Now comes the fun part.

After a season dominated by the home team, the Women’s Conference USA Tournament kicks off this weekend with some heavy favorites – but also a chance for uncertainty.

During the regular season seven teams had winning records in home conference games, but only the top three seeds – Liberty, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky – had winning records in road conference games.

That home advantage is erased in Huntsville, with everyone playing on a neutral floor. WKU women’s basketball coach Greg Collins said that it will make for a level playing field – one that the Lady Toppers are eager to take a shot at.

“I think it’s almost a coin toss each game,” Collins said. “I don’t think it matters significantly if you are one or eight. It doesn’t matter where you are. It just matters how you are playing in that game. You have seen games, seen scores that came down to the last shot. You’ve seen upsets, so I think it just comes down who is the most locked in, who is the best prepared, who is healthy, who is playing the best together. And then who doesn’t flinch. Who is going to be the one that is going to stay the course and be able to grind out those possessions, those quarters and those games.”

WKU certainly has reason to be optimistic, despite a loss at top seed Liberty in the regular-season finale. Unlike last season when the Lady Toppers entered the Conference USA Tournament on a six-game losing streak, WKU is 13-3 since an 0-2 start in conference play.

Liberty is the only team WKU hasn’t beaten in conference play this season, and the Lady Toppers enter the tournament scoring at least 70 points in five straight, four wins. Graduate guard Destiny Salary and junior guard Josie Gilvin both recorded career highs in the final weekend of the season. Senior guard Alexis Mead is also playing well down the stretch.

“That’s what you want,” Collins said. “You want players to grow and improve and you want them to be playing with a purpose at the end of the season. I feel like this team, they have a mission in mind. To me it is fairly obvious when I watch them. I think the fans enjoy seeing them play. I wish we had another game in Diddle.

“They are playing great defense and they are playing pretty good offense. When you are doing those two things, you kind of have a collective goal. The key is to stay the course.”

Perhaps the biggest difference for WKU this season compared to last is depth. Last season the Lady Toppers were battling injuries and illnesses and were pretty limited in the rotation. This season WKU has made a significant improvement with Acacia Hayes and Zsofia Telegdy stepping up in big moments this year as well as Mackenzie Chatfield. Mariama Sow, Caleigh Rose-West, Mya Pratcher and Selma Khadr have also contributed at times as well, giving Collins plenty of options if WKU makes deep run.

In order to win the title, WKU would have to win three games in three days.

“That is important being able to turn to players that you believe in that can come in and make a difference,” Collins said. “We run out of a little energy and steam, even two games in three days in conference. Everybody does. If you are going to play intensely, if you are going to play relentlessly, then you are going to put a lot of effort into it. If you are putting a lot of effort into, then you are using a lot of energy. That is where that bench will come into play.”

The road won’t be easy.

WKU opens against FIU at 2 p.m. on Thursday. The Lady Toppers beat FIU 83-48 in Miami last week, but the Panthers were one of two teams to beat WKU at E.A. Diddle Arena in conference play.

A win in the quarterfinals could set up a potential semifinal match against Middle Tennessee. The two teams split in the regular season, with each team winning on its home floor.

Liberty, the only team to sweep the Lady Toppers, could be waiting in the finals.

But a lot can happen between now and Saturday, especially with home court advantage out of play. Collins said a quest for the team’s first title – and first NCAA bid – since 2018 will be difficult, but one he is confident his team is eager to try and accomplish it.

“It’s not going to be a smooth climb,” Collins said. “It’s going to be ups and downs. You have to be able to weather the storms.”