Junior forward Jeremy Evans got a pretty friendly round of thank-yous a season ago following Western’s Sun Belt Tournament Championship win against Middle Tennessee State. His career high 20 points and season high 14 rebounds led the Toppers to an NCAA Tournament appearance.

After the Toppers’ 89-64 victory over LCC International University on Oct. 31, coach Ken McDonald said that the move from an assistant coach to a head coaching position gives him a new perspective on basketball games, literally. “There is no question that the biggest difference is that when you sit on the sideline, you don’t have to look through the head coach to watch the game,” McDonald said.

The Lady Toppers won’t be starting this season the same way they have in the past. In its opening weekend Western will play host to Murray State on that Friday followed by a visit from Vanderbilt on that Sunday. From Nov. 14 until Nov. 30 Western will play against three teams that made it to last year’s Sweet 16.

Sophomore guard/forward Steffphon Pettigrew isn’t pulling punches in his review of the new movie Saw V. “I didn’t like it,” Pettigrew said. “Thought it was too short.” And while Pettigrew’s critique of the flick didn’t get rousing reviews, the Toppers’ team chemistry thus far has.

When Crystal Kelly left Western, she left behind some big shoes to fill. But if you ask Lady Topper head coach Mary Taylor Cowles, she’ll gladly tell you that there is still plenty of talent at Western to make up for Kelly’s absence. “If I’m not mistaken, we still have some all-American talent in our post-game,” Cowles said.

Record last season 29-7, Sun Belt Conference champions, NCAA Tournament regional semifinalist The Low-Down The Toppers have been severely short-staffed the first few weeks of practice, so much so that they only dressed seven players in their latest exhibition game.

Record last season: 26-8, Sun Belt Conference champions The Low-Down They are young. With only one senior who saw playing time last season in forward Dominique Duck and two juniors in guard Kenzie Rich, and forward Jessica Magley, some pressure will be put on the younger players to step up and take on some responsibilities.

For the past two seasons, junior guard A.J. Slaughter learned the ins-and-outs of the guard position from former Toppers such as all-Sun Belt Conference selection Tyrone Brazelton and 2007-08 Sun Belt Player of the Year Courtney Lee, a first round pick of the NBA’s Orlando Magic.

Bittersweet endings are fueling forward Dominique Duck going into her senior season at Western. After earning Most Valuable Player honors at the 2008 Sun Belt Conference tournament, Duck and the Lady Toppers earned the team’s first NCAA tournament bid since 2003.

Senior guard Courtney Lee rated his performance last season on the court as “not that high.” He was hampered by a foot injury following a loss at Nebraska on Jan. 5 and never returned to the familiar success that he had prior to the injury. He also suffered a hand injury at the end of the season.