WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State welcomes the South Dakota Coyotes to Charles Koch Arena for the 2017-18 home opener Saturday afternoon. The Shockers and Coyotes tip at 2 p.m. on Shocker HD.
The official 2017-18 Wichita State women's basketball schedule poster will be available for fans at no cost. Following the game the Shocker players and coaches will be available for postgame autographs.
On the Air
Saturday's game can be heard online at
GoShockers.com/listen 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 online via Shocker HD by visiting
GoShockers.com/watch.
WSU/USD Connections
South Dakota assistant coach Jason Jeschke received his bachelor's degree from Southwestern College (Kan.) in 2009 and spent five years as an assistant coach for Southwestern. Though their paths never crossed, head coach
Keitha Adams also received her degree from Southwestern.
Home Openers
Wichita State opens its home slate vs. South Dakota for the 2017-18 season. The Shockers are 28-15 all-time in home openers. Wichita State won last year's home opener vs. Creighton and has won five of its last six home openers. The Shockers have hosted Kansas State (four times) the most of any other school in home openers. Next after that is Fort Hays State at three.
Catching up with the Yotes
South Dakota is coming off a home win vs. Creighton (73-68) on Tuesday night and nearly won its season opener on the road at Iowa State, an 81-76 decision in favor of the Cyclones. Wichita State and South Dakota both open the season facing three of the same opponents. The Shockers have already faced Creighton and Oklahoma State and will see Tennessee next week, while South Dakota has also seen Creighton and will take on Oklahoma State and Tennessee in the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving. The Coyotes will also see fellow American Athletic Conference foe, Tulsa on Dec. 16.
Tompkins Provides Spark
Senior F
Angiee Tompkins made her first start of the season in Wichita State's loss at Oklahoma State on Tuesday and scored half of the team's points in the first half. The Orlando, Fla., native recorded 17 of her team-best 19 points in the first two quarters. She also grabbed seven rebounds in 25 minutes of action. The solid performance comes after fouling out in only 11 minutes of action in the season-opener at Creighton. She was held scoreless and only had three rebounds.
The Series with South Dakota
Wichita State and Oklahoma State have met on the hardwood only four times, with the last time coming in 2010. The Shockers hold a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series with each team winning at home and Wichita State taking both matchups on a neutral court. Wichita State is 1-0 vs. South Dakota in Wichita.
Last Meeting
South Dakota won the last matchup, a 57-47 win in Vermillion, S.D., on Dec. 5, 2010. Haleigh Lankster was the only Shocker to reach double-digits in the low scoring affair, finishing with 14 points. As a team, Wichita State converted on only 36 percent of its shots, including 2-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc. South Dakota finished with 10 blocked shots and nine steals in the game.
Scouting the Coyotes
South Dakota returns seven letterwinners (three starters) from a 2016-17 squad that went 23-9 and an appearance in the WNIT. The Coyotes made it to the second round of the WNIT before falling to Iowa. Returning starters include junior Allison Arens, junior Jaycee Bradley and sophomore Ciara Duffy. Redshirt-seniors Caitlin Duffy and Jasmine Trimboli also return to the court. 2016-17 Summit League first-team pick Allison Arens led the Coyotes in scoring (17.1), assists (3.8), steals (1.7) last season. Bradley earned a spot on the preseason watch list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award. The award recognizes the nation's top shooting guard. Bradley returns as the Coyotes' second leading scorer and top 3-point shooter. She ranked sixth nationally for 3-point percentage at a 45.3 percent clip. In their home-opening win over Creighton, Allison Arens led the Coyotes with 19 points and Kate Liveringhouse added 18 on 7-of-13 shooting. USD held CU to just 37.9 percent shooting and outrebounded the Bluejays, 38-32. Head Coach Dawn Plitzuweit enters her second season with South Dakota. Plitzuweit led USD to a 23-9 record in year one and a WNIT berth. She has a career record of 212-103.
Last Time Out
Loryn Goodwin and Kaylee Jensen provided a dominant 1-2 punch in leading Oklahoma State to a 91-67 victory over Wichita State Tuesday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Wichita State found itself in a hole early on and never could really find a groove on either end of the floor.
Angiee Tompkins led the Shockers with a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds in her first start of the season. Seventeen of her 19 came in the first half to keep Wichita State afloat.
Rangie Bessard added 17 points and five boards and
Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage scored all 11 of her points after halftime. As a team WSU shot 39 percent, including 6-of-18 from behind the line. OSU converted on 53 percent of its attempts and an impressive 10-of-20 from three. The Shockers' first two opponents have shot 59 and 53 percent from the field. The Shockers did outrebound the bigger Cowgirl squad, 38-33, but turned the ball over 19 times leading to 21 fast break points for OSU.
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 107 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 1-2 on the season
... improve their record to 29-15 in home openers
... widen the gap in the all-time series with USD, 4-1
... snap a two-game losing streak
... make them 2-0 vs. South Dakota in Wichita
... give
Keitha Adams her first win in the Black & Yellow
... run Adams' career coaching record to 412-248
... make Adams 285-211 at the Division I level
... make the Shockers 347-217 all-time in Koch Arena
... make Wichita State 571-650 all-time
A Shocker Loss Would...
... drop them to 0-3 on the season
... make them 28-16 in home openers
... close the margin for USD in the all-time series, 3-2
... drop them to 1-1 vs. the Coyotes in Wichita
... be their third straight loss to open the season
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 411-249
... make Adams 284-212 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 570-651 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 411-248 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 is right back on the road for the first of four straight road games beginning with a matchup vs. No. 14 Tennessee in Knoxville on Nov. 20. Following Rocky Top, the Shockers head to Albuquerque for the UNM Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 24-26.
