WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State puts its three-game winning streak on the line when #RV/23 USF comes to Charles Koch Arena for a Sunday afternoon (3 p.m.) matchup on CBS Sports Network.
On the Air
Sunday's game can be heard locally online through the Shocker HD portal on GoShockers.com with the voice of Shocker Women's Basketball Steve Strain calling the action. Strain is in his fourth season broadcasting games for the women's program. The game will also be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
Go Get It
Following Wichita State's road loss at UCF on Jan. 6, head coach
Keitha Adams noticed a lack of energy and sense of urgency in the team. In practice, she instilled the team's new motto for the rest of the season, "Go Get It". In the three games since, Wichita State is 3-0 and outscoring its opponents by an average of 13.0 points per game, outrebounding them by 7.7 with 11 more steals and 10 more blocked shots than the other teams.
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.
Three Straight
Wichita State continued its winning ways with a 66-43 win over SMU Tuesday night in Charles Koch Arena. The win pushed the Shockers' win streak to three in a row, marking the second time this season Wichita State has won three consecutive. Wichita State started the streak with wins over Memphis (69-61) and at Tulane (64-56).
American Win No. 1
Wichita State recorded its first-ever win in the American Athletic Conference on Wednesday, Jan. 10 with a 69-61 victory over Memphis in Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers then picked up their first road conference win at Tulane on Saturday by score of 64-56.
Catching up with the Bulls
#RV/23 USF comes into the matchup sporting a 15-4, 5-1 record. The Bulls own wins over LSU (61-55), Houston Baptist (90-43), Arkansas State (98-55), Butler (71-55), Washington State (82-45), St. John's (68-59), George Washington (83-78), Southern (108-48), FIU (82-52), Dayton (93-87), Tulane (75-46), Cincinnati (69-46), Temple (89-73), UCF (62-45) and Memphis (81-62). USF's losses came against Notre Dame (66-76), Oklahoma (74-79), Michigan State (73-83) and UConn (49-100). Kitija Laksa leads USF in scoring at 20.1 points per game. Maria Jespersen leads the team with 9.2 rebounds per game to go with 17.3 points per contest. Laia Flores leads USF in assists (6.3 apg). USF averages 77.6 points per game and allows 62.5 a contest.
Wichita State-SMU Leftovers
Wichita State moved to 3-2 all-time vs. SMU, including a 2-0 mark in Wichita... Wichita State cashed in on a season-high seven three-pointers in just 11 tries (63.6 percent)... Wichita State shot 51.0 percent from the floor overall, marking the fifth time this season the Shockers have shot 50 percent or better from the field... Senior F
Angiee Tompkins led four Shockers in double-figures with 16 points... Senior F
Rangie Bessard added 15 points and 9 rebounds, while battling illness... Junior G
Cesaria Ambrosio notched her second straight game in double-digits with 11... Senior G
Diamond Lockhart added 10 points.
Double-Double Up
Through the first six games of conference play, senior forward
Rangie Bessard is averaging just under a double-double. Bessard is posting 19.7 points and 9.7 rebounds, while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 84.8 percent from the free throw line. Bessard has produced a 20-10 double-double in three of the six American games. She is the only Shocker averaging double-figures in scoring in league action.
Bessard Nets Player of the Week
Rangie Bessard was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 8-14. The Rosharon, Texas, native averaged 21.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 blocks, while shooting 48.4 percent from the field in Wichita State's two games. Bessard led the Shockers with her team-leading sixth double-double (24 points, 10 rebounds) of the season in Wednesday's win over Memphis. She followed that game with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 blocks to power Wichita State past Tulane - the team's first true road win of the season. With her 18 points at Tulane, Bessard moved into 13th place on the WSU all-time scoring list. This is the first American Player of the Week honor for Bessard after being named to the weekly honor roll twice.
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 20 games in 2017-18, Lockhart has scored 203 points (10.2 ppg), while making 79-of-188 (42.0 percent) shots from the field.
| Stat |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
| GP |
31 |
20 |
| GS |
17 |
20 |
| Minutes |
572 |
622 |
| FG Made |
40 |
79 |
| FG Attempts |
109 |
188 |
| Free Throws Made |
15 |
36 |
| Free Throw Attempts |
21 |
38 |
| Points |
105 |
203 |
| Rebounds |
59 |
73 |
| Assists |
38 |
60 |
| Steals |
23 |
28 |
The Series with USF
Wichita State and USF have met only once prior to Sunday's matchup. The Shockers took the only matchup in the series. The Shockers are 1-0 all-time vs. the Bulls with the lone win coming on Feb. 25, 1983 by score of 75-52 on a neutral court. Wichita State downed South Florida on a neutral court back in February 25, 1983, 75-52.
