WICHITA ? It took an extra five minutes, but Jody Adams was able to open her first season as Shocker head coach with a 76-69 overtime win over Colorado State Saturday afternoon in front of 1,635 fans at Charles Koch Arena.

The Shockers pushed the tempo early, taking a 4-0 lead thanks in large part to a three-pointer from Marisah Henderson that opened the scoring, but the Rams fought back, taking a 5-4 lead on a jumper from Britney Minor at the 16:45 mark. Colorado State used a 19-4 run to take a 19-11 lead at the 9:37 mark.

Wichita State answered a 9-0 spurt over the next three minutes to take a 20-19 lead before Juanise Cornell reclaimed the Ram lead with a contested layup. Kandi Beemer's long ball gave the Rams a four-point lead at 24-20 at the 6:45 mark.

Once again, the Shockers bounced back. A traditional three-point play by Marisah Henderson capped a 7-0 swing by Wichita State, and gave the Shocks a 27-24 edge at the 4:44 mark.

Foul problems plagued both teams early, as the Shockers were called for their sixth foul of the first half with just over 12 minutes to play in the opening frame. Wichita State was able to take advantage of the situation, however, shooting 90 percent from the free throw line in the first half.

Wichita State tied it's largest lead of the game with a 35-30 advantage at 2:53 mark in the first half, but the Rams wrapped up the first half by scoring four-consecutive points, giving the Shockers a 35-34 lead at the halftime break.

Val Siemens opened up the second half scoring with a jumper just inside the three point line to give the Shocks a 37-34 lead less than 90 seconds into play. Colorado State answered a minute later when Brittney Minor converted a lay-up off an inbounds play to draw the Rams to within one, but Siemens answered back with a trey of her own seconds later, giving the Shocks a 40-36 cushion.

Beemer gave the Rams the lead once again, sinking a three-pointer from the left side as part of a 7-0 rally that pushed the CSU advantage to 43-40 before Samantha Smith ended the run with a contested five-footer for her first points of the game.

Once again, fouls became an issue for the Shockers, who were whistled for their sixth foul with better than 13 minutes to play

Trailing 48-42 at the 10:30 mark, Siemens sank a three pointer right in front of her own bench to cut the Ram lead to 48-45. A couple CSU turnovers later, Marcy Sudbeck sank two free throws to draw the Shockers to within one at 48-47 with 10 minutes to play. Jacie Hoyt continued the Shocker comeback with a layup following a missed Ram shot, giving WSU a 49-48 just inside the 8:30 mark.

The two teams traded the lead over the course of the next five minutes, a stretch that saw CSU's Amaka Uzomah pick up her fifth foul. Ashley Gladden converted both of the ensuing free throws to give the Shockers a one point edge, and Henderson sank a layup in the paint to push that edge to three points, but Barbee answered back for the Rams with a three that tied the game at 55-55.  

Henderson gave the Shockers a 60-58 advantage with 90 seconds to play in the game when she banked a three pointer off the glass right in front of the Shocker bench. Barbee answered back with a three of her own in front of the Ram bench to give CSU the 61-60 edge with 58 ticks of the clock remaining.

Siemens used two free throws to give her Shocker squad a 62-61 advantage with 45 seconds remaining. Beemer tied the game at 62-62 by hitting the back end of two free throws with 10 seconds remaining, and gave the Shockers the last opportunity for the win. Marcy Sudbeck rebounded an errant Henderson jumper, and missed a tightly-contested layup, sending the game to overtime.

Gladden opened the overtime scoring for the Shockers, giving her squad a 64-62 advantage less than a minute into the extra frame with a layup from the left side. Two Sudbeck free throws and a Haleigh Lankster jumper later, the Shocks found themselves with their biggest lead of the game, leading 68-62 halfway through the overtime period.

Henderson sank eight free throws in the final 70 seconds of overtime as two Rams fouled out of the game. Beemer and Alison Cheney combined for the Rams' only points in the extra period, a period in which WSU out-scored CSU 14-7 on their way to the 76-69 overtime win.

Henderson led all scorers in the game with 26 points, thanks in large part to a 13-15 effort from the charity stripe. Siemens added 14 points for the Shockers, while Sudbeck finished with her first double-double of the season after a 13-point, 11-rebound effort. Barbee and Minor each logged 16 points for the Rams, while Beemer finished with 14 points.

With the win, the Shockers are 1-0 on the young season, while the Rams fall to 0-1. Wichita State's next action is Tuesday when they travel to Tulsa, Okla. for a 7:05 tilt with Oral Roberts.

--Wichita State--