UAB Blazers vs Western Kentucky Lady Toppers
W Kentucky women head back to NCAA, top UAB 72-57
FRISCO, Texas -- Tashia Brown scored seven of her 25 points in less than two minutes and Western Kentucky went on to claim its 20th NCAA Tournament berth with a 72-57 win over UAB in the Conference USA title game on Saturday.
With a one-point lead, Brown made two free throws, a 3-point play and added two free throws with 46 seconds left in the third quarter to give the second-seeded Lady Toppers a 55-47 lead. The top-seeded Blazers had run off nine straight, a 3 by Lea Kerstein, a 3-point play by Katelynn Thomas and Angela Vendrell's trey.
WKU (24-8) iced its second-straight NCAA berth and third in four years when Tashia Brown and Ivy Brown made back-to-back layups, Tashia Brown had two free throws and a jumper by Whitney Creech made it 67-50 with three minutes left.
Creech finished with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Ivy Brown had 11 points and 12 rebounds and Raneem Elgedawy also had 11 points.
Rachael Childress led UAB (26-6) with 16 points and Thomas had 13. The Blazers were in the first title game since 2010 and haven't won a conference tournament since capturing the Great Midwest crown in 1994.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Mark Zentz
- Carla Fountain
- Gina Cross
2025-26 Conference USA Standings
| Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| UTEP | 0-0 | - | 7-3 |
| Louisiana Tech | 0-0 | - | 7-4 |
| Delaware | 0-0 | - | 6-4 |
| Florida International | 0-0 | - | 6-4 |
| Kennesaw State | 0-0 | - | 6-4 |
| Missouri State | 0-0 | - | 7-5 |
| Sam Houston | 0-0 | - | 5-4 |
| Liberty | 0-0 | - | 6-5 |
| Jacksonville State | 0-0 | - | 5-6 |
| Middle Tennessee | 0-0 | - | 5-7 |
| Western Kentucky | 0-0 | - | 4-7 |
| New Mexico State | 0-0 | - | 3-8 |
2025-26 American Conference Standings
| Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice | 0-0 | - | 10-3 |
| Tulsa | 0-0 | - | 7-4 |
| East Carolina | 0-0 | - | 7-5 |
| North Texas | 0-0 | - | 6-5 |
| Temple | 0-0 | - | 6-5 |
| UAB | 0-0 | - | 6-5 |
| Florida Atlantic | 0-0 | - | 6-6 |
| South Florida | 0-0 | - | 6-6 |
| Charlotte | 0-0 | - | 6-7 |
| Tulane | 0-0 | - | 5-6 |
| UTSA | 0-0 | - | 5-6 |
| Memphis | 0-0 | - | 5-7 |
| Wichita State | 0-0 | - | 3-10 |