About the Bulls
Located in Tampa, Fla., the University of South Florida has an enrollment of 50,577 as a member of the American Athletic Conference. USF returns eight letterwinners, including four starters off last year's squad that finished 24-9 and 11-5 in The American. The Bulls finished third in the league a season ago and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. USF was picked to finish second in the preseason coaches poll of The American in 2017-18 with Kitija Laksa earning preseason All-Conference First Team honors and Maria Jespersen getting an All-Conference Second Team nod. USF returns 89 percent of its offense that was second in the league in scoring after averaging 70.7 points per game. Last season the Bulls scored 129 points on Dec. 14 against Saint Francis U, the most points scored in a single game in program and American Athletic Conference history. Both Laksa and Jespersen have scored more than 1,000 career points for the Bulls. Earlier this season, Laksa netted 11-consecutive three-point field goals against Southern U. (12/15/17), which is an all-time NCAA record of most consecutive three-pointers in a single game. Jose Fernandez enters his 18th season as the head coach. Fernandez has a career record of 324-239 during his 18 years in Tampa. Fernandez, USF's all-time winningest head coach, has watched his team reach new milestones, including five consecutive 20-win seasons since the 2012 season. The Bulls have reached the NCAA Tournament five times, including three-straight trips since 2014. Fernandez joined Lisa Stockton (Tulane), and Geno Auriemma (UConn), as active head coaches with 300 or more career wins in The American.
Shocker Summary
Wichita State is 8-12 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), Missouri State (71-94), South Dakota State (64-96), Tulsa (62-67), Houston (55-73) and UCF (53- 59). The Shockers defeated UC Irvine, 76-53, Missouri State, 72-58, UMKC, 72-63, Chicago State, 66-63, Alcorn State, 87-46, Memphis, 69-61, Tulane, 64-56 and SMU, 66-43. Senior F
Rangie Bessard leads Wichita State in scoring (18.7), rebounding (8.0) and second in blocks (20) through 20 games. Senior G
Diamond Lockhart ranks second on the team at 10.2 points per game. Senior F
Angiee Tompkins averages 9.5 points and is shooting a team-best 54.7 percent from the floor. Bessard has scored in double-digits in 19 of the team's 20 contests to open the season with six double-doubles. She is far and away the current leader in double-figure scoring games for Wichita State with 64 career games of 10 or more points. Out of those 64 games, she has led the team in scoring 45 times. Wichita State is averaging 65.2 points per game and allowing 67.1. Through 20 games Shocker opponents are shooting 42.9 percent overall. On the offensive side of the ball, Wichita State is making 43.5 percent of its shots, including 25.6 percent from long range. WSU has converted on 76.8 percent of its attempts from the free throw line. The Shockers have outrebounded their opponents in 15 of the 20 contests.
Bessard Among Nation's Best
Rangie Bessard is off to a strong start in her senior campaign for the Shockers. The 6-foot-1 forward currently ranks in the top-25 of the NCAA in five offensive categories. Through 20 games Bessard ranks 10th in free throws made (96), 14th in field goals made (138), 15th in free throw attempts (120) and 18th in total points (374) and field goal attempts (301). Out of American Athletic Conference players only, Bessard ranks second in free throws made and attempted and field goals attempted, third in field goals made, fourth in total total points, free throw percentage and total rebounds, fifth in points per game, eighth in rebounds per game and ninth in field goal percentage.
Bessard Joins the Club
In Wichita State's road contest at South Dakota State on Dec. 20, senior forward
Rangie Bessard finished with 25 points and four rebounds. With her four boards, Bessard became the 15th Shocker to record 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.
A Shocker Win Would...
... make them 9-12 on the season
... run their record to 4-3 in conference play
... give them a four-game winning streak
... widen the gap in the series vs. USF to 2-0
... make them 1-0 vs. USF in Wichita
... improve their record in Charles Koch Arena to 353-220
... run Adams' career coaching record to 420-258
... make Adams 293-221 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 579-660 all-time
A Shocker Loss Would...
... drop them to 8-13 on the season
... send them to 3-4 in the league this season
... halt their three-game winning streak
... make them 1-1 all-time vs. USF
... drop them to 0-1 vs. the Bulls in Wichita
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 419-259
... make Adams 292-222 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 578-661 all-time
Up Next
Wichita State makes a road swing at Memphis and ECU, beginning with a matchup vs. the Tigers on Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. CT. The Shockers then visit Greenville, N.C., to take on the Pirates Jan. 30.
