2023–24 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team

2023–24 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball
2023–24 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball
Conference	Conference USA
Record	15–17 (6–10 C-USA)
Head coach	Greg Collins (6th season);
Assistant coaches	Todd Buchanan; Ivy Woodcock; Temeka Johnson;
Home arena	E. A. Diddle Arena
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Conference USA women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Middle Tennessee †	16	–	0	1.000	30	–	5	.857
Liberty	11	–	5	.688	18	–	16	.529
FIU	11	–	5	.688	21	–	12	.636
Louisiana Tech	7	–	9	.438	14	–	19	.424
Jacksonville State	7	–	9	.438	12	–	17	.414
New Mexico State	6	–	10	.375	13	–	18	.419
Western Kentucky	6	–	10	.375	15	–	17	.469
UTEP	6	–	10	.375	12	–	19	.387
Sam Houston	2	–	14	.125	7	–	22	.241

† 2024 CUSA tournament winner

The 2023–24 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Toppers, led by sixth-year head coach Greg Collins, played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky as members of Conference USA (C-USA).

Previous season

The Lady Toppers finished the 2022–23 season 19–14, 14–6 in C-USA play, to finish in second place.^[1] As the #2 seed in the C-USA tournament, they defeated #10 seed UAB in the quarterfinals,^[2] and #6 seed UTSA,^[3] before falling to top-seeded Middle Tennessee in the championship game.^[4] They received an automatic bid into the WNIT,^[5] where they lost to eventual champions Kansas in the first round.^[6]

Roster

2023–24 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Mackenzie Chatfield	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Fr	Westlake Girls High School	Auckland, New Zealand
G	1	Destiny Salary	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	Ole Miss	Jonesboro, AR
G	2	Aaliyah Pitts	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	Sr	Virginia	Suitland, MD
G	3	Alexis Mead	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	Jr	Martin Luther King High School	Moreno Valley, CA
G	4	Nevaeh Foster	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Fr	Mishawaka Marian High School	South Bend, IN
G	10	Acacia Hayes	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	So	Riverdale High School	Murfreesboro, TN
F	13	Jailynn Brill	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Fr	Lincoln High School	Lincoln, NE
G	14	Teresa Faustino	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Sr	Oregon State	Barreiro, Portugal
F	21	Odeth Betancourt	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Sr	South Florida	San Cristóbal, Venezuela
F	22	Caitlin Staley	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Fr	Greenbrier High School	Augusta, GA
G	32	Karris Allen	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	So	Sikeston High School	Sikeston, MO
G	33	Josie Gilvin	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	So	Sacred Heart Academy	Louisville, KY

