WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State plays host to the Winter Classic this Friday and Saturday. Incarnate Word and Murray State play at 4 p.m., Friday, followed by Wichita State and Abilene Christian at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Murray State plays Abilene Christian at 11 a.m., and the Shockers face Incarnate Word at 2 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.
Shocker Winter Classic Promotions
CLASSIC TICKET BUNDLE : Get into ALL Winter Classic games for only $12 (4 games) - Click to Purchase:
http://bit.ly/2hqCdb2
WEEKEND OF GIVING : FREE Admission with donation to Toys for Tots
HOLIDAY FAMILY PHOTOS : Get your photo taken with Santa Claus and WuShock
SATURDAY MOVIE : FREE postgame movie and popcorn on the video board after Wichita State vs. Incarnate Word
Quickly
-Wichita State plays host to the 2016 Winter Classic, the fourth-straight year of the event and the 21st in-season tournament hosted by the Shockers.
-WSU plays host to Abilene Christian in the 7 p.m., Friday nightcap with Murray State and Incarnate Word playing the 4 p.m. game.
-On Saturday, Murray State and Abilene Christian tip off at 11 a.m., while WSU faces Incarnate Word at 2 p.m.
-WSU defeated Prairie View A&M (64-36) and North Carolina State A&T State (55-53) a year ago in the 2015 Winter Classic.
Rangie Bessard and
TaQuandra Mike were named to the All-Tournament Team from WSU. Bessard averaged 20.0 points and Mike averaged 14.0 in the two games.
-The Shockers are coming off a 64-57 loss at Missouri where
Rangie Bessard scored a game-high 19 points. The teams ere tied at 50 in the fourth quarter before MU out-scored the Shockers 14-7 over the final 5:20 of the game.
-Wichita State's last home game was a 69-51 home win against Arkansas State. The noon game was the Shockers' annual Schoolhouse Rocks with the Shockers game that drew 9,534.
-Prior to that, WSU won its final game in the Cancun Challenge, a 87-73 win against Northeastern, to finish on a winning note after losing to Purdue and No. 11 Stanford.
-After eight games, the Shockers are led in scoring by junior
Rangie Bessard (14.0) and senior
TaQuandra Mike (7.5). Bessard also leads WSU on the boards with 4.5 a game. She had 17, 20, 16 and 12 points, respectively, in the first four games, but was injured in the Stanford game and missed the Northeastern and Arkansas State games. She most recently played at Missouri and had 19 points.
Holiday Host... The Shockers host the Winter Classic this weekend, the fourth-straight edition of the event, but the 21st time WSU has played host to an in-season tournament. Overall, Wichita State is 27-19 in in-season tournaments it has hosted over the years. Seven times WSU has won the tournament.
Wichita State in the Winter Classic
2013 WSU Winter Classic (Wichita, Kan.)
vs. Austin Peay (W, 86-64) Dec. 21
vs. Texas Pan American (W, 69-40) Dec. 22
2014 WSU Winter Classic (Wichita, Kan.)
ULM (W, 57-42) Dec. 19
Winthrop (W, 66-20) Dec. 20
2015 WSU Winter Classic (Wichita, Kan.)
Prairie View A&M (W, 64-36) Dec. 18
No. Carolina A&T St. (W, 55-53) Dec 19
More Tournament Talk... WSU played its 66th in-season tournament in history when it traveled to Cancun and is playing its 67th in-season tournament when its hosts the Winter Classic this week. WSU is now 70-81 in the 66 in-season tournaments the Shockers have played since 1974-75. Coach Jody Adams-Birch is now 17-11 in in-season tournaments since coming to WSU, and has won four in-season tournament titles.
Bessard's Back... Junior forward
Rangie Bessard scored a game-high 19 points in the Shockers' loss at Missouri. She was 8-of-12 from the field and made three of her six three-point attempts in 24 minutes after missing the previous two games with injury suffered against Stanford.
On Abilene Christian... Abilene Christian (Abilene, Texas) is 4-5 heading into the Winter Classic and comes into Wichita with a one-game winning streak after four-straight losses, inlcuding an overtime loss to UMKC Dec. 3, who had defeated the Shockers, 56-54, on Nov. 15. Another common opponent was Missouri, which ACU played to open the season in the Preseason WNIT, and lost 52-46 on Nov. 11.
Head Coach Julie Goodenough is 86-40 at ACU and in her fifth season. Overall, she is 375-260 in her 23 years of coaching. ACU is a member of the Southland Conference.
On UIW... UIW comes to Wichita from San Antonio, Texas, with a 0-7 record with just two home games to date. The Cardinals are led in scoring by Celia Garcia Paunero who averages 14.0 points a game. The Cardinals are coached by Christy Smith who is in her first year at the school. UIW faces Murry State before playing the Shockers on Saturday. UIW is a member of the Southland Conference.
On Murray State.... Murray State (Murray, Ken.) carries a 6-4 record ahead of the Winter Classic. The Races have won two-straight games after a loss to Missouri Valley Conference member evansville on Dec. 4, 82-77. MSU is coached by Rob Cross who is a 1991 graduate of Murry State. He is in his ninth season and carries a 111-137 record as the winningest Racer women's coach in history.He's coached the Races to six postseason berths since taking over for the 2008-09 season. Murray State is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.
Kids Rule... Wichita State pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat Arkansas State 69-51 at its annual Schoolhouse Rocks with the Shocks game in front of 9,534 fans. It was the sixth-largest attendance in school history for women's basketball. Wichita State's attendance record is 10,612 on Feb. 25, 2001, while the Shockers have had five 10,000-plus games, including three since the reconstruction of Charles Koch Arena.
Lee Breaks Out... Junior
Tamara Lee had a breakout game as she scored a career-high 20 points in the Shockers' 69-51 win against Arkansas State. Lee shot 46 percent (6-13) from the field and 50 percent (5-10) from the arc to lead WSU offensively. Another newcomer, junior
Jeliah Preston, had 17 points in the win against Northeastern in the last game in Cancun.
Scoring Balance... Eight Shockers average between 3.4 and 7.0 points a game.
Rangie Bessard leads with 14.0 a game, but the next 10 players average between 2.1 and 7.5 points a game.
On Adams-Birch
Jody Adams-Birch (Tennessee, '94) is in her ninth season at Wichita State as the only Shocker women's basketball coach to make an NCAA appearance and win an MVC regular-season and MVC Tournament championship at WSU. Her 2012-13 team accomplished all of that, then the 2013-14 and 2014-15 teams repeated the exact same feat.
WSU won three-straight MVC regular-season and MVC Tournament titles while making three-straight NCAA Tournaments.
She is 158-10 in nine seasons at WSU and 182-118 overall in 10 seasons as a head coach, which includes a 24-8 record as head coach at Murray State in 2007-08.
The 2014-15 team broke the school's season win record by three games at 29-5.
In addition, WSU is 90-25 (.785) overall at home under Adams-Birch, including 16-0 in 2014-15.
Adams-Birch is first on the WSU all-time wins list. She passed Linda Hargrove, who won 113 games at WSU from 1989-98, on Fri., Feb. 21, 2014 in a win against Illinois State.
