Wichita State (9-10, 4-4) will look to extend its winning streak to five in a row Sunday afternoon when the Shockers travel to Loyola (2-17, 1-7) at 1 p.m. in Gentile Arena.
Quickly...
-The Shockers are tied for fourth in the MVC standings at 4-4 with Indiana State. Loyola is 10th at 1-7. WSU is coming off a 56-42 win at Indiana State Friday and wraps up the two-game road swing Sunday. Loyola is on a five-game losing streak after winning against Illinois State on Jan. 6 at home.
-Former Shocker Head Coach Linda Hargrove was named Shocker Head Coach Jan. 22. She was the fourth head coach in Shocker history, and is now the eighth head coach. She was 113-136 at WSU in nine seasons, and had a collegiate coaching record of 429-248 in 26 seasons.
-Hargrove is now 114-136 at WSU in a 10th season and 430-248 overall.
-Assistant Coach Kirk Crawford was the acting head coach for WSU's wins against Bradley and Illinois State last weekend. WSU defeated Illinois State, 67-45, last Sunday, and Bradley, 65-54, last Friday.
-The Shockers are 489-536 in conference play since 1982 in the Gateway (1982-91) and Missouri Valley Conferences (1992-Present).
On the Series ... Wichita State leads the all-time series against Loyola, 7-1. Each team won at home a year ago, with the last meeting a 65-62 overtime win in Wichita.
Bessard Keeps Rolling... Bessard averaged 18.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the Shockers' two wins last week. She shot 46.2 percent (12-26) from the field and made 12-of-16 free throws (.750) in the two games. She also had five steals, three assists and a block. Against Bradley she had 21 points and 10 boards, her fourth-double-double of the season, and 16 points and three boards against Illinois State.
Dynamic Duo... Tompkins and Bessard scored 59 points in the Shocker's two wins, which was 45 percent of WSU's offensive output in the two games last week. Tompkins averaged 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 56.3 percent (9-16) from the field and was 4-of-5 (.800) from the line for the week. She had 20 points and eight boards against Illinois State.
Getting Comfortable... Tompkins had just one double-figure scoring game in the first nine games, and now she now has double figures in six of the last 10 games. She's averaging 10 points a game over the last 11 games. She also had a WSU career high 20 points against Illinois State.
Newcomers Score... Four of the Shockers' top six scorers are newcomers to the program with junior
Angiee Tompkins (7.7), junior
Tamara Lee (6.4), junior
Keke Thompson (6.4) and junior
Jeliah Preston (5.4) backing junior
Rangie Bessard (15.8) and senior
TaQuandra Mike (8.5).
Rangie Fills It Up... After 19 games, the Shockers are led in scoring by Bessard (15.8) and Mike (8.5). Bessard also leads WSU on the boards with 6.9 a game. She had 17, 20, 16 and 12 points, respectively, in the first four games of the year, but was injured in the Stanford game and missed the Northeastern and Arkansas State games. In the 12 games since returning from the injury she has averaged 17.4 points a game and is averaging 16.0 a game in Valley play.
Martin Moves Up… With 18 blocks this season senior
Brittany Martin has 131 for her career and is 20 from moving into the Shocker Top 10. The Shocker record is 256 by Theresa Dreiling from 1979-83.
On the Web... Wichita State's home games this season will be broadcast on the internet at www.goshockers.com/watch/ with Steve Strain, who is in his third season calling the action for the Shockers. Steve, who is a veteran of radio and television, called women's basketball for the Texas Tech Lady Raiders from 2009-13. Strain will also call road games on KNSS 1330. Senior
Jaleesa Chapel, injured prior to the first regular-season game, is assisting on the radio as analyst. She is a communications major.