Head coach

Greg Collins (Louisville)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: January 29, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 31, 2023* 6:00 p.m.		Lane	W 100–37	–	17 – Foster	7 – Pitts	4 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (621) Bowling Green, KY
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Mercer	W 70–64	1–0	15 – Faustino	8 – Allen	6 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,387) Bowling Green, KY
November 10, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Southern Utah	W 76–62	2–0	21 – Hayes	6 – Pitts	7 – Faustino	America First Event Center (653) Cedar City, UT
November 13, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Cornell	W 62–56	3–0	18 – Hayes	6 – Allen	5 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,032) Bowling Green, KY
November 15, 2023* 6:30 p.m., SECN+		at Vanderbilt	L 74–77	3–1	23 – Mead	4 – 2 tied	6 – Mead	Memorial Gymnasium (1,642) Nashville, TN
November 18, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Miami (OH)	W 63–43	4–1	17 – Faustino	6 – 2 tied	6 – Mead	Millett Hall (357) Oxford, OH
November 21, 2023* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+		Bucknell	W 63–45	5–1	18 – Hayes	7 – Mead	5 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,214) Bowling Green, KY
November 24, 2023* 10:00 a.m., FloHoops		vs. No. 16 Kansas State Gulf Coast Showcase 1st round	L 61–77	5–2	29 – Hayes	5 – 2 tied	3 – Hayes	Hertz Arena (312) Estero, FL
November 25, 2023* 10:00 a.m., FloHoops		vs. Vermont Gulf Coast Showcase consolation 2nd round	W 62–50	6–2	18 – Hayes	9 – Mead	3 – 3 tied	Hertz Arena (313) Estero, FL
November 26, 2023* 12:30 p.m., FloHoops		vs. Purdue Fort Wayne Gulf Coast Showcase 5th-place game	L 77–90	6–3	24 – Mead	7 – Mead	3 – Faustino	Hertz Arena (213) Estero, FL
December 2, 2023* 4:00 p.m.		at Oregon State	L 52–76	6–4	17 – Mead	4 – Pitts	2 – 2 tied	Gill Coliseum (3,528) Corvallis, OR
December 10, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Ball State	L 59–67	6–5	22 – Hayes	8 – Allen	5 – Hayes	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,008) Bowling Green, KY
December 18, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Abilene Christian	W 72–68	7–5	20 – Salary	6 – Pitts	5 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (932) Bowling Green, KY
December 20, 2023* 12:00 p.m.		vs. Nevada Missouri State Classic	W 66–60	8–5	20 – Hayes	11 – Betancourt	5 – Faustino	Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO
December 21, 2023* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Missouri State Missouri State Classic	L 68–69	8–6	23 – Hayes	7 – Allen	3 – Mead	Great Southern Bank Arena (1,674) Springfield, MO
December 29, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		West Virginia State	W 97–39	9–6	25 – Salary	10 – Pitts	8 – Faustino	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,216) Bowling Green, KY
C-USA regular season
January 6, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Liberty	W 68–66	10–6 (1–0)	20 – Mead	7 – Mead	5 – Mead	Liberty Arena (724) Lynchburg, VA
January 10, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Sam Houston	W 76–60	11–6 (2–0)	19 – Salary	8 – 2 tied	8 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (853) Bowling Green, KY
January 13, 2024 2:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Jacksonville State	W 62–52	12–6 (3–0)	18 – Mead	6 – Salary	5 – Mead	Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,013) Jacksonville, AL
January 18, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		New Mexico State	L 44–50	12–7 (3–1)	9 – 2 tied	7 – Betancourt	4 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (782) Bowling Green, KY
January 20, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		UTEP	W 66–65	13–7 (4–1)	25 – Salary	7 – Pitts	5 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,013) Bowling Green, KY
January 25, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at FIU	L 60–70	13–8 (4–2)	18 – Salary	7 – Mead	4 – Mead	Ocean Bank Convocation Center (405) Miami, FL
February 1, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Sam Houston	L 81–87	13–9 (4–3)	15 – Mead	10 – tied	3 – Hayes	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (415) Huntsville, TX
February 3, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Middle Tennessee	L 48–80	13–10 (4–4)	17 – Salary	6 – Pitts	2 – Pitts	Murphy Center (4,806) Murfreesboro, TN
February 7, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		Louisiana Tech	W 64–56	14–10 (5–4)	21 – Mead	8 – Mead	5 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (930) Bowling Green, KY
February 10, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Jacksonville State	W 54–45	15–10 (6–4)	14 – Gilvin	9 – Pitts	3 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,251) Bowling Green, KY
February 15, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at UTEP	L 68–73	15–11 (6–5)	20 – Mead	6 – Pitts	5 – Mead	Don Haskins Center (974) El Paso, TX
February 17, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at New Mexico State	L 61–64	15–12 (6–6)	17 – Mead	7 – Pitts	4 – Mead	Pan American Center (1,007) Las Cruces, NM
February 24, 2024 11:00 a.m., ESPNU		Middle Tennessee	L 41–59	15–13 (6–7)	12 – Pitts	10 – Pitts	6 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,015) Bowling Green, KY
February 28, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Louisiana Tech	L 41–45	15–14 (6–8)	8 – tied	8 – tied	4 – Mead	Thomas Assembly Center (1,564) Ruston, LA
March 2, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		FIU	L 68–71	15–15 (6–9)	18 – Faustino	6 – Betancourt	7 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,153) Bowling Green, KY
March 9, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Liberty	L 77–84	15–16 (6–10)	15 – tied	6 – Betancourt	5 – Mead	E. A. Diddle Arena (1,613) Bowling Green, KY
C-USA tournament
March 13, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	(7)	vs. (2) Liberty Quarterfinals	L 59–62	15–17	22 – Salary	9 – Salary	5 – Mead	Von Braun Center (636) Huntsville, AL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[7]^[8]

References

^ "2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
^ "Lady Toppers Advance in C-USA Championship With Win Against UAB". Western Kentucky University Athletics. March 9, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
^ "Lady Toppers Move Past UTSA to Advance to C-USA Championship Game". Western Kentucky University Athletics. March 10, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
^ Joyce, Cecil (March 11, 2023). "March Madness bound: MTSU women's basketball beats Western Kentucky for C-USA Championship". The Daily News Journal. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
^ "Bracket, Round 1 matchups and times announced for 2023 Postseason WNIT". WNIT Pre and Post Tournament. March 13, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
^ Postins, Matthew (March 17, 2023). "Kansas Beats Western Kentucky In First-Round WNIT Game". Heartland College Sports. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
^ "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Western Kentucky University Athletics. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
^ "Western Kentucky Lady Toppers Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

[1] "2022-23 Women's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

[2] "Lady Toppers Advance in C-USA Championship With Win Against UAB". Western Kentucky University Athletics. March 9, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

[3] "Lady Toppers Move Past UTSA to Advance to C-USA Championship Game". Western Kentucky University Athletics. March 10, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2024.

[4] Joyce, Cecil (March 11, 2023). "March Madness bound: MTSU women's basketball beats Western Kentucky for C-USA Championship". The Daily News Journal. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

[5] "Bracket, Round 1 matchups and times announced for 2023 Postseason WNIT". WNIT Pre and Post Tournament. March 13, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

[6] Postins, Matthew (March 17, 2023). "Kansas Beats Western Kentucky In First-Round WNIT Game". Heartland College Sports. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

[7] "2023-24 Women's Basketball Schedule". Western Kentucky University Athletics. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

[8] "Western Kentucky Lady Toppers Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved January 29, 2024.

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v t e Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball
Venues	E. A. Diddle Arena (1973–present)
Culture & lore	Big Red
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics