Lady Toppers listed in ESPN Top 10 poll

If anyone has paid a wink of attention around Bowling Green, the Sun Belt or Conference USA, you’ll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t think the Lady Tops will make a strong run toward the C-USA championship if not a run into the NCAA tournament. Back to back 20-win seasons, the return of a healthy Alexis Govan joining a floor already loaded with Chastity Gooch (two-time SBC Defensive Player of the Year and reigning C-USA Preseason Player of the Year), Kendall Noble (who’s anywhere and everywhere on the floor) and Micah Jones, not to mention a freshmen class highlighted by 2014 Miss Kentucky Basketball Ivy Brown.

Well, believe it or not, the buzz isn’t just high around the Lady Toppers in Bowling Green or the conference. What Michelle Clark-Heard and her squad has done over the past two seasons, and what they look to do in their maiden C-USA voyage, has caught the eyes and ears of ESPNW – so much, in fact, that they ranked the Lady Tops second in ALL of Mid Major women’s hoops. The full top-ten is below:

1.) Dayton
2.) WKU
3.) George Washington
4.) Green Bay
5.) Wichita State
6.) Florida Gulf Coast
7.) Gonzaga
8.) Middle Tennessee
9.) Marist
10.) Colorado State

HA. Take THAT every other Mid Major team! Except for you, Dayton…we’ll see you soon. (No we wont. Unless it’s in the tournament. Now that’d be cool.)

Here’s what the article’s writer, Graham Hays, had to say about the Lady Toppers.

"What they have: That classic mid-major recipe of senior savvy. The Lady Toppers have continuity overall, returning six players who averaged double-digit minutes a season ago, but specifically seniors Chastity Gooch and Alexis Govan. Voted the Sun Belt’s top player entering last season, Govan missed all but 11 games with a leg injury. She’s back for the team’s Conference USA debut. Reigning Sun Belt freshman of the year Kendall Noble also can’t be overlooked.How they can prove it: Western Kentucky has to hope for a sustained preseason WNIT run that could include games against Colorado, Penn State and West Virginia because there isn’t much more “notice me” quotient to the rest of the schedule than a trip to Louisville and a conference visit from Middle Tennessee.Name to remember: Gooch. Really, you were going to forget that name anyway? Other than a few more turnovers than assists, and that’s really nitpicking, she checks off every box. She’s an efficient shooter who can step outside to shoot the 3-pointer but doesn’t push her luck and gets to the free throw line a lot. She rebounds and creates turnovers. And she has done it all in competitive games against the likes of Baylor and Louisville."

As if you needed another reason to be ready for this season, Mr. Hays has given us all even more so of a reason to be.