As senior night celebrations go, Thursday night was just about perfect at E.A. Diddle Arena.

WKU seniors Sidnee Bopp and Jae’Lisa Allen logged meaningful minutes while fellow senior Kayla Smith – out all season with health issues – offered enthusiastic moral support from the bench as the Lady Toppers earned an impressive 67-56 win over Conference USA rival Middle Tennessee.

It was a feel-good memory for that Lady Topper trio in their last game on their home court, a solid victory that meant much more for this season even than merely a happy ending for WKU’s seniors.

Beating MTSU locked up a first-round bye in next week’s C-USA Tournament at The Star in Frisco, Texas. As the fourth seed, the Lady Toppers will have one less hurdle to clear in their bid to winning the tournament championship in what is the the only shot they have at reaching the NCAA Tournament.

The victory over MTSU (20-9 overall, 11-5 C-USA) was the latest in an impressive string of wins for WKU (17-13, 11-5), which bounced back from a four-game skid with back-to-back road wins over Marshall and North Texas before avenging last month’s loss to the Blue Raiders.

“Our whole goal all year – from Day 1 – was three games in three days,” WKU first-year head coach Greg Collins said. “We kind of threw ourselves in a little bit of a hole. Although we were still in control of our destiny being able to win out and get (in), it wasn’t guaranteed. We had tough road games, we had a tough home game against one of the best teams in our conference. So we dug out, we showed some toughness.”

In the first meeting with MTSU on Feb. 14 in Murfreesboro, Tenn., the Lady Toppers provided a record-setting night as the Lady Raiders hit a program-record 66.7 percent from the field including an unconscionable 84 percent over the final two quarters.

Basically, it was an MTSU layup drill.

Collins didn’t want to see a repeat Thursday, and the Lady Tops put extra emphasis on their half-court defense and denying easy opportunities to MTSU star forward Alex Johnson.

At times this season, the Lady Tops’ porous defense has leaked points in abundance. But over the current winning streak, WKU has tightened up a bit.

“I think we’re just more locked in,” junior guard Whitney Creech said. “We’re more focused, we’re more determined, more deliberate with things that we do on the court. You know, we really focus in on defense and boxing out. It feels like we’ve been working on defense and boxing out for three years. Just like this whole conference season, it’s been pounded and pounded and so it’s finally starting to show on the court.”

It couldn’t come at a better time, for this season and for the future prospects of the program. Even if the Lady Tops don’t win the conference title and an automatic NCAA Tournament bid, a strong showing would go a long way toward building a case for the WNIT.

As built, this year’s squad was always destined for brighter days as a slew of underclassmen gained experience and WKU’s core of juniors – Creech, Dee Givens and Alexis Brewer – emerged as the leaders of a rebuilt roster.

It could have been a transitional year and at times it has resembled just that, with a series of highs and lows. But the Lady Tops’ recent play offers more than just a glimpse of what might come – it presents the possibility that the time to win is now for this team.

Earning that first-round bye clears the path a bit, and WKU will ride plenty of momentum down to Texas.

Now it’s win three in three days – although Collins and his staff have been saying since the Marshall game it’s really a six-game tournament for the Lady Tops.

That’s three down, three to go.{&end}