WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State continues its two-game road trip to open the season with a matchup vs. Big 12 foe, Oklahoma State. The Shockers and Cowboys tip at 7 p.m. in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Fox Sports Plus.
Tuesday's game is recognized as Nike N7 Native American Appreciation Night. Oklahoma State and Nike partnered for Native American Appreciation Night.
On the Air
Fans can listen to Tuesday's matchup on 1330 AM or 98.7 FM with the voice of Shocker Women's Basketball Steve Strain calling the action. Strain begins his fourth season broadcasting games for the women's program. The game can also be seen on Fox Sports Plus.
Thompson's Solid Debut
Senior G
Keke Thompson picked up where she left off following the Shockers' two exhibition contests. Thompson set new career highs in points (17), field goals made (8), field goal attempts (15) and tied a career best with six assists. She also grabbed eight rebounds and swiped a pair of steals. Her eight rebounds were one shy of a career high.
WSU/OSU Connections
Wichita State head coach
Keitha Adams and Oklahoma State head coach Jim Littell are no strangers. Adams played for Littell at Oxford High School in Oxford, Kan. Littell went 94-14 in his coaching stint for Oxford and Adams left as the school's all-time leading scorer and earned all-state honors as a prep. The Cowgirls have a Kansas native on the roster in LaTashia Jones from Leavenworth, while the Shockers have a pair of Oklahoma natives in
Tamara Lee (Edmond) and
Raven Prince (Oklahoma City).
Opening on the Road
The Shockers first two games of the season are in hostile territory. The last time Wichita State opened a season with two straight road games was in 2012-13 when the Shockers traveled to LSU (Nov. 11) and Arkansas State (Nov. 15). Wichita State split the two road games, falling at LSU (72-70) and winning at Arkansas State (60-51).
Catching up with the Pokes
Oklahoma State won its season opener, an 86-35 victory over Incarnate Word on Friday, Nov. 10. The Cowgirls shot 49 percent and forced 30 turnovers - 18 of which turned into steals. OSU knocked down nine three-pointers in 23 attempts, incuding three from Jaden Hobbs. Senior transfer Loryn Goodwin messed around and nearly recorded a triple-double. She led all players with 18 points, 10 assists and eight steals. OSU has won 49 consecutive regular-season home games against non-conference opponents. Oklahoma State's last non-league home loss came on Dec. 12, 2010 against No. 5 Duke.
The Series with Oklahoma State
Wichita State and Oklahoma State have met on the hardwood 21 times, but not since 2012 when the two met in Stillwater. The Cowgirls hold a 12-9 advantage in the all time series with the home team winning each of the last five meetings. Wichita State is 1-8 vs. Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
Last Meeting
Oklahoma State won the last matchup, a 63-44 win in Stillwater on March 18, 2012 in the second round of the WNIT. The loss ended Wichita State's season with a 20-13 record, then tying the school record for most wins in a season. Jazimen Gordon led the Shockers with 10 points and six rebounds and Molly O'Brien chipped in nine points. Former Oklahoma State standout Tiffany Bias led all scorers with 22 points.
Scouting the Cowgirls
Oklahoma State returns seven letterwinners (three starters) from a 2016-17 squad that went 17-15 and a first round appearance in the WNIT. Senior Kaylee Jensen was one of five players named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team with the announcement of the conference's preseason awards. Jensen was named a first-team all-league selection a year ago after finishing as the conference's leading scorer (18.7 ppg) and rebounder (10.5 rpg). Additionally, she tallied a Big 12-best 17 double-doubles and was eighth in blocked shots at 1.6 per game. Also returning for the Cowgirls is junior guard Karli Wheeler (11.5 pts) and senior forward Mandy Coleman (11.9 pts, 7.1 reb). UTSA transfer Loryn Goodwin adds another proven all-around talent. Last season at UTSA, Goodwin averaged 17.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.1 steals. In their season-opening win over Incarnate Word, Goodwin nearly recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 10 assists and 8 steals. OSU defeated Incarnate Word, 86-35. Head Coach Jim Littell enters his seventh season with Oklahoma State. Littell has led OSU to five 20-win seasons in his first seven seasons. He has a career record of 127-69.
Last Time Out
Wichita State's comeback effort came up just short in the season opener at Creighton last Friday, as the Bluejays hung on to defeat the Shockers, 66-61 in D.J. Sokol Arena. Wichita State (0-1) trailed by as many as 15 in the third quarter and nearly completed the comeback after tying the game at 51 with 6:00 left in the fourth. Senior forward
Rangie Bessard finished with a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds in 37 minutes. Bessard was 7-of-14 from the field overall. Senior guard
Keke Thompson stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and just one turnover. She set new career highs in points, field goals made and attempted and tied a career best in assists.
