BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Sidnee Bopp has gone from an infrequent scorer off the bench to putting Western Kentucky on her back in the last three games.

The Lady Toppers knew she was capable of being a threat all along. Now the rest of Conference USA is getting Bopped.

Bopp continued her tear through the postseason with a career-high 18 points on a career-best six made 3-pointers in WKU’s 77-53 win over Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA semifinals Friday afternoon at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala.

Bopp has hit 15 3-pointers in the last four games and quickly emerged as yet another scoring threat on WKU’s deep and talented roster.

The 5-foot-6 Marmaduke, Ark., native scored all 18 points in the first half – nine in each quarter.

“She played great today,” WKU redshirt senior Kendall Noble said. “I know she had it in her the whole time. She does that to us in practice all the time and I’m glad it’s finally showing up on the game court.”

She had 10 points in WKU’s 78-51 win over North Texas in the quarterfinals and scored 17 points in the regular-season finale at Rice last Saturday.

WKU’s opponents may be keying in on WKU veterans in First-Team All-CUSA players Kendall Noble and Ivy Brown, then Second-Teamer Tashia Brown and senior Micah Jones.

When Bopp is thrown into the arsenal, it makes the Lady Toppers that much more dangerous.

“I think sometimes they do (overlook me), especially with Kendall, Micah, Ivy and Tashia,” Bopp said.

“All of them are great basketball players, so it’s really hard for them to guard me and also guard them at the same time.”

As a freshman, Bopp pushed WKU in the Elite 8 of the WNIT with a last-second 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Saint Louis. That pushed her work ethic in the offseason and caught the eyes of coaches and players, who repeatedly called the guard one of the most improved players in the preseason.

Bopp played sparingly off the bench in the regular season, averaging nine minutes and one triple in 24 games for the Lady Tops.

A lack of confidence may have set her back a bit, coach Michelle Clark-Heard said Friday. But it’s all there for Bopp now.

“I think Kendall said it best, she does it to them every single day in practice,” Heard said. “She makes them better and they make her better. She’s a phenomenal young lady. She always, it seems like the more it gets closer to crunch time, the better she is.

“One of the big things she struggled with is sometimes getting down on herself. It’s clear her confidence level is at a high level right now.”

BROWN LEAVES WITH INJURY

Heard said she believes junior forward Tashia Brown will be fine after leaving in the third quarter against Louisiana Tech with a left-hand injury. Brown left the game at the 6:20 mark of the third quarter holding her shooting hand.

She sat out the rest of the game with an ice pack on her hand.

She finished the game with nine points on 4-for-6 shooting and three rebounds.

“I think she’s fine,” Heard said. “Her hand has been hit a couple of times. We’ll just see. She’s getting ice and some treatment and I think she’ll be fine.”

NOTES

Heard is now 129-38 as WKU’s head coach. … WKU is seeking its 11th conference tournament championship in program history on Saturday. … WKU is now 8-1 in its last nine conference tournament games and 10-2 in conference tournament games under Heard. … WKU is 5-1 all-time in the C-USA Tournament and 64-23 all-time in conference tournaments. … WKU’s 11 3-pointers were the second-most of the season. … WKU’s 24-point win marked the eighth time this year it has won by 20 points or more. … Noble moved into 10th all-time in field goals made (619), surpassing Alexis Govan.