SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Wichita State women's basketball team (1-1) stormed back from an 11-point halftime deficit to take a late lead but the rally fell short in the end as the Shockers picked up their first loss of the season, 68-60 at UTSA (3-0) Sunday night.

 

Wichita State was led by Kiki Stephens' 16 points and eight rebounds. The senior played all but three minutes of the game. Daria Frazier followed with 10 points and Kyrie Kinder and Marcy Sudbeck had five rebounds a piece.

 

Whitney York led the Roadrunners with a game-high 22 points, while Monica Gibbs brought down 11 boards.

 

WSU shot a favorable 42.6 percent compared to UTSA's 36.8 percent, but the Shockers sent the Roadrunners to the foul line 32 times and UTSA was able to pick up 21 free points.

 

Beginning at the 12:27 mark of the second half, Wichita State went on a 15-4 run that gave the Shockers their first and only lead. The run was capped when Daria Frazier connected for the third consecutive time with 4:41 left to play. York responded with a quick jumper to regain the lead and the Roadrunners went 5-7 from the line down the stretch to help them to the 68-60 win.

 

It was a slow start for the Shockers in the first half, sending UTSA to the foul line almost immediately and failing to capitalize on the Roadrunners' early turnovers. They got on the board with a Jacie Hoyt layup three minutes in and back-to-back jump shots from Stephens cut it to 9-6 at the 12:21 mark.

 

The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes, until UTSA scored eight unanswered points, pushing it to 28-18 with 3:32 left in the half. The Roadrunners hit two three-pointers down the stretch to head into the locker room with an 11 point lead.

 

The Shockers take on Texas A&M on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22) at 2:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Paradise Jam Tournament in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

 

-Wichita State-