2015–16 WKU Lady Toppers basketball team

The 2015–16 WKU Lady Toppers basketball team represents Western Kentucky University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Toppers, led by third year head coach Michelle Clark-Heard. They play their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena and were second year members of Conference USA. They finished the season 27–7, 15–3 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Women's Tournament to Marshall. They were invited to the Women's National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Dayton and Tennessee–Martin, Saint Louis in the first, second and third rounds before falling to South Dakota in the quarterfinals.

2015–16 WKU Lady Toppers basketball
Great Alaska Shootout Champions
WNIT, Quarterfinals
Conference	Conference USA
2015–16 record	27–7 (15–3 C-USA)
Head coach	Michelle Clark-Heard (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Greg Collins Melissa Kolbe Katherine Graham
Home arena	E. A. Diddle Arena

2015–16 Conference USA women's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UTEP	16	–	2		.889			29	–	5		.853
WKU	15	–	3		.833			27	–	7		.794
Middle Tennessee †	15	–	3		.833			24	–	9		.727
Charlotte	12	–	6		.667			19	–	12		.613
Old Dominion	10	–	8		.556			17	–	17		.500
Marshall	9	–	9		.500			21	–	12		.636
Louisiana Tech	9	–	9		.500			14	–	16		.467
UAB	7	–	11		.389			15	–	16		.484
Southern Miss	7	–	11		.389			14	–	16		.467
Rice	7	–	11		.389			9	–	22		.290
Florida Atlantic	6	–	12		.333			14	–	16		.467
UTSA	6	–	12		.333			10	–	19		.345
North Texas	5	–	13		.278			11	–	19		.367
FIU	2	–	16		.111			5	–	26		.161
† 2016 C-USA Tournament winner As of March 28, 2016; Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

2015–16 WKU Lady Toppers women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown F 00 Simone Goods 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Benson HS Omaha, NE F 1 Kayla Styles 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr duPont Manual HS Spalding Louisville, KY F 2 Taylor Brown 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Eastside HS Paterson, NJ G 3 Sidnee Bopp 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Marmaduke HS Marmaduke, AR G 5 Micah Jones 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Green County HS Greensburg, KY F 10 Tashia Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Lowndes HS Lake Park, GA G 12 Kendall Noble 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS Jr Perry County Central HS Hazard, KY G 20 Ima Akpan 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) RS Jr Hamilton Christian Academy Kilgore College Calabar, Nigeria F 23 Ivy Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So LaRue County HS Hodgenville. KY G 24 Jaycee Coe 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Jackson County HS Kentucky Gainesboro, TN G/F 32 Kayla Smith 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr Fayette County HS Fayetteville, GA F 33 Jalynn McClain 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Jefferson HS Jeffersonville, IN	Head coach Michelle Clark-Heard (Western Kentucky) Assistant coach(es) Greg Collins (Louisville) Melissa Kolbe (Wittenberg) Katherine Graham (LSU) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

