The Lady Toppers stayed perfect in conference play Thursday with a 78-69 win against Arkansas Little-Rock.

The Trojans are the defending Sun Belt champions and recently ripped off a nine-game winning streak.

WKU (12-2, 5-0 Sun Belt Conference) led by sophomore forward Chastity Gooch, who scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Though she failed to record a double-double for just the second time this season, Gooch put up those numbers despite being in foul trouble throughout the night.

With 15:35 left in the second half and the score tied at 44-44, Gooch picked up her fourth foul while trying to force a jump ball against UALR (10-3, 3-2 SBC).

Coach Michelle Clark-Heard brought her out of the game and minutes later, UALR took a 52-51 lead for the first time since midway through the first half.

The Lady Toppers fell off offensively without Gooch’s presence down low but kept tight by forcing the Trojans into difficult shots.

With seven minutes left, Gooch returned and nailed a three-pointer to put the Lady Toppers up 56-55.

In the last two minutes of the game, WKU shot 8 of 8 from the free throw line and the Trojans went cold from the field.

The Lady Toppers shot 26-of-28 from the free throw line at a 92.9% clip throughout the game.

Freshman guard Micah Jones scored 13 points and dished out three assists and junior guard Bianca McGee chipped in with 12 points, six boards and three assists of her own.

Alexis Govan, who is coming off a 40-point outing against North Texas on Dec. 29, played all 40 minutes and scored 18 points.

The Lady Toppers will look to continue their perfect Sun Belt play in Jonesboro, Ark. against Arkansas State on Sunday, Jan. 6.