# 2016–17 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team

The 2016–17 WKU Lady Toppers basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Toppers, led by fourth year head coach Michelle Clark-Heard, played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena and were third year members of Conference USA. They finished the 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.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/03/2016* 7:00 pm | | Young Harris | W 98–51 | | E. A. Diddle Arena (811) Bowling Green, KY |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:00 pm | | Alabama A&M | W 96–32 | 1–0 | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,138) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/16/2016* 5:30 pm, FCS/WKYU | | Texas–Arlington | L 68–71 | 1–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,712) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/19/2016* 2:00 pm, FCS/WKYU | | No. 23 Indiana | W 85–74 | 2–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,832) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/25/2016* 12:30 pm | | vs. No. 18 DePaul Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals | L 69–77 | 2–2 | Germain Arena Estero, FL |
| 11/26/2016* 10:00 am | | vs. Kent State Gulf Coast Showcase consolation 2nd round | W 79–73 $^{OT}$ | 3–2 | Germain Arena Estero, FL |
| 11/27/2016* 12:30 pm | | vs. George Washington Gulf Coast Showcase 5th place game | L 49–68 | 3–3 | Germain Arena Estero, FL |
| 11/30/2016* 4:30 pm, FCS/WKYU | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 90–63 | 4–3 | McBrayer Arena Richmond, KY |
| 12/03/2016* 12:30 pm | | at Austin Peay | W 85–65 | 5–3 | Dunn Center (1,165) Clarksville, TN |
| 12/11/2016* 1:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at No. 8 Louisville | L 61–68 | 5–4 | KFC Yum! Center (9,168) Louisville, KY |
| 12/15/2016* 7:00 pm | | Lipscomb | W 87–35 | 6–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,120) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/18/2016* 2:00 pm | | College of Charleston | W 89–76 | 7–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,051) Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/21/2016* 5:30 pm, FCS/WKYU | | Ball State | W 68–61 | 8–4 | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,759) Bowling Green, KY |
| Conference USA regular season ||||||
| 12/30/2016 7:00 pm | | Florida Atlantic | W 76–55 | 9–4 (1–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,324) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/01/2017 2:00 pm | | FIU | W 90–38 | 10–4 (2–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,033) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/05/2017 10:30 am | | at Charlotte | L 85–89 $^{OT}$ | 10–5 (2–1) | Dale F. Halton Arena (4,518) Charlotte, NC |
| 01/07/2017 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Old Dominion | W 67–62 | 11–5 (3–1) | Ted Constant Convocation Center (1,290) Norfolk, VA |
| 01/12/2017 11:00 am | | UAB | W 60–48 | 12–5 (4–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,215) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/15/2017 2:00 pm, FCS/WKYU | | Middle Tennessee | W 66–51 | 13–5 (5–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,064) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/21/2017 2:00 pm | | Marshall | W 73–57 | 14–5 (6–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,756) Bowling Green, KY |
| 01/26/2017 8:05 pm, beIN | | at UTEP | W 71–54 | 15–5 (7–1) | Don Haskins Center (2,469) El Paso, TX |
| 01/28/2017 2:00 pm | | at UTSA | L 77–80 | 15–6 (7–2) | Convocation Center (359) San Antonio, TX |
| 02/02/2017 7:00 pm | | Louisiana Tech | W 67–58 | 16–6 (8–2) | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,127) Bowling Green, KY |
| 02/04/2017 7:00 pm | | Southern Miss | W 79–53 | 17–6 (9–2) | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,668) Bowling Green, KY |
| 02/11/2017 12:00 pm | | at Marshall | W 78–64 | 18–6 (10–2) | Cam Henderson Center (717) Huntington, WV |
| 02/16/2017 6:30 pm, beIN | | at Middle Tennessee | W 82–75 | 19–6 (11–2) | Murphy Center (4,027) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 02/18/2017 2:00 pm | | at UAB | W 62–52 | 20–6 (12–2) | Bartow Arena (399) Birmingham, AL |
| 02/23/2017 7:00 pm | | Charlotte | W 75–74 | 21–6 (13–2) | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,344) Bowling Green, KY |
| 02/25/2017 2:00 pm | | Old Dominion | W 79–73 | 22–6 (14–2) | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,217) Bowling Green, KY |
| 03/02/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Texas | W 75–55 | 23–6 (15–2) | The Super Pit (1,037) Denton, TX |
| 03/04/2017 2:00 pm | | at Rice | W 80–75 | 24–6 (16–2) | Tudor Fieldhouse (829) Houston, TX |
| Conference USA Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/09/2017 1:30 pm | | vs. North Texas Quarterfinals | W 78–51 | 25–6 | Bartow Arena Birmingham, AL |
| 03/10/2017 4:30 pm, ASN | | vs. Louisiana Tech Semifinals | W 77–53 | 26–6 | Legacy Arena Birmingham, AL |
| 03/11/2017 4:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Southern Miss Championship | W 67–56 | 27–6 | Legacy Arena Birmingham, AL |
| NCAA Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/17/2017* 4:30 pm, ESPN2 | (12 L) | vs. (5 L) No. 11 Ohio State First Round | L 63–70 | 27–7 | Memorial Coliseum (3,557) Lexington, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. L=Lexington Region. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

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