Western Kentucky got off a charter bus Sunday morning outside E.A. Diddle Arena in celebration mode. Yes, the next agenda is the Conference USA Tournament in Birmingham, Ala., this week, but the Lady Topper basketball team took an extra day to celebrate a championship, even with the most important one still on their mind.

The Lady Toppers claimed the regular-season C-USA championship outright for the second time in three seasons with its 80-75 win over Rice on Saturday. WKU (24-6 overall, 16-2 C-USA) will play the winner of the No. 8-No. 9 game between North Texas and host UAB at 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the tournament quarterfinals.

Upon arriving back home to Diddle Arena, the Lady Toppers were greeted by a handful of fans and supporters – most notably a few members of the WKU volleyball team – on Sunday.

WKU’s road to a championship wasn’t easy.

“It’s been a tough road,” WKU coach Michelle Clark-Heard said. “Everyone’s schedule, you just never know how it’s going to be. We’ve had to go on the road and play some really good people. Just to finish out on the road winning it, it says a lot about this group. We have grown so much in the past month and a half and I’m just proud of them. I just wanted them to capture that moment and understand how tough it really is.”

By defeating Rice, WKU closed the regular season on a nine-game win streak, highlighted by a win at Middle Tennessee on Feb. 16 that moved the Lady Toppers into the No. 1 spot in C-USA.

Kendall Noble nearly reached triple-double status for the second straight game. The First-Team All-C-USA member scored over 20 points for the fourth time in the last five games, netting 22 points, 10 rebounds with six assists. Sophomore Sidnee Bopp logged 25 minutes off the bench for a career-high 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting from long range.

WKU climbed out of an early hole to take a double-digit lead only for the Owls to tie it back up late. Similar cases happened at North Texas and at home against Charlotte where WKU trailed early and fought back to win.

“It wasn’t an easy road at all,” redshirt senior Micah Jones said. “We had to play really tough teams. Especially with the last two games, they weren’t easy. The whole season has been tough. It feels a lot better knowing we did earn it and face the road that we faced.”

WKU will be healthy going into the tournament for exception of senior forward Ima Akpan (knee) and freshman forward Sarah Price (knee). Akpan missed the last three games of the regular season and is listed as day-to-day. Price played the first 11 games of the season but has been inactive since.

WKU’s last trip to the C-USA Tournament was short lived. The Lady Toppers entered Birmingham last year tied for second in the league and were upset 66-63 by Marshall in the quarterfinals.

Although they didn’t reach the NCAA Tournament, the Lady Toppers made a run through the WNIT quarterfinals where defeated Dayton, UT Martin and Saint Louis before losing at South Dakota in the Elite 8.

WKU hopes this trip to Birmingham goes much like its first. In WKU’s first season in C-USA, WKU defeated Charlotte, Old Dominion and then Southern Miss in the league championship game – each game was won by three points or less.

That punched WKU’s ticket to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season where it lost 66-64 to Texas in Berkeley, Calif.

For that NCAA bid to happen again, the Lady Toppers have to continue their ascension toward another championship.

“I feel like we’re just clicking and peaking at the right time,” Noble said. “Hopefully that continues into the tournament. I think everyone’s confidence is getting higher.”{&end}