2017–18 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team

The 2017–18 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Toppers were led by fifth-year head coach Michelle Clark-Heard. They played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky and were members of Conference USA (C-USA). They finished the season 24–9, 12–4 in C-USA play, to finish in second place. They won the Conference USA tournament for the second year in a row and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament where they were defeated by Oregon State in the first round.

2017–18 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball
C-USA tournament champions
NCAA women's tournament, first round
Conference	Conference USA
Record	24–9 (12–4 C-USA)
Head coach	Michelle Clark-Heard (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Greg Collins Melissa Kolbe Brittany Parker
Home arena	E. A. Diddle Arena

2017–18 Conference USA women's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UAB	13	–	3		.813			27	–	7		.794
Western Kentucky †	12	–	4		.750			24	–	9		.727
Rice	10	–	6		.625			23	–	10		.697
Louisiana Tech	10	–	6		.625			19	–	12		.613
Middle Tennessee	10	–	6		.625			18	–	13		.581
Charlotte	10	–	6		.625			14	–	16		.467
UTEP	7	–	9		.438			17	–	14		.548
Florida Atlantic	7	–	9		.438			13	–	15		.464
Southern Miss	7	–	9		.438			15	–	15		.500
North Texas	6	–	10		.375			17	–	14		.548
UTSA	6	–	10		.375			9	–	21		.300
Old Dominion	6	–	10		.375			8	–	23		.258
FIU	5	–	11		.313			8	–	21		.276
Marshall	3	–	13		.188			9	–	20		.310
† 2018 C-USA Tournament winner As of 20 March 2018 Rankings from AP poll

On March 27, Michelle Clark-Heard resigned from Western Kentucky to accept the head coaching job at Cincinnati. She finished with a five-year record of 154–48.

Previous season

The Lady Toppers finished the 2016–17 season 27–8, 16–2 in C-USA play, to win the Conference USA regular season and also won the Conference USA tournament. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament where they were defeated by Ohio State in the first round.

Roster

2017–18 WKU Lady Toppers women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown F 1 Arame Niang 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So   Rufisque, Senegal G 3 Sidnee Bopp 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Jr Marmaduke HS Marmaduke, AR F 4 Dee Givens 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS So Lafayette HS Lexington, KY G 5 Whitney Creech 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) So Jenkins HS Jenkins, KY F 10 Tashia Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr Lowndes HS Lake Park, GA G 11 Alexis Brewer  5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Bardstown HS West Virginia Buffalo, KY G 12 Nichel Tampa 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) Fr St. Francis Alpharetta, GA F 15 Raneem Elgedawy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Fr   Alexandria, Egypt G 20 Terri Smith 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Fr Sparkman Harvest, AL G 22 Sherry Porter 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Fr Madison Prep Academy Baton Rouge, LA F 23 Ivy Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr LaRue County HS Hodgenville, KY F 30 Elizabeth Anderson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Mercy Academy Louisville, KY G/F 32 Kayla Smith 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Jr Fayette County HS Fayetteville, GA	Head coach Michelle Clark-Heard (Western Kentucky) Assistant coach(es) Greg Collins (Louisville) Melissa Kolbe (Wittenberg) Brittany Parker (Fayetteville State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: August 15, 2024

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2017* 7:00 p.m.		Union	W 101–58	1–0	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,468) Bowling Green, KY
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2017* 2:30 p.m.		vs. No. 16 Missouri 2017 Hawkeye Challenge	W 79–76	1–0	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (1,015) Iowa City, IA
November 11, 2017* 4:30 p.m.		at Iowa 2017 Hawkeye Challenge	L 97–104 OT	1–1	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (3,649) Iowa City, IA
November 14, 2017* 7:00 p.m., FCS/WKYU		No. 6 Notre Dame	L 65–78	1–2	E. A. Diddle Arena (5,061) Bowling Green, KY
November 17, 2017* 6:00 p.m.		at Indiana	L 71–73	1–3	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (3,063) Bloomington, IN
November 24, 2017* 5:00 p.m.		vs. Mercer GSU Thanksgiving Classic	W 67–62	2–3	GSU Sports Arena (401) Atlanta, GA
November 26, 2017* 1:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Georgia State GSU Thanksgiving Classic	W 74–63	3–3	GSU Sports Arena (412) Atlanta, GA
November 30, 2017* 7:00 p.m.		Evansville	W 92–54	4–3	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,078) Bowling Green, KY
December 10, 2017* 2:00 p.m.		at Southern Illinois	W 75–49	5–3	SIU Arena (700) Carbondale, IL
December 12, 2017* 5:30 p.m.		Mississippi Valley State	W 87–48	6–3	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,063) Bowling Green, KY
December 16, 2017* 11:00 a.m.		vs. Stetson West Palm Invitational	W 66–58	7–3	Student Life Center (125) West Palm Beach, FL
December 17, 2017* 10:00 a.m.		vs. Toledo West Palm Invitational	W 70–56	8–3	Student Life Center (250) West Palm Beach, FL
December 21, 2017* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Ball State	L 81–93	8–4	Worthen Arena (1,435) Muncie, IN
December 29, 2017* 5:30 p.m.		Lee	W 88–64	9–4	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,634) Bowling Green, KY
Conference USA regular season
January 4, 2018 7:00 p.m., FCS/WKYU		Middle Tennessee	W 57–43	10–4 (1–0)	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,811) Bowling Green, KY
January 6, 2018 2:00 p.m., FCS/WKYU		Southern Miss	W 81–60	11–4 (2–0)	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,897) Bowling Green, KY
January 11, 2018 7:00 p.m.		FIU	W 101–47	12–4 (3-0)	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,126) Bowling Green, KY
January 13, 2018 6:30 p.m., beIN		at UAB	L 61–79	12–5 (3–1)	Bartow Arena (527) Birmingham, AL
January 18, 2018 11:00 a.m., FCS/WKYU		UTSA	W 73–38	13–5 (4-1)	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,887) Bowling Green, KY
January 21, 2018 12:00 p.m.		at Marshall	W 86–66	14–5 (5–1)	Cam Henderson Center (573) Huntington, WV
January 26, 2018 7:00 p.m.		at North Texas	W 79–65	15–5 (6–1)	UNT Coliseum (1,134) Denton, TX
January 28, 2018 2:00 p.m.		at Louisiana Tech	W 74–64	16–5 (7–1)	Thomas Assembly Center (2,134) Ruston, LA
February 3, 2018 2:00 p.m.		Florida Atlantic	W 82–63	17–5 (8–1)	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,145) Bowling Green, KY
February 8, 2018 5:30 p.m., FCS/WKYU		Old Dominion	W 62–48	18–5 (9–1)	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,568) Bowling Green, KY
February 10, 2018 2:00 p.m.		at Rice	L 58–73	18–6 (9–2)	Tudor Fieldhouse (945) Houston, TX
February 15, 2018 6:30 p.m., ESPN3		at Middle Tennessee	W 76–60	19–6 (10–2)	Murphy Center (4,061) Murfreesboro, TN
February 17, 2018 2:00 p.m.		Marshall	W 77–50	20–6 (11–2)	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,205) Bowling Green, KY
February 23, 2018 7:00 p.m.		Charlotte	W 83–61	21–6 (12–2)	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,459) Bowling Green, KY
March 1, 2018 6:00 p.m.		at Southern Miss	L 63–69	21–7 (12–3)	Reed Green Coliseum (1,175) Hattiesburg, MS
March 3, 2018 2:00 p.m.		at UTEP	L 75–80	21–8 (12–4)	Don Haskins Center (528) El Paso, TX
Conference USA women's tournament
March 8, 2018 1:30 p.m., Stadium	(2)	vs. (10) UTSA Quarterfinals	W 78–50	22–8	The Ford Center at The Star  Frisco, TX
March 9, 2018 8:00 p.m., Stadium	(2)	vs. (11) North Texas Semifinals	W 77–61	23–8	The Ford Center at The Star  Frisco, TX
March 10, 2018 4:30 p.m., CBSSN	(2)	vs. (1) UAB Championship game	W 72–57	24–8	The Ford Center at The Star  Frisco, TX
NCAA women's tournament
March 16, 2018* 11:00 a.m., ESPN2	(11 L)	vs. (6 L) No. 13 Oregon State First round	L 58–82	24–9	Thompson–Boling Arena  Knoxville, TN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. L=Lexington Region. All times are in Central.

Source:

Rankings

Main article: 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Regular-season polls

Poll	Pre- season	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14	Week 15	Week 16	Week 17	Week 18	Week 19	Final
AP		RV	RV										RV							N/A
Coaches		N/A

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
(RV)		Received votes
(NR)		Not ranked

See also

• 2017–18 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team