[1]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/03/2015* 7:00 PM		Ouachita Baptist	W 108–43	–	E. A. Diddle Arena (829) Bowling Green, KY
Non-conference regular season
11/19/2015* 6:00 PM, ESPN3		at Ball State	L 60–74	0–1	John E. Worthen Arena (987) Muncie, IN
11/21/2015* 2:30 PM, FCS/WKYU		No. 16 Louisville	W 71–69	1–1	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,176) Bowling Green, KY
11/24/2015* 9:00 PM		vs. George Mason Great Alaska Shootout semifinals	W 84–58	2–1	Alaska Airlines Center (2,299) Anchorage, AK
11/25/2015* 9:00 PM		at Alaska Anchorage Great Alaska Shootout championship	W 62–58	3–1	Alaska Airlines Center (2,510) Anchorage, AK
12/02/2015* 6:00 PM		at Ole Miss	L 53–59	3–2	Tad Smith Coliseum (906) Oxford, MS
12/05/2015* 2:00 PM, FCS/WKYU		Austin Peay	W 88–69	4–2	E. A. Diddle Arena (609) Bowling Green, KY
12/13/2015* 2:00 PM		at Texas–Arlington	W 73–64	5–2	College Park Center (1,024) Arlington, TX
12/16/2015* 5:30 PM		Eastern Kentucky BB&T Classic	W 76–60	6–2	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,217) Bowling Green, KY
12/18/2015* 5:30 PM		at College of Charleston	W 78–44	7–2	TD Arena (125) Charleston, SC
12/21/2015* 6:30 PM, ESPN3		at Lipscomb	W 64–56	8–2	Allen Arena (215) Nashville, TN
12/29/2015* 7:00 PM, FCS/WKYU		Belmont	W 80–65	9–2	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,477) Bowling Green, KY
Conference USA regular season
01/02/2016 2:00 PM		Marshall	W 81–52	10–2 (1–0)	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,413) Bowling Green, KY
01/07/2016 7:00 PM		at FIU	W 71–69	11–2 (2–0)	FIU Arena (356) Miami, FL
01/09/2016 2:00 PM		at Florida Atlantic	W 81–62	12–2 (3–0)	FAU Arena (469) Boca Raton, FL
01/14/2016 7:00 PM		Rice	W 52–49	13–2 (4–0)	E. A. Diddle Arena (937) Bowling Green, KY
01/16/2016 2:00 PM		North Texas	W 65–53	14–2 (5–0)	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,191) Bowling Green, KY
01/21/2016 11:00 AM, FCS/WKYU		Old Dominion	W 68–51	15–2 (6–0)	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,814) Bowling Green, KY
01/23/2016 2:00 PM		Charlotte	W 77–66	16–2 (7–0)	E. A. Diddle Arena (817) Bowling Green, KY
01/28/2016 7:00 PM		at UAB	W 63–49	17–2 (8–0)	Bartow Arena (521) Birmingham, AL
01/30/2016 5:00 PM, FSN		at Middle Tennessee	L 75–83	17–3 (8–1)	Murphy Center (5,125) Murfreesboro, TN
02/04/2016 7:00 PM		UTSA	W 72–65	18–3 (9–1)	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,076) Bowling Green, KY
02/06/2016 2:00 PM, FCS/WKYU		UTEP	L 78–85	18–4 (9–2)	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,107) Bowling Green, KY
02/14/2016 12:00 PM, ASN		at Marshall	W 80–76	19–4 (10–2)	Cam Henderson Center (472) Huntington, WV
02/18/2016 6:00 PM		at Old Dominion	W 85–74 ^OT	20–4 (11–2)	Ted Constant Convocation Center (1,606) Norfolk, VA
02/20/2016 6:00 PM		at Charlotte	L 72–81	20–5 (11–3)	Dale F. Halton Arena (1,423) Charlotte, NC
02/25/2016 8:00 PM, FSN		Middle Tennessee	W 62–51	21–5 (12–3)	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,423) Bowling Green, KY
02/27/2016 2:00 PM, FCS/WKYU		UAB	W 64–55	22–5 (13–3)	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,851) Bowling Green, KY
03/03/2016 6:00 PM		at Southern Miss	W 54–53	23–5 (14–3)	Reed Green Coliseum (1,382) Hattiesburg, MS
03/05/2016 7:00 PM		at Louisiana Tech	W 69–58	24–5 (15–3)	Thomas Assembly Center (1,905) Ruston, LA
Conference USA Women's Tournament
03/10/2016 7:30 PM, ASN		vs. Marshall Quarterfinals	L 63–66	24–6	Bartow Arena (499) Birmingham, AL
WNIT
03/17/2016* 7:00 PM		Dayton First Round	W 89–72	25–6	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,066) Bowling Green, KY
03/21/2016* 7:00 PM		Tennessee–Martin Second Round	W 64–57	26–6	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,372) Bowling Green, KY
03/25/2016* 7:00 PM		at Saint Louis Third Round	W 78–76 ^OT	27–6	Chaifetz Arena (1,754) St. Louis, MO
03/27/2016* 7:00 PM		at South Dakota Quarterfinals	L 54–68	27–7	DakotaDome (2,749) Vermillion, SD
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

Main article: 2015–16 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	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	N/A
Coaches	NR	NR	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV

Legend

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

See also

2015–16 WKU Hilltoppers basketball team

References

1. http://www.wkusports.com/sports/w-baskbl/sched/wky-w-baskbl-sched.html