BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - WKU Lady Topper Basketball has released its complete 2015-16 schedule, it was announced by head coach Michelle Clark-Heard and Conference USA on Monday morning. The lineup features a home contest with Louisville, road game at Ole Miss and a trip to the 2015 GCI Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska and a challenging second year slate in Conference USA.
The Lady Toppers return six letterwinners from last year's team, including Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year Kendall Noble, three-year starter Micah Jones and Conference USA All-Freshman selection Tashia Brown. The Lady Toppers also welcome eight new faces to the program in 2015-16.
WKU posted a 30-5 mark in 2014-15, setting a new Conference USA record for wins in a season and posting the second 30-win season in WKU history. Under the direction of Clark-Heard, the 2015 Conference USA Coach of the Year and a 2015 Pat Summitt Trophy award finalist, WKU posted a 16-2 mark in league play last year, its first year as a member of Conference USA. Clark-Heard is also just the 10th coach in NCAA history to lead their alma mater into the Associated Press Top 25 rankings as both a player and coach when the Lady Toppers were ranked in January. She was also the 2012-13 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year. In just three seasons at WKU as head coach, Clark-Heard has won two conference tournament championships and a regular season conference title while posting 76 wins, the most in a coaches first three seasons in WKU women's basketball or men's basketball history.
"We are excited about the opportunity to take the next steps forward as a program and look forward to the challenges that are in front of us with our non-conference schedule in prepping for another run at a conference title," said Clark-Heard. "We are excited about the teams we are bringing into E.A. Diddle Arena as well. With two in-state foes like Louisville and Eastern Kentucky on the schedule, I know our fans will have even more reason to make it out to see us play this year."
The Lady Toppers will travel to Muncie, Ind., for the second time in three years as WKU opens the season at Ball State. The Lady Toppers posted a 84-59 win over the Cardinals last year in Bowling Green, Ky.
WKU will then host in-state rival Louisville in their home opener on Nov. 21 in E.A. Diddle Arena. The teams are meeting for the third consecutive season.
WKU then travels to Alaska to participate in the 2015 GCI Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 24 and 25. The oldest continuously running in-season college basketball tournament in the nation, the Shootout will again feature an eight-team men's field and four-team women's field for this year's tournaments, set for Nov. 24-28 at the Alaska Airlines Center. WKU will face George Mason in their event opener before facing either Pepperdine or Alaska. UAA was ranked No. 1 in the nation in Division II at various points throughout the 2014-15 season.
This is WKU's third appearance in the event, finishing third in 1986 and 1988. WKU head coach Michelle Clark-Heard was a member of the 1988 team that traveled to Alaska for the event. The trip to Alaska continues a trend of unique opportunities for Lady Topper players to see the country as part of WKU's non-conference schedule. In the last two seasons, WKU has made trips to San Juan, Puerto Rico and New York City, New York for in-season events. In addition, WKU participated in the 2014 Preseason Women's NIT, finishing second in the event, after beating Albany at home and winning at Colorado before falling to Mississippi State in the finals.
WKU stays on the road to face Ole Miss on Wednesday, Dec. 2. WKU travels to Oxford looking to continue their winning ways against the Rebels. WKU won 98-69 last year in Bowling Green, Ky., in one of the most lopsided games against an SEC foe for the Lady Toppers in program history.
WKU returns to E.A. Diddle Arena on Dec. 5 to face Austin Peay before traveling to UT Arlington on Sunday, Dec. 13 following an off-week for semester exams. WKU then plays two games in four days before the holiday break on the road, traveling to College of Charleston on Dec. 18 and Lipscomb on Dec. 21.
WKU closes the non-conference slate on Dec. 29 against Belmont in Bowling Green, Ky.
WKU opens conference play at home on Jan. 3, hosting Marshall. The team then takes a trip south to Florida to face FIU and Florida Atlantic in early January before returning home for a four-game home stand. WKU will open the four-game stretch against Rice and first-year coach Tina Langley, a former assistant at Maryland, before meeting North Texas. WKU rounds out the home-stand by facing Old Dominion and Charlotte on Jan. 21 and Jan. 23, two teams WKU beat in the Conference USA Tournament last year on their way to winning the championship.
WKU then travels to UAB on Jan. 28 and Middle Tennessee on Jan. 30, marking the first trip to either school to face the home team as a member of Conference USA. WKU beat rival Middle Tennessee 63-60 last year in E.A. Diddle Arena. WKU will return home to face UTSA on Feb. 4 and UTEP on Feb. 6 before facing Marshall in Huntington, W. Va., on Feb. 13 for the second time on the year.
The Marshall game opens a three-game home stand that also has the Lady Toppers heading to Old Dominion on Feb. 18 and Charlotte on Feb. 20. WKU will then host Middle Tennessee on Feb. 25 and UAB on Feb. 27 before closing out the regular season on March 3 at Southern Miss and March 5 at LA Tech.
The Conference USA Championships return to Birmingham, Ala., in March. WKU beat Southern Miss in last year's finals to secure their second consecutive automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Season ticket renewals will be available in the upcoming weeks while individuals wishing to make new season ticket purchases to see the Lady Toppers are encouraged to call the Ticket Office at 1-800-5-BIG-RED to inquire about ticket opportunities.
