WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State welcomes three teams to Charles Koch Arena for the annual Shocker Winter Classic, Dec. 15-16. The Shockers will face Chicago State on Friday at 7 p.m. and Alcorn State on Saturday at 6 p.m.
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Shocker Winter Classic – 1/2 price admission with Toys for Tots donation.
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Downtown Ticket Redemption - FREE Admission with Wichita State vs. Oklahoma men's basketball INTRUST Bank Arena game ticket.
On the Air
Friday and Saturday's games can be heard through GoShockers.com via the Shocker HD portal 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 games can also be seen through Shocker HD at GoShockers.com/watch.
Shocker Winter Classic
Wichita State is hosting the Shocker Winter Classic for the fifth straight season and 22nd in-season tournament the Shockers have held in program history. The Shockers are 8-0 in the previous four Shocker Winter Classic tournaments.
Win No. 1
Head coach
Keitha Adams has more than 200 Division I coaching wins under her belt, but the Nov. 26 win over UC Irvine was a first. The Kansas native recorded her first win in the Black & Yellow. She now has 287 wins at the Division I level and 414 overall (includes junior college). Adams added another first with last Wednesday's win over Missouri State. The victory was the first coaching victory in Charles Koch Arena. Her next milestone is win No. 300, which is just 13 victories away.
Catching up with the Cougars
Chicago State comes into the matchup sporting an 0-10 record. The Cougars have faced Northwestern (36-63), Illinois (56-66), Jackson State (69-87), Northern Illinois (59-80), Western Illinois twice (45-83 and 54- 71)), Morehead State (40-79), Loyola (28-46), Wright State (39- 84) and Valpo (60-71). Tyeshia Bowers leads the way at 11.7 points per game. Ines Mata Boix leads the Green and White in rebounds (8.4 rpg), blocked shots (2.6 bpg), steals (2.4 spg) and field-goal percentage (.500) while ranking second in scoring at 11.0 points per contest. Phylicia Johnson is averaging 10.5 points and 3.0 assists a game.
Wichita State-UMKC Leftovers
Former Shocker Jacie Hoyt
returned to Charles Koch Arena last Saturday as first-year head coach of UMKC... Senior F
Rangie Bessard recorded her 2nd double-double of the season and moved into 19th place on the WSU all-time scoring list... Senior G
Diamond Lockhart scored 16 points - her fifth double-digit game of the season.
Bessard Earns Second Honor Roll Nod
Wichita State senior forward
Rangie Bessard was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll for the week of Dec. 4-10. The Rosharon, Texas, native averaged a team-high 20.0 points along with 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 50 percent from the field in Wichita State's two games. In Thursday's road contest at Missouri State, Bessard scored a game-high 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting. She followed that game with her second double-double of the season in Wichita State's win over UMKC. Bessard led the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds. With her 19 points vs. UMKC, Bessard moved into 19th place on the WSU all-time scoring list - passing Keomi Johnson. This is the second weekly honor roll nod for Bessard this season.
The Series with Chicago State
Wichita State and Chicago State have met on the hardwood only one time. Wichita State is 1-0 all-time vs. Chicago State in Wichita.
About the Cougars
Located in Chicago, Ill., Chicago State University has an enrollment of 3,578 as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. Chicago State returns four letterwinners, including two starters off last year's squad that finished 0-29 and 0-14 in the WAC. Three players are currently averaging double-figures for CSU with freshman guard Tyeshia Bowers leading the way with 11.7 points per game. Redshirt sophomore Ines Mata Boix leads the Green and White in rebounds (8.4 rpg), blocked shots (2.6 bpg), steals (2.4 spg) and field-goal percentage (.500) while ranking second in scoring at 11.0 points per contest. Redshirt senior guard Phylicia Johnson is averaging 10.5 points and a team-best 3.0 assists a game. Angela Jackson enters her 15th season as the head coach. Jackson has a career record of 131-293 during her tenure in the Windy City.
Shocker Summary
Wichita State is 3-8 to start the 2017-18 campaign after losses to Creighton (61-66), Oklahoma State (67-91), South Dakota (48-62), No. 13/18 Tennessee (56-68), New Mexico (62-76), Illinois (67-68), Western Illinois (65-78) and Missouri State (71-94). The Shockers defeated UC Irvine, 76-53, Missouri State, 72-58 and UMKC, 72-63. Senior F
Rangie Bessard leads Wichita State in scoring (18.0), rebounding (7.4) and blocks (9) through 11 games. Senior G
Diamond Lockhart ranks second on the team at 9.9 points per game. Senior F
Angiee Tompkins averages 8.6 points and is shooting a team-best 55.3 percent from the floor. Bessard has scored in double-digits in 10 of the team's first 11 contests to open the season with a pair of double-doubles. She is far and away the current leader in double-figure scoring games for Wichita State with 55 career games of 10 or more points. Out of those 55 games, she has led the team in scoring 37 times. Wichita State is averaging 65.2 points per game and allowing 70.6. Through 11 games Shocker opponents are shooting 43.9 percent overall. On the offensive side of the ball, Wichita State is making a shade over 40 percent (42.2%) of its shots, including 27.3 percent from long range. WSU has converted on 79.3 percent of its attempts from the free throw line, which ranks seventh nationally. The Shockers have outrebounded their opponents in eight of the first 11 contests.
Bessard Reaches 1,000 Points
Senior forward
Rangie Bessard scored 20 points vs. Western Illinois to surpass 1,000 points in a Shocker uniform. Bessard became 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 4-8 on the season
... give them two straight wins
... widen the gap for WSU in the all-time series, 2-0
... make them 2-0 vs. Chicago State in Wichita
... improve their all-time record in Charles Koch Arena to 349-219
... run Adams' career coaching record to 415-254
... make Adams 288-217 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 574-656 all-time
A Shocker Loss Would...
... drop them to 3-9 on the season
... tie the all-time series with CSU, 1-1
... drop them to 1-1 vs. the Cougars in Wichita
... run their record in Charles Koch Arena to 348-220
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 414-255
... make Adams 287-218 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 573-657 all-time
Up Next
Wichita State wraps up its non-conference slate with a trip north to South Dakota. The Shockers will face South Dakota State on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.
