There are not enough words to describe what Michelle Clark-Heard, the Lady Toppers, and the Lady Topper staff have done for the program and WKU Athletics...but I will try my best.
Michelle Clark-Heard
A product of WKU, Clark-Heard returned to her alma mater for the 2012-2013 season. She inherited a team that went 9-21 (30%) in 2011-2012. The Lady Toppers went 22-11(66%) in Clark-Heard's inaugural season.
I get chills as I write about Clark-Heard's success.
Clark-Heard embodies WKU's motto: "The Spirit Makes the Master." You can literally see her enthusiasm and love of the game. You can see her passion for WKU. But most importantly, you can see how much she cares about each and every Lady Topper.
It should not go without mention that Clark-Heard was the Assistant Coach for the U.S. Pan American Women's Basketball Team (Silver), a 2015 Pat Summitt Trophy Finalist, the 2012-2013 Sun Belt Coach of the Year, and the 2014-2015 Conference USA Coach of the Year. Oh ya know, no big deal.So proud of this young lady @1kendall2 finally getting the triple double we been talking about. Happy for you!#LoveU pic.twitter.com/Aochqb3Uun— Michelle Clark-Heard (@Coachheard) January 24, 2016
77.3%
The Lady Toppers have a winning percentage of 77.3% since Clark-Heard took the reigns. Let me break this down for you. The Lady Toppers are:
- 92-27 since the 2012-2013 season
- 46-7 (86.8%) since the 2014-2015 season
- 23-2 (92%) in C-USA play (since 2014-2015 season)
During this time, the Lady Toppers have won back-to-back conference championships: 1 in 2014 (Sun Belt) and 1 in 2015 (C-USA). They have also appeared in the 2014 and 2015 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
Kendall Noble, Micah Jones, Chastity Gooch, Alexis Govan
These four past and present Lady Toppers (along with the rest of the squad) put together one of the most solid teams of any school that I have seen in years.
Kendall Noble (G; RS Junior) - Not only did Noble score her 1,000 point as a Lady Topper on 1/23/16, she became the FIRST Lady Topper to achieve a triple-double. In 2015, she was the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and 2015 WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year Finalist.
Micah Jones (G; Senior) - Unfortunately, Jones' season was cut short due to injury; however, she has made her mark on the program whether she returns on a medical waiver for the 2016-2017 season or not. She is a 3-point machine (10th in WKU history in career 3-point field goals made, and 8th in school history in 3-point field goals attempted). Fingers crossed for a Jones return.
Chastity Gooch (F; 2011-2015) - The queen, herself. 2014-2015 Conference USA Player of the Year. 2013-2014 WBCA Coaches All-American Honorable Mention. According to Gooch's bio: "Finished WKU career 4th in career scoring, 8th in career scoring average, 3rd in career rebounds, 5th in career rebounding average, 4th in career blocks, 4th in career steals, T-5th in career minutes played, per game, T-3rd in career field goals made, T-3rd career field goals attempted, 4th career games played, 8th career games started… Won 76 games in final three seasons at WKU."
Alexis Govan (G/F; 2011-2015) - This girl could shoot. Despite missing most of her junior season, Govan finished her time on the Hill 7th in school history in points per game, 11th in career scoring, 10th in field goals made, and 9th in minutes player per game. Govan was, also, a 2015 Senior CLASS Award candidate: the prestigious award recognizes an outstanding senior NCAA Division I Student Athlete of the Year across 9 different sports.
All four were a part of the back-to-back conference championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.
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With sophomores Ivy Brown and Tashia Brown stepping-up like they have, there is no doubt that the Lady Toppers future is bright.
Thank you Lady Toppers, Michelle Clark-Heard, and coaching staff.
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