WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State looks to make it six straight wins with a trip to Greenville, N.C., to face ECU Tuesday night at 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET in Minges Coliseum.
On the Air
Tuesday's game can be heard locally on the radio via KFH 1240 AM/97.5 FM 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 can be seen on the American Digital Network with Lincoln Rose and Anglea Beck on the call.
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 five games since, Wichita State is 5-0 and outscoring its opponents by an average of 12.0 points per game, outrebounding them by 7.6 with 14 more steals and 18 more blocked shots than the other teams.
Upset City
Wichita State's win over No. 23 USF was just the third win over a ranked opponent in school history. The Shockers' last victory over a top-25 team came on Dec. 27, 1998 when Missouri State was No. 25 in the coaches poll. WSU won that game 58-56. Wichita State owns two wins over ranked foes in the AP Poll and three in the Coaches Poll. In the nearly 44 seasons of women's basketball at Wichita State, the Shockers own just three wins over ranked opponents. USF was slotted at No. 23 in the Coaches Poll and receiving votes in the Associated Press Poll. Wichita State's first two wins vs. a team ranked in the coaches poll happened in the same calendar year against the same opponent. The Shockers downed Missouri State twice in 1998.
Five Straight
Wichita State continued its winning streak with a road win over Memphis Saturday afternoon. The win pushed the Shockers' win streak to five in a row, a season best. The Shockers own wins over Memphis twice (69-61 and 77-64), Tulane (64-56), SMU (66-43) and USF (64-56) during the recent run.
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 Pirates
ECU comes into the matchup sporting a 11-10, 3-5 record. The Pirates own wins over USC-Upstate (66-53), Rider (66-63), Charlotte (58-55), Norfolk State (51-46), Kennesaw State (66-56), NCCU (73-61), Savannah State (103-37), Maryland Eastern Shore (64-54), Tulsa (73-67), Houston (80-78) and Cincinnati (79-70). ECU's losses came to UNCW (62-66), Richmond (64-65), William & Mary (65- 71), Jacksonville State (73-82), UTEP (79-93), Cincinnati (54-66), UConn (35-96), Memphis (36-72), SMU (51-65) and Tulane (58- 64). Ariyana Williams leads ECU in scoring at 10.3 points per game. Thais Oliveira averages 9.2 points and a team-best 6.0 rebounds per game to go with 35 blocks. Alex Frazier dishes out 4.2 assists a game. ECU averages 64.6 points per game and allows 65.7 a contest.
Wichita State-Memphis Leftovers
Wichita State moved to 2-2 all-time vs. Memphis, including a 1-2 mark in Memphis... Upped the Shockers' win streak to a season-best five in a row... Shot 54.2 percent from the field, marking the sixth game this season of 50 percent or better... Won the rebounding battle (30-25) for the 17th time this season... Dished out a season-high 25 assists... Senior F
Rangie Bessard did a little of everything finishing with 22 points, six rebounds, three assists, five blocks and two steals... She has nine games of 20 or more points this season... Junior G
Cesaria Ambrosio tallied a career-high 19 points... Senior G
Diamond Lockhart added 17 points, seven boards and six assists.
Approaching 300
Wichita State head coach
Keitha Adams is just six wins away from her 300th career win at the Division I level. She compiled 284 wins in her 16 seasons at UTEP and has accumulated nine in the middle of her first at Wichita State. She has a career record of 294-221.
Block Party
Junior F
Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage has upped her game on the defensive end during Wichita State's recent tear. Over her last four games, Lozada-Cabbage has blocked 12 shots after blocking 14 in the first 18 games combined. She started with a career-high five swats in the Shocker win at Tulane. Lozada-Cabbage was responsible for five of the team's season-high 12 blocked shots vs. the Green Wave. Over the last five games, Wichita State is averaging 6.0 blocks per game as a team. The Shockers averaged 2.9 in the first 17 games.
Double-Double Up
Through the first eight games of conference play, senior forward
Rangie Bessard is averaging just under a double-double. Bessard is posting 19.5 points and 8.9 rebounds, while shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 86.8 percent from the free throw line. Bessard has produced a 20-10 double-double in three of the eight American games.
The American Tabs Ambrosio for Honor Roll
Wichita State junior guard
Cesaria Ambrosio was named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll after helping the Shockers run their winning streak to five in a row with a road win at Memphis this past week. The Fully, Switzerland, native posted a career-high 19 points, six assists and three rebounds in the win. She also set career highs in field goals made (7) and attempted (10) and free throws made (3) and attempted (4). Ambrosio is shooting better than 60 percent from the field overall and from behind the three-point line over her last five games. This is the fourth weekly honor roll nod for the Shockers this season, joining
Rangie Bessard (twice) and
Diamond Lockhart (last week).
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 22 games in 2017-18, Lockhart has scored 236 points (10.7 ppg), while making 91-of-218 (41.7 percent) shots from the field.
| Stat |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
| GP |
31 |
22 |
| GS |
17 |
22 |
| Minutes |
572 |
697 |
| FG Made |
40 |
91 |
| FG Attempts |
109 |
218 |
| Free Throws Made |
15 |
43 |
| Free Throw Attempts |
21 |
46 |
| Points |
105 |
236 |
| Rebounds |
59 |
88 |
| Assists |
38 |
73 |
| Steals |
23 |
30 |
The Series with ECU
Wichita State and ECU have never met on the hardwood in women's basketball. Tuesday's matchup will be the first between the two programs.
Shocker Summary
Wichita State is 10-12 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 and 77-64, Tulane, 64-56, SMU, 66-43 and No. RV/23 USF, 64-56. Senior F
Rangie Bessard leads Wichita State in scoring (18.7), rebounding (7.8) and blocks (27) through 22 games. Senior G
Diamond Lockhart ranks second on the team at 10.7 points per game. Senior F
Angiee Tompkins averages 9.5 points and is shooting a team-best 54.6 percent from the floor. Bessard has scored in double-digits in 21 of the team's 22 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 66 career games of 10 or more points. Out of those 66 games, she has led the team in scoring 47 times. Wichita State is averaging 65.6 points per game and allowing 66.4. Through 22 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 26.4 percent from long range. WSU has converted on 77.1 percent of its attempts from the free throw line. The Shockers have outrebounded their opponents in 17 of the 22 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-40 of the NCAA in five offensive categories. Through 22 games Bessard ranks 26th in free throws made (101), 28th in field goal attempts (338), 29th in field goals made (154), 33rd in free throw attempts (125) and 37th in total points (412). Out of American Athletic Conference players only, Bessard ranks second in free throw percentage, third in free throws made, field goals made and attempted, fourth in rebounds, free throw attempts and total points, fifth in blocked shots and blocked shots per game and eighth in rebounds per game and field goal percentage.
A Shocker Win Would...
... make them 11-12 on the season
... run their record to 6-3 in conference play
... give them a six-game winning streak
... give them their first-ever win vs. ECU
... make them 1-0 vs. the Pirates in Greenville
... run Adams' career coaching record to 422-258
... make Adams 295-221 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 581-660 all-time
A Shocker Loss Would...
... drop them to 10-13 on the season
... send them to 5-4 in the league this season
... halt their five-game winning streak
... make them 0-1 all-time vs. ECU
... drop them to 0-1 vs. the Pirates in Greenville
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 421-259
... make Adams 294-222 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 580-661 all-time
Up Next
Wichita State is back home in Charles Koch Arena for two consecutive games, beginning with a rematch vs. Houston on Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. on the American Digital Network. The Shockers then host Cincinnati on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. on COX YurView.
