If the Western Kentucky women’s basketball team has turned the corner on its season, it’s done so at the right time.

The Lady Toppers (18-8 overall, 10-5 Sun Belt Conference) are riding a four-game winning streak and playing their best basketball as they visit Texas Arlington at 5 p.m. today, with just three games left in the regular season.

“We finally found out what it takes to win,” redshirt freshman guard Kendall Noble said. “We have to play with energy. We can’t just expect to turn it on at any time. If we play with energy all the time, it’ll show on the court, and I think it has been.”

WKU has shellacked its last four opponents – three at home and at Texas State on Wednesday – and earned four straight wins by at least 26 points.

The Lady Tops have won four straight games by at least 20 points for the first time since the 1996-97 season, and by 25-plus points for the first time since 1994-95.

They’ve led those four games by at least 20 points at halftime for the first time in program history.

“They’ve worked to keep adjusting,” WKU coach Michelle Clark-Heard said. “We’re up 20 (on Wednesday), and I’m still on them because I want them to have the opportunity to be the best they can be. They take the coaching, and they’re hungry to get even better, so the staff is very excited about that.”

WKU played its way into sole possession of second place in the Sun Belt standings by routing Texas State 75-45 on Wednesday.

The Lady Tops are two games behind Arkansas State (12-3) and one game ahead of Texas State and Arkansas-Little Rock. The top eight of the league’s 10 teams advance to the conference tournament, and WKU has officially secured a spot after its latest blowout.

But to get the best seed possible, it must avoid a trip-up today at last-place Texas Arlington (4-22, 3-12).

“We’ve got to come out in that first half ready to play,” Heard said. “There was another game against Arlington where we struggled. We turned the ball over some, didn’t rebound, didn’t guard the way we needed to. Those are things we have to work on.”

WKU beat Texas Arlington 59-46 on Jan. 29 at E.A. Diddle Arena, but Heard and the players were less than thrilled with that effort.

They followed the uninspiring victory with three straight losses before righting the ship with four wins in a row.

Texas Arlington has struggled all year long in its first season in the conference, but the Mavericks did pick up a win Wednesday over Georgia State. Briana Walker and Desherra Nwanguma each average more than 13 points and seven rebounds per game.

WKU’s first win over UTA was one of Noble’s quietest efforts in what’s been a breakout conference slate for her. She had seven points, eight assists, seven steals and five rebounds Wednesday against Texas State, once again flirting with a feat that’s never happened in Lady Topper history – a triple-double.

“Sometimes I have to really take a step back and look at it, because she’s phenomenal and gifted in so many different areas,” Heard said. “I get really excited because I remember she’s just a freshman.”

The Lady Tops have a favorable schedule to finish the regular season, with road games at UTA and Georgia State (8-7 in SBC), as well as a final home game next week against Louisiana-Lafayette (6-9). They could still earn the No. 1 seed if they won their final three games and Arkansas State lost its final three.

Noble said she thinks they’ve found the formula for success, as long as they can continue to follow through with it.

“We just have to come out with the energy like we have, get easy baskets,” she said. “I think the game will come to us if we play hard.”

— Follow WKU Lady Toppers reporter Zach Greenwell on Twitter at twitter.com/zach_greenwell or visit bgdailynews.com.