College Station, Texas – A dream season for the Wichita State University women's basketball team came to close Saturday afternoon at Reed Arena as the host Texas A&M defeated the Shockers, 71-45, in WSU's first-ever trip to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.  The 14-seed Shockers traded 11 leads and six ties with the 3-seed Aggies before TAMU pulled away.

Wichita State ends the year with a 24-10 record, setting the school mark for overall victories.  The Shockers also recorded the first regular season and first conference tournament championships in school history.

Kingwood, Texas native Michelle Price led the Shockers with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, while making her third start of the season. 

The last of the lead changes in WSU's favor came with 7:45 to go in the first half when a Chynna Turner layup put the Shockers up 20-19.  Turner finished with eight points and four rebounds while shooting 4-of-7 from the field. 

A&M then scored six-straight points and finished the half on a 16-2 run, taking a 35-22 lead into the break. 

An Alex Harden driving layup pulled WSU back to within 13 with 16:37 to play but a 10-0 Aggie run created a cliff the Shockers could not climb. 

Kristi Bellock led A&M with 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field.  Courtney Williams added 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.  Kelsey Bone delivered 10 points after the Shockers held her scoreless in the first half. 

Texas A&M shot .473 from the field while the Shockers mustered a .327 percentage.  Wichita State forced 12 turnovers with the help of six steals but the Aggies out-rebounded WSU, 41-25. 

A Chynna Turner layup just past the first minute of the game started the scoring but the Shockers never held a lead larger than two.  Texas A&M threatened to pull away early, taking a 9-4 lead at the 14:40 mark in the first half.  The Shockers countered with an 8-2 run to climb ahead, 12-11 with 12:24 to go in the half. 

The defeat brings WSU's most successful season to a close.  Fans and media are invited to greet the team when they return on Sunday.  The team flight arrives at Yingling Aviation at approximately 2 p.m., which should put them back at Koch Arena at 2:30 p.m. 

-WICHITA STATE-