Shocker Summary
Wichita State was picked to finish 10th in its inaugural American Athletic Conference season by the league's coaches. The Shockers return nine letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 15-16 overall. Eight of the nine letterwinners are seniors led by First Team All-Conference honoree
Rangie Bessard (17.3 points, 7.6 rebounds).
Angiee Tompkins (9.0 pts, 4.5 reb) and junior forward
Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage (4.1 pts, 3.5 reb.) will help Bessard lead the frontcourt. A plethora of guards will handle the perimeter play this season.
Keke Thompson (6.4 pts, 2.6 ast),
Aundra Stovall (2.9 pts, 2.1 ast),
Diamond Lockhart (3.4 pts),
Jeliah Preston (5.6 pts, 38.2% 3-pt FG%) and
Tamara Lee (5.9 pts, 31 3-pt FG made) all return and will share time in the backcourt. Redshirt senior guard
Jaleesa Chapel returns after missing all of 2016-17 with an ACL injury.
Bessard Closing in on 1,000 Points
Senior forward
Rangie Bessard enters the season needing just 124 points to reach 1,000 points in a Shocker uniform. Bessard is looking to become the 20th Shocker to reach the 1,000 point mark. The Rosharon, Texas, native is coming off an all-conference junior campaign where she averaged 17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Alex Harden
was the last Shocker to reach the milestone in 2015. She left Wichita as the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,708 points.
A Shocker Win Would...
... make them 1-1 on the season
... close the gap in the all-time series with OSU, 12-10
... snap a two-game losing streak to OSU
... make them 2-8 vs. Oklahoma State in Stillwater
... give
Keitha Adams her first win in the Black & Yellow
... run Adams' career coaching record to 412-247
... make Adams 285-210 at the Division I level
... make the Shockers 347-218 all-time in Koch Arena
... make Wichita State 571-649 all-time
A Shocker Loss Would...
... drop them to 0-2 on the season
... widen the margin for OSU in the all-time series, 13-9
... drop them to 1-9 vs. the Cowgirls in Stillwater
... be their fourth straight road loss
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 411-248
... make Adams 284-211 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 570-650 all-time
Keitha Adams
A new year era of Shocker women's basketball begins in 2017-18 under new head coach
Keitha Adams. With more than 20 years of head coaching experience, including 16 at the Division I level, Adams will look to bring her winning ways to the Air Capital. The Oxford, Kan., native spent the last 16 years at UTEP where she was responsible for all four UTEP postseason bids (NCAA in 2012 and 2008; WNIT 2016 and 2014) and all four championships (2016 C-USA regular season, 2012 C-USA regular season and conference tournament and 2008 C-USA regular season) in school history. All six Miner 20+ win seasons were during Adams' tenure, including a school-record tying 29 in 2015-16. The only three-time Conference USA Women's Basketball Coach of the Year (2016, 2012 and 2008), in league history, Adams graduated every player who exhausted their eligibility at UTEP during her tenure. UTEP's all-time wins leader (284-209, 16 years), Adams is 411-247 overall as a collegiate head coach (21 years).
Shockers Picked 10th in The American Preseason Poll
Wichita State was picked to finish 10th in its inaugural American Athletic Conference season by the league's coaches, it was announced Oct. 16.
UConn tallied 121 points and 11 of 12 first-place votes. UConn enters the season returning seven letterwinners and four starters, including 2016-17 American Athletic Conference Players of the Year Napheesa Collier and Katie Lou Samuelson, from last year's squad that went 36-1 (18-0 in The American).
The American enjoyed tremendous basketball success in 2016-17 highlighted by UConn winning an NCAA record 111 consecutive games and advancing to its 10th straight Final Four. Six teams – UCF, UConn, USF, SMU, Temple and Tulane – were selected for postseason play. The Shockers became a member of the conference as a full member on July 1.
All 12 league schools will tip off the conference schedule the final weekend of December.
The 2018 American Women's Basketball Championship will take place March 3-6 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
The American Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
| School (First-Place Votes) |
Total |
| 1. UConn (11) |
121 |
| 2. USF (1) |
110 |
| 3. Temple |
98 |
| 4. UCF |
91 |
| 5. SMU |
79 |
| 6. Tulane |
73 |
| 7. Memphis |
53 |
| 8. Cincinnati |
50 |
| 9. Tulsa |
43 |
| 10. Wichita State |
31 |
| 11. Houston |
27 |
| 12. ECU |
16 |
Up Next
Wichita State welcomes South Dakota to Charles Koch Arena for the home opener on Saturday, Nov. 18. The 2 p.m. tipoff will air on Shocker HD. Following the Shockers' home opener they head right back on the road to nationally-ranked Tennessee on Nov. 20.
