BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - WKU is heading to the 2014 Preseason Women's NIT Championship Game after posting a 63-54 win over Albany on Thursday night in E.A. Diddle Arena. It will be the first title game appearance for the Lady Toppers in their fourth all-time appearance in the tournament.
RV/RV WKU (3-0) got 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and six steals from redshirt sophomore Kendall Noble while senior All-American candidate Chastity Gooch had 14 points and six rebounds to pace the Lady Toppers. RV/RV Albany (2-1), the three-time defending American East Conference champions, was forced into 33 turnovers by the Lady Toppers, resulting in 34 WKU points. WKU held Albany to just 31.8 percent shooting in the second half to aid in the victory.
WKU built an eight point lead in the opening minutes at 14-6 before the teams battled for the remainder of the half and eventually settled on a 32-31 halftime decision in favor of the Lady Toppers at the break. WKU shot 50.0 percent in the opening half while Albany converted on 56.0 percent of their tries. The inflated numbers from the field were assisted by a number of forced turnovers by both teams in the opening half as WKU forced 16 Albany turnovers and Albany forced 12 of the Lady Toppers.
WKU trailed 44-42 with 10:28 left following a free throw by the Great Danes before senior Alexis Govan nailed a three-point field goal to give WKU a 47-44 lead, turning momentum that had been gained by Albany. The Great Danes retook the lead briefly before WKU scored seven straight to break a 51-51 tie as Govan nailed another three while Noble and junior Jalynn McClain added baskets.
WKU will travel to Starkville, Miss., to face Mississippi State in the championship game of the 2014 Preseason Women's NIT on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2:00 p.m. CT. The championship game will air live nationally on CBS Sports Network. CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. Thad Anderson (play-by-play) and Curt Miller (analyst) will be calling the game. Miller spent 13 years as an NCAA DI head coach compiling an 290-124 overall record and earning six conference Coach of the Year awards. Anderson has called play-by-play for the WNIT since 2007 and currently calls games for ESPN, CBS Sports Network, and the Pac 12 Network.
The matchup with Mississippi State will be the second in the series as WKU beat the Bulldogs 56-53 in the 2007 Postseason Women's NIT in E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Lady Toppers are making their fourth all-time appearance in the Preseason Women's NIT and are now 9-3 all-time in the tournament as they make their first appearance since 2007. The team is unbeaten at home in Preseason WNIT play with a 6-0 record all-time.
Reaching the semifinals of the Preseason Women's NIT is a good indicator of where a team will end up in the postseason. In 10 of the 20 years that Preseason Women's NIT has been held, all four semifinalists have gone on to appear in the NCAA Tournament. That number balloons to 19-of-20 years when the Preseason WNIT semifinals has had at least 3-of-4 participants go on to play in the NCAA Tournament. Only one team, Arkansas in 1995, has reached the finals of the Preseason Women's NIT and not reached the NCAA Tournament.
Season tickets and single-game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at WKUSports.com or by calling the WKU Ticket Office at 1-800-5-BIG RED or 745-5222 locally.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE LADY TOPPERS: For complete information on Lady Topper Basketball, visit www.wkusports.com, follow the program on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WKUWomensBasketball, follow the program on Instagram via "LadyTopperHoops" or follow the program on Twitter via @LadyTopperHoops.
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