Of WKU's 24 potential opponents on the this year's slate, nine participated in the 2004 postseason — four in the NCAA Tournament (Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, Austin Peay and Vanderbilt), and five in the WNIT (South Alabama, Charlotte, Arkansas State, Memphis and Louisville).
Over half of this year's opponents posted winning records in 2003-04, with seven opponents recording 20-win seasons.
“I’m really proud of what we were able to do with this year’s schedule from a competitive standpoint,” said third-year Lady Topper head coach Mary Taylor Cowles. “We know that every night we step out on the court, our young ladies want to go against the best competition, and I feel we’ve been able to do that again this year.
“I feel very good about renewing some rivalries this year, getting teams like UAB, Austin Peay and Louisiana Tech back on the schedule. I think it’s smart for us to play those type of quality teams that are in a close proximity to us, and I think our fans can get excited about the teams on our schedule this year.”
Western will spend much of November at home, playing its first four games at E.A. Diddle Arena. A pair of exhibition games with Kentucky Wesleyan (Nov. 6) and the Houston Jaguars (Nov. 11) set the stage for the season opener against UAB on Nov. 19. The Lady Toppers will then host Ohio Valley Conference champion Austin Peay. Two road games at Charlotte and Arkansas wrap up the month, and the renewal of a rivalry with Louisiana Tech concludes a three-game roadswing as WKU heads to Ruston, La., on Dec. 2.
Western returns home to host another national powerhouse in Vanderbilt on Dec. 9, then travels north to take on Louisville on Dec. 12 in a homecoming for freshman forward Crystal Kelly and junior guard Ashley Butler. The Lady Toppers then conclude the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule at the Fun in the Sun Shootout in Cancun Dec. 19-20. Joining WKU in the tournament field is Oral Roberts, Missouri-Kansas City and Memphis, who the Lady Toppers defeated in the second round of the 2004 WNIT.
After a few days off, WKU returns to action at Tennessee Tech on Dec. 30, then returns home to host Murray State on Jan. 3. A Jan. 6 game at Duquesne will serve as the final tuneup for Sun Belt Conference play, which begins on Jan. 13 when Arkansas State visits Diddle Arena. Western will host Arkansas-Little Rock two days later, then plays its final nonconference game of the season when Columbia comes to Bowling Green on Jan. 17.
Again this year, Western will play home-and-home series against members of the Sun Belt East Division — ASU, UALR, Middle Tennessee and Florida International — while splitting games against the West Division. WKU will host New Mexico State (Jan. 25), Louisiana-Lafayette (Jan. 27) and North Texas (Feb. 9), while traveling to South Alabama (Jan. 20), New Orleans (Jan. 22) and Denver (Feb. 12).
WKU will face FIU for Senior Night on Feb. 28, before traveling to Denton, Texas for the 2005 Sun Belt Conference Tournament March 4-8.
All game times will be announced at a later date. The WKU Athletic Ticket Office will be renewing season tickets through Oct. 1, while new season ticket orders can be placed beginning Oct. 4.
“I really admire Coach Cowles for her scheduling philosophy — a philosophy that continues to keep Lady Topper basketball competitive with the best programs in the country,” said Selig. “Our fans will get a chance to glimpse our extremely bright future this season with our talented newcomers and seasoned veterans. We can already tell there is great anticipation for the season ahead as we have been selling a considerable number of season tickets without even having a schedule to sell. Now it will only be that much easier given the attractiveness of our schedule. ”
In her two years at the helm, Cowles has guided the Lady Toppers to a combined 42-23 record, two straight Sun Belt East Division championships, the 2003 Sun Belt Tournament championship and a pair of postseason berths.
Six letterwinners return to the court from last year's 20-14 squad, led by seniors Leslie Logsdon and Camryn Whitaker, and junior All-America candidate Tiffany Porter-Talbert. Six newcomers also enter the fold this season, highlighted by Kelly, the 2004 Kentucky Miss Basketball. Cacie Pope will also be back on the court this season after missing the entire 2003-04 season with a medical redshirt.
