1984–85 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball team

The 1984–85 WKU Lady Toppers basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1984–85 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Lady Toppers were led by head coach Paul Sanderford and WKU all-time leading scorer Lillie Mason.^[1] The team finished second in the Sun Belt Conference and received a bid to the 1985 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, where they advanced to the Final Four.^[2] Mason, Clemette Haskins, and Kami Thomas were named to the All-Conference team and the SBC Tournament team. Mason was selected to the NCAA Final Four team as well as the being selected the NCAA Mideast Region Most Outstanding Player; Haskins joined her on the All-Region team.^[3]

1984–85 Western Kentucky Lady Toppers basketball
NCAA Mideast Regional Champion Colonel Classic Champion
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 14
Record	28–6 (5–1 SBC)
Head coach	Paul Sanderford (3rd season)
Home arena	E. A. Diddle Arena
Seasons ← 1983–84 1985–86 →

1984–85 Sun Belt Conference women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Old Dominion †	6	–	0		1.000			31	–	3		.912
No. 14 WKU	5	–	1		.833			28	–	6		.824
UAB	4	–	2		.667			14	–	15		.483
South Alabama	3	–	3		.500			19	–	10		.655
UNC Charlotte	2	–	4		.333			13	–	12		.520
VCU	1	–	5		.167			8	–	19		.296
South Florida	0	–	6		.000			8	–	18		.308
† 1985 Sun Belt tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

^[4]

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
11/19/1984*		Evansville Bowling Green Bank Invitational	W 82–57	1–0	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
11/20/1984*		No. 14 Tennessee Bowling Green Bank Invitational	L 62–70	1–1	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
11/28/1984*		Morehead State	W 83–62	2–1	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/5/1984*		Southern Illinois	W 65–55	3–1	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/7/1984*		vs. Duquesne Colonel Classic	W 100–61	4–1	Alumni Coliseum  Richmond, KY
12/8/1984*		at Eastern Kentucky Colonel Classic	W 70–60	5–1	Alumni Coliseum  Richmond, KY
12/12/1984*		No. 3 Georgia	W 72–67 OT	6–1	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
12/15/1984*	No. 17	at Alabama–Huntsville	W 82–67	7–1	Von Braun Center  Huntsville, AL
12/27/1984*	No. 15	at No. 19 Saint Joseph's (PA) LaSalle Invitational	L 90–93 OT	7–2	Palestra  Philadelphia, PA
12/28/1984*	No. 15	vs. Cheyney State LaSalle Invitational	W 58–57	8–2	Palestra  Philadelphia, PA
12/29/1984*	No. 15	vs. SW Louisiana LaSalle Invitational	W 72–61	9–2	Palestra  Philadelphia, PA
1/2/1985*	No. 17	Eastern Kentucky	W 71–63	10–2	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/5/1985*	No. 17	Lipscomb	W 102–54	11–2	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/9/1985*	No. 17	Tennessee Tech	W 79–70	12–2	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/13/1985	No. 14	South Alabama	W 81–57	13–2 (1–0)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/15/1985*	No. 14	Louisville	W 91–66	14–2	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/19/1985*	No. 14	Vanderbilt	W 85–68	15–2	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
1/26/1985	No. 11	at VCU	W 105–70	16–2 (2–0)	Richmond Coliseum  Richmond, VA
1/28/1985	No. 11	No. 2 Old Dominion	L 57–76	16–3 (2–1)	ODU Fieldhouse  Norfolk, VA
2/2/1985*	No. 11	at Dayton	W 86–47	17–3	UD Arena  Dayton, OH
2/4/1985*	No. 11	at Northern Kentucky	W 82–62	18–3	Regents Hall  Highland Heights, KY
2/10/1985	No. 11	UAB	W 91–53	19–3 (3–1)	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
2/14/1985*	No. 11	at Stetson	W 104–70	20–3	Edmunds Center  DeLand, FL
2/16/1985	No. 11	at South Florida	W 92–70	21–3 (4–1)	USF Sun Dome  Tampa, FL
2/20/1985*	No. 11	at No. 20 Tennessee	L 72–77	21–4	Stokely Athletic Center  Knoxville, TN
2/24/1985	No. 13	at UNC Charlotte	W 88–67	22–4 (5–1)	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, NC
2/27/1985*	No. 13	Cincinnati	W 122–72	23–4	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
Sun Belt tournament
3/7/1985	(2) No. 14	vs. (7) South Florida First round	W 85–64	24–4	ODU Fieldhouse  Norfolk, VA
3/8/1985	(2) No. 14	vs. (4) South Alabama Semifinals	W 87–82 OT	25–4	ODU Fieldhouse  Norfolk, VA
3/9/1985	(2) No. 14	vs. (1) No. 5 Old Dominion Championship	L 63–76	25–5	ODU Fieldhouse  Norfolk, VA
NCAA tournament
3/17/1985*	(ME4) No. 14	(ME5) Middle Tennessee Mideast Region First Round	W 77–55	26–5	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
3/22/1985*	(ME4) No. 14	(ME1) No. 1 Texas Sweet Sixteen	W 92–90	27–5	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
3/24/1985*	(ME4) No. 14	(ME2) No. 6 Mississippi Elite Eight	W 72–68	28–5	E. A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, KY
3/29/1985*	(ME4) No. 14	vs. (W2) No. 8 Georgia Final Four	L 78–91	28–6	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

1. 2019-20 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Record Book, retrieved May 21, 2020
2. Sanderford elected to Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, By the Daily News May 6, 2015, retrieved May 21, 2020
3. 2019-20 Lady Topper Basketball Media Guide, retrieved May 21, 2020
4. Western Kentucky Sports Women's Basketball Archive, retrieved May 21, 2020