WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State visits the Sunshine State to face the UCF Knights Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. ET tipoff on the American Digital Network.
On the Air
Saturday's game can be heard locally on KFH Radio 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 will also be streamed on the American Digital Network.
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.
Conference Openers
Wichita State kicked off another season of conference action vs. Tulsa, however it will be the first as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The Shockers are 13-23 all-time in conference openers, but have found themselves on the losing end the last three seasons in the conference lid-lifter after falling to Tulsa. Wichita State is 8-10 in conference openers at home compared to just 5-13 on the road.
Catching up with the Knights
UCF comes into the matchup sporting a 10-5, 2-0 record. The Knights own wins over Chattanooga (58-57), Gardner-Webb (65-30), IUPUI (63-59), UNI (53-43), Georgia Southern (62-38), Boston (47-32), UC Davis (62- 55), Davidson (62-54), Temple (76-46) and SMU (60-42). UCF's five losses came to Mercer (73-64), Virginia Tech (86-69), Elon (71-57), Samford (58-51) and Pacific (78-74). Aliyah Gregory leads the way at 13.6 points. Zakiya Saunders ranks second on the team with a 13.4 points per game average. Nyala Shuler leads UCF in rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocks (11). Korneila Wright has handed out a team-best 58 assists. UCF averages 61.5 points per game and allows only 54.8 a contest.
Wichita State-Houston Leftovers
Wichita State dropped to 0-3 all-time vs. Houston... The Shockers committed a season-high 25 turnovers... Wichita State finished the game 0-of- 11 from three-point range, marking the third time this season the Shockers have failed to make a three in a game... WSU hit just 42.9 percent of its free throws (3-7), a season low... Senior F
Rangie Bessard posted her fifth double-double of the season and second straight with 21 points and 10 rebounds... Bessard was the only Shocker in double-figures... Senior F
Angiee Tompkins had her streak of four straight games with 10 or more points snapped... Three Shockers had a homecoming of sorts, as Bessard,
Jaleesa Chapel and
Jeliah Preston all hail from the Houston area.
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 16 games in 2017-18, Lockhart has scored 161 points (10.1 ppg), while making 63-of-154 (40.9 percent) shots from the field.
| Stat |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
| GP |
31 |
16 |
| GS |
17 |
16 |
| Minutes |
572 |
484 |
| FG Made |
40 |
63 |
| FG Attempts |
109 |
154 |
| Free Throws Made |
15 |
30 |
| Free Throw Attempts |
21 |
32 |
| Points |
105 |
161 |
| Rebounds |
59 |
60 |
| Assists |
38 |
47 |
| Steals |
23 |
19 |
The Series with UCF
Wichita State and UCF have never met in women's basketball. Saturday's matchup will be the first between the two programs.
About the Knights
Located in Orlando, Fla., the University of Central Florida has an enrollment of 64,318 as a member of the American Athletic Conference. UCF returns sixletterwinners, including three starters off last year's squad that finished 21-12 and 9-7 in The American. UCF was picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches poll of The American in 2017-18. Senior Aliyah Gregory earned preseason all-conference honors from the league's coaches after being named to the all-conference first team a year ago. Gregory ranks seventh on the UCF all-time scoring list and became the 22nd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. After holding just two opponents under 56 points in the first eight games, the UCF defense stepped up, holding Georgia Southern, Boston, UC Davis, Davidson, Temple and SMU under the mark. The Knights have held their opponents to single digits in 13 quarters this season. UCF limited Boston to a season-low two points in the second quarter. The Knights held UC Davis, who entered the game with an average of 79.8 PPG, to just 55 points to earn the victory. Katie Abrahamson-Henderson enters her second season as the head coach. Abrahamson-Henderson has a career record of 272-125 during her 13-plus years as a head coach. During the 2016-17 campaign, Abrahamson-Henderson led the Knights to their best season since joining the American Athletic Conference. Her squad achieved milestone after milestone in her first year at the helm. Finishing the season with a 21-12 overall record, the Knights added 14 to its total in the win column from the previous season. That 14-victory swing was tied for the second-best turnaround among women's Division I basketball teams.
Shocker Summary
Wichita State is 5-11 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) and Houston (55-73). 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 (18.8), rebounding (7.6) and blocks (13) through 16 games. Senior G
Diamond Lockhart ranks second on the team at 10.1 points per game. Senior F
Angiee Tompkins averages 9.8 points and is shooting a team-best 57.0 percent from the floor. Bessard has scored in double-digits in 15 of the team's first 16 contests to open the season with five double-doubles. She is far and away the current leader in double-figure scoring games for Wichita State with 60 career games of 10 or more points. Out of those 60 games, she has led the team in scoring 42 times. Wichita State is averaging 65.7 points per game and allowing 70.1. Through 16 games Shocker opponents are shooting 43.9 percent overall. On the offensive side of the ball, Wichita State is making 43.1 percent of its shots, including 23.8 percent from long range. WSU has converted on 74.4 percent of its attempts from the free throw line. The Shockers have outrebounded their opponents in 13 of the first 16 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 16 games Bessard ranks 15th in free throws made (76), 16th in field goals made (111) and free throw attempts (97), 19th in field goal attempts (242) and 21st in total points (300). Out of American Athletic Conference players only, Bessard ranks first in field goals made, second in free throws made and attempted, fourth in field goal attempts, fifth in free throw percentage and points per game, sixth in total rebounds, ninth in field goal percentage and 11th in rebounds per game.
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 6-11 on the season
... snap a three-game skid
... stop UCF's three-game winning streak
... give them their first win in the series vs. UCF
... make them 1-0 vs. UCF in Orlando
... run Adams' career coaching record to 417-257
... make Adams 290-220 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 576-659 all-time
A Shocker Loss Would...
... drop them to 5-12 on the season
... be their fourth straight loss
... make them 0-1 all-time vs. UCF
... drop them to 0-1 vs. the Knights in Orlando
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 416-258
... make Adams 289-221 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 575-660 all-time
Up Next
Wichita State welcomes the Memphis Tigers to Charles Koch Arena for a 7 p.m. tip on Wednesday, Jan. 10. The Shockers and Tigers can be seen through the Shocker HD portal on GoShockers.com.
