The Western Kentucky women’s basketball program released its complete 2017-18 schedule Thursday, a slate that features 12 regular-season games at E.A. Diddle Arena and marquee matchups highlighted by Notre Dame.

“I’m excited about this year’s schedule,” WKU coach Michelle Clark-Heard said in a news release. “We have some really good nonconference challenges on the road this season.

“Our first four games will be against top-25 caliber teams: Missouri, Iowa or Quinnipiac, Notre Dame and Indiana. We’re very appreciative of Notre Dame coming to play us here in Diddle Arena. I think our fans will fill the stands and create that special atmosphere that Diddle has. Our players will be very excited for that game.”

The Lady Toppers return two of their top three scorers (Tashia Brown and Ivy Brown) from their 2016-17 campaign that saw the team sweep both the Conference USA regular-season and tournament championships.

WKU posted a 27-7 record and lost to Ohio State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

WKU will kick off its 2017-18 campaign with an exhibition against Union at Diddle Arena on Nov. 2 and will begin the regular season one week later in a tournament hosted by Iowa.

The Lady Toppers will face Missouri in their opener Nov. 10 before squaring off against the winner of Iowa and Quinnipiac on Nov. 11. Quinnipiac reached the Sweet 16 in the 2017 NCAA Tournament as a No. 12 seed.

The Lady Toppers will open their regular-season home schedule against Notre Dame on Nov. 14.

The Fighting Irish have reached the Sweet 16 in eight consecutive seasons and have finished as the national runners-up four times over that span. With Notre Dame likely being ranked for the battle against WKU, it will mark the third consecutive season that the Lady Toppers have hosted a ranked opponent at Diddle Arena.

Following that home matchup, WKU will go back on the road for the second half of its home-and-home series at Indiana on Nov. 17, before traveling to Atlanta for Georgia State’s tournament. The Lady Toppers are set to battle Mercer (Nov. 24) and the host Panthers (Nov. 26) at the event.

WKU will return home to face Evansville at Diddle Arena on Nov. 30. The Lady Toppers will then face Southern Illinois on the road Dec. 10 before a quick turnaround against Mississippi Valley State in Diddle on Dec. 12.

The Lady Toppers will round out their nonconference schedule with a third in-season tournament in West Palm Beach, Fla., taking on Stetson and Toledo on Dec. 16 and 17, respectively.

WKU will face Ball State in Muncie, Ind., on Dec. 21, and will conclude nonconference play at Diddle Arena on Dec. 29, against Lee University.

To begin C-USA play, WKU will battle Middle Tennessee on Jan. 4 at Diddle Arena. The rivalry will return to Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Feb. 15.

WKU will continue its opening three-game homestand in C-USA play against Southern Miss (Jan. 6) and FIU (Jan. 11), and will open road conference play on Jan. 13 at UAB.

In home games during conference play, WKU will face UTSA (Jan. 18), Florida Atlantic (Feb. 3), Old Dominion (Feb. 8), Marshall (Feb. 17) and Charlotte (Feb. 23). The Lady Tops will go on the road against Marshall (Jan. 21), North Texas (Jan. 26), Louisiana Tech (Jan. 28), Rice (Feb. 10), Southern Miss (March 1) and UTEP (March 3).

The 2018 C-USA Tournament will be at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, marking the first time since WKU has been a member of the league that the tournament will not be in Birmingham, Ala.