The Wichita State women's basketball team wraps up the current road trip at Southern Illinois on Sat., Jan. 21 at 2:05 p.m.   

1. WSU is coming off a 57-51 victory at Evansville on Thursday, giving the Shockers a 6-0 record in the MVC for the first time in school history.
2. The Shockers have won nine straight - including a school-record 6-game road winning streak.  WSU has won nine straight only one other time as part of a school-record 10-game streak from Jan., 15, 2000-Feb. 11, 2000 and can match that mark today. 
3. WSU ranks No. 67 in the most recent RPI report released by the NCAA.  The Shockers broke into the Top 100 at No. 86 two weeks ago, marking the first time since the end of the 2001-02 season the Shockers entered the Top 100, and were ranked No. 83 last week.  WSU's highest-ever RPI was No. 65 on Feb. 6,2000.
4. The Shockers also cracked the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll at No. 23.  WSU received votes in the last two polls.   UNI (14) and Missouri State (15) rank ahead of Wichita State in the latest tally.  
5. Wichita State ranks 30th in the NCAA in field goal percentage (.434).  
6. The Shockers have held ten opponents below 60 points, including the last six - all vs. MVC competition (49.8 ppg). WSU now leads the MVC in scoring defense (56.6 ppg).  The Shocks also lead the Valley in steals per game (10.4).

SCOUTING SO. ILLINOIS
The Salukis picked up their first MVC win since March 4, 2010, a string of 24 defeats in conference play, with a 78-72 stunner vs. Missouri State on Thursday.  Third-year head coach Missy Tiber brings a dynamic scoring duo in Teri Oliver (17.7 ppg, 56 3-point field goals) and newcomer Cartaesha Macklin (15.7 ppg, 107-140 free throws).  Alexus Patterson hauls in 7.3 rebound per game and CiCi Shannon has swatted 42 shots.  The Salukis had struggled to score as they had not passed the 70-point mark since their previous win, a 77-63 victory vs. IUPUI on Dec. 8.

A LOOK AHEAD

1. Following today's game, WSU returns home to face Illinois State (J27) and Indiana State (J29) to close out the first half of MVC play.
2. WSU was picked 3rd in MVC Pre-Season Poll - highest ranking since 2006-07 and just the second time ever WSU has been picked in the top three.
3. WSU returns four starters and six letter winners, including 74% of its scoring and 76% of its rebounding from 2010-11.
4. The Shockers added freshmen Alex Harden and Molly O'Brien, junior college transfers Jasmine "Bugg" Jones, Nicole Wells, and Brittany Taylor.

NOTES ON JODY ADAMS

1. WSU is 40-16 (5-2 this yr.) at home under Adams
2. Needs 1 win to pass Darryl Smith for 4th on the WSU all-time list and 4 to pass Karen Harden for 3rd.
3. 60-53 in 3 seasons at WSU and 84-61 overall (24-8 @ Murray St in 2007-08)
4. WSU is 33-13 (7-3 this year) under Adams when out-rebounding opponent
5. WSU is 37-2 (7-1 this year) under Adams when attempting more FTs that opponent
6. Only WSU coach with a .500-or-better record in the MVC Tournament.

A GRAND CAREER
Senior Haleigh Lankster became the 17th Shocker in history to reach 1,000 career points on Nov. 20 at UC Davis.  Lankster now has 1,169 career points to pass Tootie Shaw (1993-97) for 11th place.  Crystal Westfield (1984-88) is 10th with 1,203 and Ann Hollingsworth (1991-95) is 9th with 1,272.  

(DON'T) STOP THIEF!
Lankster is also moving up the steals chart at WSU.  The senior has two games this year with six steals and has collected 212 for her career to pass Karen Lewis (1992-95) for 3rd.  Allison Daniel (1982-86) is 2nd with 246 and LaTeesha Hill (1996-00) holds the school record with 300 steals.  

SCOREBOARD
While Lankster has led the team in scoring the last two seasons, Jessica Diamond is off to a hot start and leads this year's group at 12.8 ppg.  Lankster adds 11.8 points and the Shockers overall are scoring 62.6 ppg and shooting .434 from the floor, good for 30th in the NCAA.  Chynna Turner leads the team in field goal percentage at .492 but does not have enough attempts to qualify for the national rankings.
Defensively, WSU has held six straight opponents below 60 points and for year are giving up just 56.6 points per game.  Shocker opponents are shooting .376 from the field and .281 from three-point range.
--In 11 of 12 of WSU's wins, the Shockers have posted a higher shooting percentage than the opponent.

FREE THINKING
WSU is 37-2 (10-0 last year, 7-1 this year) under Jody Adams when attempting more free throws than the opponent.  In 2011-12, the Shockers have been out-shot at the line, 309-264, and own a team percentage of .716. WSU did not attempt more free throws than the opposition until the 8th game of the year, Dec. 7 at Kansas State, but have turned the tables and shot more freebies than the other team in 8 of the 10 games since. The Shockers have connected on 79.4% of their free throws in Valley competition (77-97), with Lankster knocking down all 23 of her 24 attempts.    

BOARDING
Through 17 games in 2011-12, WSU has the edge on the glass, 637-588 overall, an advantage of 2.9 rebounds per game. The Shocks have out-rebounded 8 of the last 12 opponents, including a +22 margin at UNI in the MVC opener. The Shockers were out-rebounded overall last year, 38.8-36.3, and will be without last year's leading rebounder, Michelle Price (4.9 rpg), for the season due to injury.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
In 17 games this year, the Shockers have forced 321 turnovers and committed 315.  WSU is 8-0 this year when committing fewer turnovers than the opponent.  Last year's WSU squad forced more turnovers than they committed for the second year in a row - the first time that had happened since '96-'97 and '97-'98.  The Shockers forced 599 turnovers - an average of 18.7 - while giving it back just 529 times.

SHARING THE WEALTH
Jessica Diamond returns as WSU's top assist-maker from a year ago.  In two+ seasons she has 250 dimes against 204 turnovers.  Diamond has 48 assists to pace the team again this year but has committed 51 turnovers. Redshirt freshman Krystle Henderson is 2nd with 36 assists and has committed just 22 turnovers.

WSU IN THE RPI TOP 100
The Shockers are No. 67 in the most recent NCAA RPI, marking the 3rd straight week WSU has been ranked in the Top 100.  The Shockers were ranked in the Top 100 for 8 weeks during the 1999-00 season, peaking at No. 65.  WSU spent one week there in 2001-02 and finished the 1998-99 season at No. 75.