WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State caps the non-conference portion of the schedule with a trip north to Brookings, S.D., to face South Dakota State Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
On the Air
Wednesday's game can be heard through locally on KNSS 1330 AM/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.
Shocker Winter Classic Record Breaker
Wichita State broke the Charles Koch Arena and tied the school record for best field goal percentage in a single game on Saturday vs. Alcorn State. The Shockers finished the game 34-of-52, good for 65.4 percent. It shattered the Charles Koch Arena record and tied the program best set back on Feb. 19, 1982 vs. UAB.
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 289 wins at the Division I level and 416 overall (includes junior college). Adams added another first with the win over Missouri State on Nov. 29. The victory was the first coaching victory in Charles Koch Arena. Her next milestone is win No. 300, which is just 11 victories away.
Catching up with the Jackrabbits
South Dakota State comes into the matchup sporting an 9-3 record. The Jackrabbits own wins over NJIT (92-48), George Washington (97-88 OT), North Dakota (66-52), #23 NC State (75-67), Charlotte (71-70), UNI (57- 47), Oklahome (67-61), Bowling Green (76-44) and Drake (85- 78). SDSU's three losses came to Green Bay (55-41), #4 Louisville (68-64) and Creighton (72-65). Macy Miller leads the way at 17.3 points per game. Madison Guebert ranks second on the team with a 13.5 points per game average. Tagyn Larson leads SDSU in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and Myah Selland has a team-leading 31 assists. South Dakota State is among the nation's leaders in free throw shooting (78.9 percent).
Wichita State-Alcorn Leftovers
Six Shockers finished in double-figures en route to the largest win of the season... Eleven players saw action in the game and all 11 scored... Wichita State scored 56 of its 87 points in the paint - a season high... WSU tied a season high with five blocked shots, including a career-high tying three from junior F
Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage... The Shockers finished the game with a season low 56.7 percentage from the free throw line... Junior G
Cesaria Ambrosio recorded her first game in a Shocker uniform with 10 or more points... Senior G
Keke Thompson returned to the lineup after missing the last three games due to injury, finishing with 10 points in 20 minutes off the bench.
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.
A Tale of Two Lockharts
Wichita State senior guard
Diamond Lockhart has already surpassed the numbers she put up during all of her junior campaign. The Red Oak, Texas, native scored 105 points (3.4 ppg) on 40 made field goals and 109 attempts (36.7 percent) all of 2016-17. Through 13 games in 2017-18, Lockhart has scored 136 points (10.5 ppg), while making 52-of-121 (43.0 percent) shots from the field.
| Stat |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
| GP |
31 |
13 |
| GS |
17 |
13 |
| Minutes |
572 |
396 |
| FG Made |
40 |
52 |
| FG Attempts |
109 |
121 |
| Free Throws Made |
15 |
27 |
| Free Throw Attempts |
21 |
29 |
| Points |
105 |
136 |
| Rebounds |
59 |
49 |
| Assists |
38 |
38 |
| Steals |
23 |
14 |
The Series with South Dakota State
Wichita State and South Dakota State have met on the hardwood only one time. Wichita State is 0-1 all-time vs. South Dakota State in Wichita. Wednesday's meeting will be the first in Brookings.
About the Jackrabbits
Located in Brookings, S.D., South Dakota State University has an enrollment of 12,527 as a member of The Summit League. South Dakota State returns eight letterwinners, including three starters off last year's squad that finished 23-9 and 13-2 in The Summit League. The Jackrabbits advanced to the second round of the WNIT in 2016-17. Summit League Player of the Year candidate Macy Miller is currently SDSU's leading scorer, averaging 17.3 points per game. Madison Guebert (13.5) is the other Jackrabbit averaging double digits in scoring. SDSU averages 71.3 points per game and limits foes to 62.5 points per outing. South Dakota State received three votes in this week's Associated Press and USA Today Sports Coaches Top 25 polls. The highest SDSU has ever been ranked is 16th in the AP poll March 9, 2009, and 14th in the Coaches poll March 2, 2009. South Dakota State's record in its 52nd season of women's basketball stands at 949-414 (.696). Of the 949 wins, 319 are NCAA Division I victories, the most among The Summit League members. The Jackrabbits have accumulated 20 20-win seasons and have secured 158 Division I victories inside Frost Arena. Aaron Johnston enters his 18th season as the head coach. Johnston has a career record of 424-145 during his tenure in Brookings.
Shocker Summary
Wichita State is 5-8 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, UMKC, 72-63, Chicago State, 66-63 and Alcorn State, 87-46. Senior F
Rangie Bessard leads Wichita State in scoring (17.8), rebounding (7.5) and blocks (10) through 13 games. Senior G
Diamond Lockhart ranks second on the team at 10.5 points per game. Senior F
Angiee Tompkins averages 9.5 points and is shooting a team-best 58.1 percent from the floor. Bessard has scored in double-digits in 12 of the team's first 13 contests to open the season with a trio of double-doubles. She is far and away the current leader in double-figure scoring games for Wichita State with 57 career games of 10 or more points. Out of those 57 games, she has led the team in scoring 39 times. Wichita State is averaging 66.9 points per game and allowing 68.2. Through 13 games Shocker opponents are shooting 42.5 percent overall. On the offensive side of the ball, Wichita State is making 43.7 percent of its shots, including 27.3 percent from long range. WSU has converted on 74.9 percent of its attempts from the free throw line, which ranks seventh nationally. The Shockers have outrebounded their opponents in 10 of the first 13 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 6-8 on the season
... give them four straight wins
... even the series with SDSU at 1-1
... make them 1-0 vs. South Dakota State in Brookings
... run Adams' career coaching record to 417-254
... make Adams 290-217 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 576-656 all-time
A Shocker Loss Would...
... drop them to 5-9 on the season
... snap a three-game winning streak
... widen the gap in the all-time series to 2-0 for SDSU
... drop them to 0-1 vs. the Jackrabbits in Brookings
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 416-255
... make Adams 289-218 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 575-657 all-time
Up Next
Wichita State will have a 10-day break between games before resuming game action on Dec. 30 for the first American Athletic Conference matchup. The Shockers will host Tulsa for Havoc in the Heartland in Charles Koch Arena at 2 p.m. on ESPN3.
