BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Experience is Western Kentucky’s best weapon this week.

The Lady Toppers have been in this position in the postseason plenty of times. They’ve won the conference tournament before. They’ve lost it, too.

WKU doesn’t forget that last loss. The Lady Toppers took the floor at an empty Bartow Arena on Wednesday morning for a shoot around following an earlier practice at local Vestavia Hills High School.

WKU defeated UAB at Bartow Arena on Feb. 18, but it still remembers how it felt after losing by three points in last year’s Conference USA Tournament quarterfinals to Marshall on the very same court.

“You take it as you don’t want that feeling again, so you use that as motivation not to have that feeling again,” junior Ivy Brown said. “We’re ready and it’ll be in the back of our mind, but we won’t let it bother us.”

WKU (24-6 overall, 16-2 C-USA) was scheduled to start its journey at another title against North Texas at 12:30 p.m. Thursday. WKU beat North Texas (12-18, 9-10) by 20 points last Thursday and entered on a nine-game winning streak and the regular season C-USA championship.

“We’ve put ourselves in a really good opportunity to take care of business in the regular season,” Brown said. “Just to come out here and play our best and do what we have been, I’m just really excited to see what we can do and see what kind of run we can make.”

The Mean Green beat UAB 65-62 in double overtime in the first game of the C-USA Tournament on Wednesday. Terra Ellison led four players in double figures with 21 points and 10 rebounds in UNT’s win Wednesday. Terriell Bradley scored 16 points and Kelsey Criner had 12 points.

“We didn’t play our best basketball. They beat us on the boards, which we have to do a better job of tomorrow,” UNT coach Jalie Mitchell said. “I’m glad that we had a game today and we’ve shot on the rims now and we’re used to the environment we’re playing in.”

The Lady Toppers will be back to their usual strength with Ima Akpan coming back from a knee injury. Akpan missed the last three games of the regular season and Heard said she’s not sure how many minutes the senior can give, but her reliable spark off the bench will be key.

Redshirt seniors Kendall Noble and Micah Jones have experienced two conference tournament championships. Juniors Ivy Brown and Tashia Brown were freshmen when WKU won the C-USA tournament in its first season in the league in 2014-15.

Those upperclassmen have helped WKU fulfill every expectation since they were picked to win the league in the preseason. Having that type of leadership makes coach Michelle Clark-Heard’s job easier in the tournament.

“It helps that our mindset going in with the upperclassmen, they understand,” Heard said. “They have been great leaders and they will get this group focused and ready to go.

“I don’t think there’s any motivating to be done. I want them to be as loose and focused as they can possibly be, and that’s a fine line. I want them to understand that this is game-by-game, but it’s nothing we haven’t experienced. We’ve been in clutch situations before, so doing the things that we go back and do every single day and doing them to the best of their abilities, that’s the way I want them to approach it.”

Heard and Brown both said it helps that the team is keeping its game day routine in place. The conference’s Thursday-Saturday schedule carries over for teams that earned a first-round bye. Continuity in schedule and rest days haven’t altered WKU’s approach to the tournament and WKU’s coach said it helps allow the Lady Toppers to keep “brushing and tweaking” its game.

But there’s no extra motivation needed for Thursday at Bartow Arena. WKU certainly hasn’t forgotten how last year went. It has plenty of experience on the roster that doesn’t want that feeling again.

“You never forget,” Heard said. “To become great, you have to get knocked down sometimes. When you get knocked down, you’re either going to get back up and learn how to fight back the next time or you’re going to get knocked down again. Our goal is we’re going to fight. We’re going to fight to be ready to do whatever it takes to get this win.”

Probable starters

Western Kentucky – Tashia Brown, f, 6-0, jr. (13.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg); Kendall Noble, g, 5-11, r-sr. (16.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg); Ivy Brown, f, 6-1, jr. (13.9 ppg, 8.3 rpg); Micah Jones, g, 5-8, r-sr. (7 ppg, 4 apg); Kyvin Goodin-Rogers, f, 6-2, r-jr. (8.5 ppg, 4 rpg)

North Texas – Terriell Bradley, g, 5-10, r-so. (13 ppg, 3.5 rpg); Terra Ellison, f, 5-11, sr. (10.6 ppg, 6 rpg); Kelsey Criner, g, 5-7, sr. (8.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg); Candice Adams, g, 5-8, sr. (8.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg); Tyara Warren, g, 5-9, r-so. (7.4 ppg, 3 rpg)

Television Campus Insiders (online stream)

Radio ESPN 102.7 FM or 1450 AM

Coaches Michelle Clark-Heard (127-38 fifth year; 151-70 overall), Western Kentucky; Jalie Mitchell (22-37 second year; 22-37 overall) North Texas.

Series Record Western Kentucky leads the series 16-6 (WKU won the last meeting 75-55 on March 2 in Denton, Texas.)

Last time out Western Kentucky won 80-75 at Rice on Saturday; North Texas won 65-62 in double overtime over UAB in the C-USA Tournament on Wednesday.{&end}