The WKU women’s basketball team will play host to defending national finalist Louisville on Wednesday, Nov. 27 in E.A. Diddle Arena at 7 p.m., it was announced Monday by Lady Topper Basketball head coach Michelle Clark-Heard. The complete non-conference schedule will be released at a later date.
The game will mark the first time that former Paul Sanderford assistant coaches Jeff Walz and Clark-Heard have faced off on the hardwood as head coaches. Clark-Heard also served as an assistant coach to Walz at Louisville for five seasons. She helped Walz lead the Cardinals to the national championship game in 2009. Current WKU assistant coach Candyce Bingham was a player on that 2009 Louisville team.
The game will mark the first time since the 1999-00 season that WKU has hosted a team that reached the NCAA Final Four in the previous season in Diddle Arena. WKU has four wins in Diddle Arena history over teams that reached the NCAA Final Four the previous season including wins over Old Dominion in 1983-84 and twice in 1985-86 in addition to a win over Louisiana Tech in 1994-95.
WKU’s last meeting with a team that reached the Final Four in the previous season came in 2007-08 when WKU faced North Carolina.
In her first year as coach of the Lady Toppers, head coach Michelle Clark-Heard engineered one of the nation’s best turnarounds. She led WKU to 13 additional wins over the prior season, setting the Sun Belt Conference record for largest winning improvement. She also helped WKU to eight additional conference wins over the prior season, tying the league record. Following the regular season, she was named the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year.
Louisville returns several key players from the Lady Cardinals team, including sisters Shoni and Jade Schimmel, former Miss Kentucky Sara Hammond, point guard Bria Smith, and shooting guard Antonita Slaughter, sister of former WKU star A.J. Slaughter.
Coach Ray Harper’s WKU men will go to the YUM! Center this year to play Coach Rick Pitino’s defending national champions. The Cardinals will return to Diddle Arena during the 2014-15 season.
The WKU Ticket Office is currently taking requests for new season tickets for the 2013-14 WKU Lady Topper Basketball season. Individuals can call the WKU Ticket Office at 1-800-5-BIG-RED to learn more about season ticket opportunities.
For complete information on Lady Topper Basketball, visit www.wkusports.com or follow the program on Twitter via @LadyTopperHoops.