Lady Topper Basketball non-conference slate announced

Posted by Admin September 11, 2024 Basketball

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) – The 2024-25 WKU women’s basketball non-conference schedule has been announced and features 12 total games along with one preseason exhibition. Six of those games will be played in E.A. Diddle Arena.

An exhibition against Lee University will unofficially tipoff the season on Tuesday, Oct. 29 in Diddle Arena. The Lady Toppers will hold the second annual Top’r Treat with trick-or-treating before the game and Halloween themed promotions throughout.

WKU will officially open the 2024-25 season at Indiana State on Monday, Nov. 4. WKU is 5-1 against Indiana State all-time and the two teams last played in 2022. The Lady Toppers’ home opener will come against Kentucky State on Saturday, Nov. 9. WKU is 11-0 against Kentucky State all-time and the two teams last played in 2021.

The Lady Toppers will take on Mercer for the second straight season, this time playing in Macon, Georgia on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Mercer will be led by former WKU head coach Michelle Clark-Heard who is in her first season with the Bears. WKU is 3-1 and against Mercer all-time. WKU will stay on the road, playing Abilene Christian on Thursday, Nov. 21. The two teams met last season for the first time and WKU came away with a 72-68 win in Diddle Arena.

WKU will then have a three-game homestand starting with North Dakota on Sunday, Nov. 24. It will be only the third meeting between the two teams and the first since 2011. The homestand continues with Tennessee State on Wednesday, Nov. 27. The Tigers will be led by first year head coach Candice Dupree who was a seven-time WNBA All-Star and most recently an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs. The Lady Toppers are 4-1 against Tennessee State all-time and last faced the Tigers in 2021. WKU will host Miami (Ohio) on Sunday, Dec. 1. The two teams have played in four straight seasons and WKU owns a 7-0 record against the RedHawks.

The Lady Toppers will take on Wichita State for the first time in program history on Sunday, Dec. 8 on the road. WKU returns home to host Kentucky Wesleyan for the final home non-conference game of the season on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

WKU will play in the Maui Classic hosted by Oregon State in December. The Lady Toppers will face the host team on Thursday, Dec. 19 and then will take on Nevada on Friday, Dec. 20 in Maui, Hawaii. WKU faced both teams in 2023. Oregon State went on to play in the NCAA Elite Eight, falling to eventual national champion South Carolina. It will the fourth time in program history that WKU is playing in a tournament in Hawaii. The Lady Toppers previously played in the Wahine Invitational in 1987 and 1990 and in the Hawaiian Regent Classic in 2000. All three tournaments were held in Honolulu.

The Lady Toppers will close out non-conference play against Kentucky on Saturday, Dec. 28 in Lexington. It will be the 33rd meeting between the two teams but the first since 2008. Kentucky is the third in-state team on WKU’s schedule this season along with Kentucky State and Kentucky Wesleyan.

The Conference USA slate will begin Thursday, Jan. 2 against Liberty. The CUSA schedule was previously announced on July 11.