Erica Ogwumike scored 19 of her 22 points in the second half as No. 24 Rice rallied to its 20th straight win Friday night, a 64-57 win over fourth-seeded Western Kentucky in the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament.
Michelle Clark-Heard is leaving Western Kentucky to become the women's hoops coach at Cincinnati, while her former assistant, Greg Collins, will take over as head coach of the Lady Toppers.
Former middle school quarterback Jen Wellnitz hasn't played football in years, but she remains very much a product of the gridiron. The Green Bay redshirt junior guard might hold the key to the program's 20th consecutive Horizon League championship.
With Macy Miller back after a knee injury sidelined her for most of last season, South Dakota State holds the top spot in our first poll of the season. Northern Colorado, Green Bay, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky round out the top five.
The first round in Lexington, Kentucky, will be remembered for wins that set up a Kentucky-Ohio State showdown of regional powers that rarely meet. But even in a loss, Belmont was unforgettable.
Kelsey Mitchell made just five field goals, but with a defense that held Western Kentucky to just 29 percent shooting, fifth-seeded Ohio State advanced to the second round, where Kentucky awaits.
Will anyone dethrone UConn? How far will Kelsey Plum carry Washington? And what's the upset we'll most likely see this weekend?
How competitive is women's basketball outside of the Power 5 conferences? The two mid-major teams that met in last season's WNIT final aren't even in our preseason rankings.
Western Kentucky put its swimming and diving program on a 5-year suspension today, after finding violations of Title IX sexual misconduct and assault, harassment and the student conduct code. Said AD Todd Stewart: "This is a very difficult and unfortunate decision on many levels." Full story
A pair of Brooke McCarty gave the Longhorns the lead, and they hung on as Western Kentucky's potential game-winning 3 missed the mark. Watch replay
Ivy Brown's 3 pulled the Lady Toppers within 1, and they tied it up with 21 seconds left.
The 12th-seeded Lady Toppers are clinging to a 1-point lead with under four minutes left. WKU's Chastity Gooch leads all scorers with 25 points. Watch live
Western Kentucky has had a magical season, winning the regular-season and tournament titles in its first season as a member of Conference USA. It now has a chance to play Cinderella with an upset win over Texas. It's a one-possession game with under 4 minutes left. Live on WatchESPN
With five Top 25 teams, including unbeaten Princeton, the landscape for mid-majors hasn't looked this good since the 2011-12 season.
Princeton still leads the way, but a pair of Atlantic 10 teams -- No. 5 George Washington and No. 7 Dayton -- prepare to meet in a huge mid-major clash.
With an absence of upsets, or even many close games, the top-10 mid-major rankings remained mostly the same.
It might not be as impressive as Princeton breaking into the Top 25 for just the second time in program history, but the 16-0 Tigers also have taken over No. 1 in Graham Hays' biweekly mid-major poll.
South Carolina remains No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll while Western Kentucky enters the Top 25 for the first time in nearly 17 years.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 16-0 | - | 28-4 |
| UAB | 12-4 | 4 | 26-7 |
| Middle Tennessee | 11-5 | 5 | 23-11 |
| Western Kentucky | 11-5 | 5 | 20-15 |
| Old Dominion | 10-6 | 6 | 21-11 |
| Marshall | 10-6 | 6 | 17-15 |
| Charlotte | 9-7 | 7 | 18-13 |
| Southern Miss | 9-7 | 7 | 18-14 |
| North Texas | 7-9 | 9 | 18-16 |
| Louisiana Tech | 6-10 | 10 | 14-16 |
| UTEP | 5-11 | 11 | 9-22 |
| UTSA | 2-14 | 14 | 7-21 |
| Florida Int'L | 2-14 | 14 | 5-24 |
| Florida Atlantic | 2-14 | 14 | 5-25 |
