The Western Kentucky University women's basketball team will look to bounce back from a 59-56 loss to #12 Duke when it hits the road to meet long-time rival Louisiana Tech at 2 p.m. (CST) Sunday at the Thomas Assembly Center. The former Sun Belt Conference rivals will meet for the 37th time, and the 18th in Ruston. The Lady Toppers have won three straight in the series, and won for the first time at the TAC in a regular-season game on Nov. 11, 2006 - picking up a 73-60 victory.
u WKU and Louisiana Tech have met every year except one since the 1991-92 season. The first nine years of that stretch were when both teams were members of the Sun Belt Conference. Since Louisiana Tech left for the Western Athletic Conference following the 2000-01 campaign, the teams have met annually except for a one-year break during the 2003-04 season.
u The Lady Toppers enter Sunday’s game having won three straight in the series with Louisiana Tech for the first time. That includes a win in Ruston the last time they visited on Nov. 11, 2006. WKU has never won consecutive games over the Lady Techsters at the Thomas Assembly Center.
u Despite the outcome of Sunday’s game, the Lady Toppers will close out their fourth consecutive month of play with a record of .500 or better. After a 2-3 mark during games played last December, WKU had winning records in January (9-0), February (5-2) and March (4-1) to close out the 2007-08 campaign.
u WKU has also produced a .500-or-better record in the month of November each of the past seven seasons under head coach Mary Taylor Cowles.
u The trip to Louisiana Tech will also mark the first time this season that WKU has left the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The Lady Toppers have played four games at home in E.A. Diddle Arena, and a road contest at Eastern Kentucky.
