appeared in 29 national postseason tournaments, all since 1984.
NCAA tournament results
The Lady Hilltoppers have appeared in the Women’s NCAA Tournament 18 times. They were NCAA Runners-up in 1992 and made Final Four appearances in 1985 and 1986.
Year | Round | Opponent | Results |
---|---|---|---|
1985 | Final Four | Middle Tennessee Texas Mississippi vs. Georgia | W 77-55 W 92–90 W 72-68 L 78-91 |
1986 | Final Four | St. Joseph’s vs. James Madison vs. Rutgers vs. Texas | W 74-65 W 72–51 W 89-74 L 65-90 |
1987 | First Round | at USC | L 69–81 |
1988 | First Round | at Georgia | L 66–84 |
1989 | First Round | West Virginia | L 57–66 |
1990 | First Round | at DePaul | L 63–73 |
1991 | Sweet Sixteen | Florida State at Tennessee | W 72–69 L 61–68 |
1992 | NCAA Finals | Alabama vs. Tennessee vs. Maryland vs. Southwest Missouri State vs. Stanford | W 98-68 W 75–70 W 75-70 W 84-72 L 62-78 |
1993 | Sweet Sixteen | Miami (FL) vs. Ohio State | W 78–63 L 73–86 |
1994 | Second Round | at Rutgers at Southern Mississippi | W 84-73 L 69–72 |
1995 | Sweet Sixteen | Toledo Oregon State at Tennessee | W 77–63 W 85–78 L 67–87 |
1997 | First Round | vs. Arizona | L 54–76 |
1998 | Second Round | vs. Stephen F. Austin at Tennessee | W 88-76 L 62–82 |
2000 | Second Round | vs. Marquette at Duke | W 68-65 L 70–90 |
2003 | First Round | vs. Rutgers | L 52–64 |
2008 | First Round | vs. UTEP | L 60–92 |
2014 | First Round | at Baylor | L 74–87 |
2015 | First Round | vs. Texas | L 64–66 |
WNIT results
The Lady Hilltoppers have appeared in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) 11 times. They made the semifinals of the tournament in 2006 and 2007 and made the quarterfinals in 2001, 2004 and 2016.
Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1984* | Third Round | vs. California vs. Vanderbilt vs. Clemson | W 82-76 L 79-68 L 110-106 (OT) |
1996* | Third Round | vs. Arizona vs. Princeton vs. UC Santa Barbara | L 80-72 W 74-41 L 77-61 |
2001 | Quarterfinals | Mississippi Indiana Ohio State | W 95–92 W 64–63 L 70-61 |
2002 | First Round | at Illinois | L 91-84 |
2004 | Quarterfinals | Cincinnati Memphis at UNLV | W 80–78 (OT) W 104–87 L 78-75 |
2005 | First Round | Xavier | L 87-85 |
2006 | Semifinals | Tennessee Tech Charlotte at Villanova at Kansas State | W 83–66 W 81–68 W 94–81 L 57-56 (OT) |
2007 | Semifinals | Minnesota Mississippi State Hofstra at Wisconsin | W 73–57 W 56–53 W 72–54 L 79-72 |
2010 | First Round | Illinois | L 68-51 |
2013 | Second Round | East Carolina at Auburn | W 88–77 (OT) L 84-66 |
2016 | Quarterfinals | Dayton Tennessee-Martin at Saint Louis at South Dakota | W 89–72 W 64-57 W 78-76 (OT) L 68-54 |
- Note: Appearances were in the National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT), prior to the start of the WNIT.
Rivalries
- Source
- [2]
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters
Games played | First meeting | Last meeting | WKU wins | WKU losses | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
42 | December 3, 1983 (lost 50–82) | March 5, 2016 (won 69-58) | 16 | 26 | 38.1% |
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders
Games played | First meeting | Last meeting | WKU wins | WKU losses | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
68 | 1924–25 (lost 7–41) | February 25, 2016 (won 62-51) | 27 | 41 | 39.7% |
Home venue
E. A. Diddle Arena
Players
WNBA Draft
Year | Rnd | Pick | Overall | Player name | Position | WNBA team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | 3 | 1 | 33 | Mansfield, ShaRaeShaRae Mansfield | F | Houston Comets |
2006 | 3 | 8 | 36 | Porter-Talbert, TiffanyTiffany Porter-Talbert | G | Los Angeles Sparks |
2008 | 3 | 3 | 31 | Kelly, CrystalCrystal Kelly | F | Houston Comets |
Coaches
- Pam Dickson (1973-74) 4-7 record in 1 season as head coach
- Dr. Carol Hughes (1974-1976) 22-20 record in 2 seasons as head coach
- Julia Yeater (1976-1978) 44-18 in 2 seasons as head coach
- Eileen Canty (1978-1982) 50-62 in 4 seasons as head coach
- Paul Sanderford (1982-1997) 365-120 in 15 seasons as head coach
- Steve Small (1997-2001) 88-40 in 4 seasons as head coach
- Shawn Campbell (2001-2002) 14-12 in 1 season as head coach
- Marti Whitmore (2002) 2-2 in 1 season as head coach (finished 2002 season after Campbell's departure)
- Mary Taylor-Cowles (2002-2012) 199-119 in 10 seasons as head coach
- Michelle Clark-Heard (2012-present) 103-32 in 4 seasons as head coach
See also
- NCAA Women's Division I Tournament bids by school
- Sun Belt Women's Basketball Tournament
- List of teams with the most victories in NCAA Division I women's college basketball
References
- ↑ WKU Communication & Branding Manual (PDF). Retrieved 2016-03-25.
- ↑ http://www.wkusports.com/sports/w-baskbl/sched/wky-w-baskbl-sched.html