WKU remained undefeated in conference play after a 77-66 victory over Charlotte in Diddle Arena on Saturday, led in part by a historic day from redshirt junior guard Kendall Noble. Noble notched the first triple-double by a Lady Hilltopper in program history.

However, it took a balanced effort across the board from the Lady Tops to put the 49ers of Charlotte away.

Freshman forward Taylor Brown had her number called when sophomore forward Ivy Brown picked up three fouls in the first half. Taylor responded in a major way.

Taylor Brown finished with a near double-double with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Ivy Brown still managed to have a solid outing finishing with 9 points and 9 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

“I did well rebounding and being aggressive in the post,” Taylor Brown said. “[Coach] tells me [to] stay aggressive all the time, rebound and run the floor.”

Freshman guard Dee Givens provided her usual spark off the bench, scoring 12 point on four three-pointers in the first half. Sophomore guard Tashia Brown struggled with her shot early, but found her rhythm and finished with 15 points on 4-14 shooting. Freshman guard Kayla Smith added 8 points as well.

On Saturday, Noble played her usual game, but walked off the court with a historic distinction: the first triple-double in Lady Topper history.

“It was like the third quarter I think, and Micah [Jones] was like, ‘you need 2 assists and a rebound so you better get it’,” Noble said. “It’s pretty cool because WKU is a great program and has a great history. I thought somebody would’ve got it before me, but I’m glad to be the first, and hopefully there’ll be many more.”

Noble finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. 

“I think I just played like I usually do but teammates were making shots and if they aren’t making shots then I don’t get [the triple-double], so thanks to them,” Noble said. 

Noble picked a good time to notch the milestone. After leading comfortably for the whole second half, the 49ers came roaring back, cutting WKU’s lead to two points with just under eight minutes remaining in the game.

“Charlotte cut our lead all the way to two points and they continued to keep grinding and doing the things that we needed to do and I’m proud of that,” Head Coach Michelle Clark-Heard said.

Behind Noble’s leadership, the Lady Tops went on a 16-4 run to put the game out of reach.

“I kept telling her that one day it was going to happen,” Clark-Heard said. “I’m just really proud of her and the player that she is for this team and this program.”

Noble has recorded three double-doubles this season and has flirted with the triple double on several occasions. Noble is two assists shy of a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the season, and also has 48 steals to go along with 21 blocks.

“She’s very special, and she doesn’t like to talk about herself at all,” Clark-Heard said. “I’m very fortunate as a coach, and I think her teammates are the same way, to get to play with someone like her who just loves the game and has passion and just wants to win.”

Noble will look to help the Lady Tops to another win on Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama against UAB. WKU will get back on the road after a four-game homestand where the Lady Tops remained perfect and extended their home-winning streak to 14 games on the season.