KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Whitney Creech visited the arena as a fan a few years ago. Michelle Clark-Heard played on the court as a senior and will live in a surreal moment when she coaches Friday on The Summitt.

One might say women’s basketball was born in Thompson-Boling Arena at the University of Tennessee. Fans and participants might agree it’s the sport’s holy cathedral.

“I watched Tennessee and Kentucky play four or five years ago,” the Jenkins native Creech said. “I think it’s going to be a really cool experience to go in that arena and play there. We’re going to play where some of the greats have played.”

Western Kentucky (24-8) will play on The Summitt when the No. 11 seed Lady Toppers tip off against No. 6 seed Oregon State (23-7) in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday at 11 a.m. CDT.

The Lady Toppers arrived at Thompson-Boling Arena on Thursday afternoon and held a 90-minute practice on the court named “The Summitt” after the late Pat Summitt, the legendary Tennessee coach who served as the face of women’s basketball until her passing in June 2016. WKU held another off-site practice afterward.

“There is a lot of history here for women’s basketball,” WKU senior Ivy Brown said. “It will be a really cool opportunity to play on the same court that Pat Summitt coached on.”

Heard will walk up and down the same orange sideline once paced by Summitt, who for 38 years coached the Lady Vols to eight national championships and an NCAA Division I-record 1,098 victories.

“To be able to play on that floor and that arena, it’s going to be special,” Heard said. “You do have to educate your team and your players, definitely with Raneem being from Egypt and getting her to understand how special of a place this is from one of the greatest coaches to ever coach the women’s game.”

Should WKU defeat Oregon State, it will play the winner of Tennessee-Liberty on Sunday. The last time WKU played Tennessee was in 1998 when the undefeated Lady Vols were ranked No. 1 before winning their sixth national championship.

WKU is 1-7 all-time against Tennessee with four of those meetings coming in the NCAA Tournament.

The Lady Toppers’ lone win came in 1992 in a 75-70 Sweet 16 win played at Purdue, and WKU went on to finish as the national runner-up.

Heard was recruited by Summitt during her prep days at Atherton High School in Louisville. She played in two losses to UT in 1989 and 1990.

“For me, this is a surreal moment because I played here my senior year in college and was recruited by Pat,” Heard said. “When you think about what she has done, and what this program means to women’s basketball, I’m really excited that my players will be able to play on their floor and experience it.”