# 1985–86 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team

The 1985–86 WKU Lady Toppers basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Toppers were led by head coach Paul Sanderford and Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Lillie Mason. They won the SBC season and tournament championships and received a bid to the 1986 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, where they advanced to the Final Four. This team set a school record for wins and had three players named to All-American teams, Mason, Clemette Haskins, and Kami Thomas. Thomas and Haskins joined Mason on the All-Conference team; Mason was the SBC Tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP) and Haskins made the All-Tournament team. Haskins was selected to the NCAA Final Four team and Mason was NCAA East Region MOP with Thomas joining her on the All-Region team.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/22/1985* | No. 6 | at No. 20* Texas Tech | W 88–71 | 1–0 | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, TX |
| 11/25/1985* | No. 6 | South Alabama Bowling Green Bank Invitational | W 86–55 | 2–0 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/26/1985* | No. 6 | No. 23* Oklahoma Bowling Green Bank Invitational | L 81–89 | 2–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/2/1985* | No. 9 | No. 15 Iowa | W 77–67 | 3–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/6/1985* | No. 8 | at Southern Illinois | W 92–60 | 4–1 | Banterra Center Carbondale, IL |
| 12/9/1985* | No. 9 | Middle Tennessee | W 103–78 | 5–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 12/14/1985* | No. 9 | at Morehead State | W 85–66 | 6–1 | Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, KY |
| 12/21/1985* | No. 9 | at Evansville | W 96–66 | 7–1 | Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, IN |
| 12/28/1985* | No. 9 | vs. Xavier Communiplex Classic | W 122–43 | 8–1 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/29/1985* | No. 9 | at Cincinnati Communiplex Classic | W 87–43 | 9–1 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, OH |
| 1/3/1986* | No. 9 | vs. Kansas State Bud Light Shootout | W 95–69 | 10–1 | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV |
| 1/4/1986* | No. 9 | vs. California Bud Light Shootout | W 81–59 | 11–1 | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, NV |
| 1/7/1986* | No. 7 | West Virginia | W 95–49 | 12–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/10/1986* | No. 7 | Dayton | W 104–75 | 13–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/12/1986 | No. 6 | South Florida | W 94–48 | 14–1 (1–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/14/1986 | No. 6 | Memphis State | W 95–71 | 15–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/16/1986* | No. 6 | at Louisville | W 98–55 | 16–1 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| 1/22/1986 | No. 6 | UNC Charlotte | W 85–51 | 17–1 (2–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/27/1986* | No. 6 | Alabama–Huntsville | W 108–55 | 18–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 1/30/1986* | No. 6 | Tennessee Tech | W 83–79 | 19–1 | Eblen Center Cookeville, TN |
| 2/4/1986* | No. 5 | Murray State | W 93–69 | 20–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/7/1986* | No. 5 | Cheyney State | W 101–52 | 21–1 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/10/1986* | No. 4 | at No. 2 Georgia | L 61–93 | 21–2 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| 2/15/1986 | No. 4 | at UAB | W 83–63 | 22–2 (3–0) | BJCC Coliseum Birmingham, AL |
| 2/17/1986 | No. 6 | at South Alabama | W 72–66 | 23–2 (4–0) | Jag Gym Mobile, AL |
| 2/23/1986 | No. 5 | Old Dominion | W 74–64 | 24–2 (5–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/24/1986 | No. 5 | VCU | W 101–51 | 25–2 (6–0) | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 2/28/1986* | No. 5 | at Alaska Anchorage Northern Lights Invitational | W 98–78 | 26–2 | Anchorage, AK |
| 3/1/1986* | No. 5 | vs. No. 16* Louisiana–Monroe Northern Lights Invitational | L 84–88 | 26–3 | Anchorage, AK |
| 3/2/1986* | No. 5 | vs. SMU Northern Lights Invitational | W 76–66 | 27–3 | Anchorage, AK |
| Sun Belt tournament ||||||
| 3/7/1986 | (1) No. 5 | (4) UAB Semifinals | W 80–53 | 28–3 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 3/8/1986 | (1) No. 5 | (2) Old Dominion Championship | W 69–61 | 29–3 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 3/16/1986* | (E4) No. 5 | (E5) No. 24* Saint Joseph's (PA) East Region Second Round | W 74–65 | 30–3 | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| 3/20/1986* | (E4) No. 5 | vs. (E8) No. 17 James Madison Sweet Sixteen | W 72–51 | 31–3 | Palestra Philadelphia, PA |
| 3/22/1986* | (E4) No. 5 | vs. (E2) No. 10 Rutgers Elite Eight | W 89–74 | 32–3 | Palestra Philadelphia, PA |
| 3/28/1986* | (E4) No. 5 | vs. (MW1) No. 1 Texas Final Four | L 65–90 | 32–4 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. * USA Today rankings. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||