All-session tickets can be purchased here or by calling the WKU Ticket Office at 1-800-5 BIG RED.
Game Info
Conference USA Championship Quarterfinal
No. 7 WKU (15-16, 6-10 CUSA) vs. No. 2 Liberty (16-15, 11-5 CUSA)
Wednesday, March 13 | 2 p.m.
Huntsville, Ala. | VBC Probst Arena
Watch: ESPN+
Links: Listen (ESPN 102.7/Varsity Network) | Live Stats | Game Notes
About the Lady Toppers
- WKU finished tied for sixth place with New Mexico State and UTEP and earned the No. 7 seed in the tiebreaking scenarios.
- Alexis Mead eared All-CUSA Second Team and All-Defensive Team honors in the league's postseason awards. She is the conference's steals leader with 61 on the season. She's third in the league in assists with 126. The junior recently surpassed 900 career points and now has 945 in her three years on The Hill. Mead also has notched 336 career assists, putting her 42 away from breaking into the top 10 all-time at WKU. Her 110 career steals are 34 away from top 10 in WKU history as well.
- WKU is forcing teams into 19.74 turnovers per game this season, which is the second highest average in CUSA and 31st highest in the nation. On those turnovers, the Lady Toppers are averaging 10.9 steals per game which is the most in the league and 19th in the NCAA.
- The Lady Toppers finished non-conference play with wins against Mercer, Southern Utah, Cornell, Miami (OH), Bucknell, Vermont, Abilene Christian, Nevada and West Virginia State for a 9-6 record.
Series History
- Wednesday's game will be just the fifth all-time between WKU and Liberty, but the second meeting in four days. WKU trails in the series, 1-3.
- The two teams split their games this season with each team winning on the road. WKU notched a 68-66 win in Lynchburg on Jan. 6, but Liberty struck back with a 84-77 win in Bowling Green on March 9.
Liberty Notes
- The Flames finished tied for second place in the CUSA standings and earned the No. 2 seed with a tiebreaker over FIU.
- Liberty has won 10 of their last 12 games and six of their last seven coming into Wednesday's matchup. The only two loses during that 12-game stretch came to first-place Middle Tennessee.
- The Flames are led by Bella Smuda who is scoring 15.0 points per game and pulling down a CUSA leading 9.7 rebounds per game. Smuda leads the conference in double-doubles with 15 on the season.
- Emma Hess is averaging 13.2 points per game as the league's top 3-point shooter, shooting 39.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Tournament History
- WKU is 12-5 all-time in the CUSA Championship with three tournament championship wins in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
- The Lady Toppers are 31-4 in conference tournament quarterfinals since 1983 and are 5-1 in CUSA quarterfinals. WKU has won four straight quarterfinal game appearances (2017 – North Texas, 2018 – UTSA, 2019 – Old Dominion, 2023 – UAB).
Up Next
- The winner of Wednesday's game will face the winner of No. 3 FIU and No. 6 New Mexico State on Friday, March 15 at 8 p.m.
How to Follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Lady Topper Basketball, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @LadyTopperHoops on X, @LadyTopperHoops on Instagram and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUWomensBasketball.
