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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
| 1985–86 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball | |
|---|---|
 | |
NCAA East Regional Champion SBC Tournament Champion Sun Belt Conference Champion Communiplex Classic Champion Bud Light Shootout Champion | |
NCAA Tournament, Final Four | |
| Conference | Sun Belt Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 3 |
| AP | No. 5 |
| Record | 32–4 (6–0 SBC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Home arena | E. A. Diddle Arena |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 WKU † | 6 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 32 | – | 4 | .889 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Old Dominon | 5 | – | 1 | .833 | 15 | – | 13 | .536 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UNC Charlotte | 3 | – | 3 | .500 | 15 | – | 13 | .536 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UAB | 3 | – | 3 | .500 | 13 | – | 16 | .448 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Alabama | 2 | – | 4 | .333 | 18 | – | 11 | .621 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VCU | 2 | – | 4 | .333 | 14 | – | 14 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Florida | 0 | – | 6 | .000 | 5 | – | 22 | .185 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 1986 Sun Belt tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schedule
edit| 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.
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References
edit- ^ 2019-20 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Record Book, retrieved May 21, 2020
- ^ Sanderford elected to Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, By the Daily News May 6, 2015, retrieved May 21, 2020
- ^ 2019-20 Lady Topper Basketball Media Guide, retrieved May 21, 2020
- ^ Western Kentucky Sports Women's Basketball Archive, retrieved May 21, 2020
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