WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State begins the first of four straight on the road with a trip to Knoxville, Tenn. to face No. 13/18 Tennessee Monday night at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network +.
On the Air
Monday's game can be heard locally on the radio via 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 will also be televised on the SEC Network+ with Mick Gillispie and Andraya Carter calling the game.
WSU/UT Connections
A familiar face will be on the opposing sideline for Monday's matchup with Tennessee. Former Wichita State assistant coach Bridgette Gordon returned to her alma mater after seven seasons on the Shockers' staff. Gordon helped lead the Shockers to three consecutive Missouri Valley Conference Championships after a Hall of Fame playing career at UT.
Home Openers
Wichita State opened its home slate vs. South Dakota Saturday afternoon. The Shockers dropped to 28-16 all-time in home openers after the 62-48 loss. Wichita State won last year's home opener vs. Creighton and had 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 Lady Vols
Tennessee is coming off a pair of home wins to start the season. The Lady Vols took care of business vs. East Tennessee State (87-49) and James Madison (89-60). Entering Monday's clash, Tennessee has four players averaging 10 or more points led by Jaime Nared at 19.0 per game. Nared is averaging a double-double at 19.0 points and 11.0 rebounds. Wichita State and Tennessee both open the season facing two of the same opponents. The Shockers have already faced Oklahoma State and South Dakota, while Tennessee will face OSU and USD over Thanksgiving in the Cancun Challenge.
Wichita State-South Dakota Leftovers
Wichita State head coach
Keitha Adams coached her first official game in Charles Koch Arena Saturday vs. South Dakota. Senior F
Rangie Bessard collected her first double-double of the season and 15th of her career with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Senior G
Jaleesa Chapel played two minutes in her first game action since March of 2016. She missed all of her senior season with a knee injury. Senior F
Angiee Tompkins played a career-high 36 minutes in her second start of the season.
The Series with Tennessee
Wichita State and Tennessee have met on the hardwood only two times, with the last time coming December 11, 2015. The Lady Volunteers hold a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series, but the average margin of victory is only 5.5. Wichita State is 0-1 vs. Tennessee in Knoxville.
Last Meeting
Tennessee won the last matchup, a 57-51 win in Charles Koch Arena on Dec. 11, 2015.
Diamond Lockhart and
TaQuandra Mike led the way with 11 points apiece. The game marked the first time
Rangie Bessard suited up for the Shockers. She finished with nine points and five steals in her debut. As a team, Wichita State converted on only 39.6 percent of its shots and turned the ball over 23 times. UT only made 38 percent of its attempts and also finished with 20 turnovers.
About The Lady Vols
Located in Knoxville, Tenn., the University of Tennessee has an enrollment of 28,321 as a member of the Southeastern Conference. Tennessee returns five letterwinners, including two starters off last year's squad that finished 20-12 and a second round appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Returning starters include Mercedes Russell and Jaime Nared and another part-time starter in Meme Jackson. This year's newcomers include the nation's No. 1 ranked recruiting class as well as a two-time JUCO All-American forward who redshirted last season due to a knee injury. In their first two games of the season the Lady Vols are averaging 88.0 points per game and allowing just 54.5. Tennessee has made 50.4 percent of its field goals, while holding opponents to 30.3 percent clip. Tennessee sends out a frontcourt of Mercedes Russell (6'6") and Jaime Nared (6'2") that has helped UT average 51.0 rebounds per game and a +14.0 margin on the glass. Holly Warlick enters her sixth season as the head coach and 33rd season overall as a member of the staff at Tennessee. Warlick led UT to a 20-12 record in year five and the school's 36th NCAA Tournament appearance. She has a career record of 130-46.
Last Time Out
Wichita State dropped its home opener on Saturday to South Dakota, 62-48.
Rangie Bessard collected her first double-double of the season and 15th of her career, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Bessard had to fight and claw to get to double-digits after hitting only 6-of-15 attempts.
Jeliah Preston chipped in nine points off the bench and
Angiee Tompkins added eight points and four rebounds in the losing effort. As a team, Wichita State struggled all game long from beyond the arc. For the game they finished just 2-for-18 and 35.6 percent overall. South Dakota didn't fare much better from long range (6-for-22), but managed to shoot 46.7 percent in total. The Shockers forced 20 turnovers and outrebounded the Coyotes (33-32), but couldn't make enough shots to pull out the win.
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 92 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 1-3 on the season
... shrink the gap in the all-time series with UT, 2-1
... snap a four-game losing streak, dating back to last season
... make them 1-1 vs. Tennessee in Knoxville
... give
Keitha Adams her first win in the Black & Yellow
... run Adams' career coaching record to 412-249
... make Adams 285-212 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 571-651 all-time
A Shocker Loss Would...
... drop them to 0-4 on the season
... widen the margin for UT in the all-time series, 3-0
... drop them to 0-2 vs. the Lady Vols in Knoxville
... be their fourth straight loss to open the season
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 411-250
... make Adams 284-213 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 570-652 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 411-249 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 heads to the Land of Enchantment over Thanksgiving to participate in the UNM Thanksgiving Classic in Albuquerque, N.M., Nov. 24-26. The Shockers will face New Mexico, Illinois and UC Irvine over three days.
