WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State returns to Charles Koch Arena to host the Memphis Tigers for a midweek matchup at 7 p.m.
On the Air
Wednesday's game can be heard through 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 streamed online through the Shocker HD portal on GoShockers.com.
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 Tigers
Memphis comes into the matchup sporting a 6-9, 1-1 record. The Tigers own wins over Tennessee State (79-75), UAB (64-62), Vanderbilt (71-60), Jackson State (64-53), Grambling State (57-48) and ECU (72-36). Memphis' losses came to Little Rock (57-86), Louisiana Tech (40- 65), SIU (56-68), Ohio State (69-100), DePaul (67-81), Kent State (55-70), IUPUI (57-80) and UConn (49-97). Cheyenne Creighton leads the way at 15.4 points and 9.1 rebounds. Brea Elmore ranks second on the team with a 14.1 points per game average. Taylor Barnes leads Memphis in assists with 47. Memphis averages 60.3 points per game and allows 69.6 a contest.
Wichita State-UCF Leftovers
Wichita State dropped to 0-1 all-time vs. UCF... The Shockers were outrebounded for just the fourth time this season (33-29)... Wichita State was a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line... Senior F
Rangie Bessard moved into 14th place on the Wichita State all-time scoring list, passing Tootie Shaw... Bessard scored a game-high 17 points, her 16th game in double-figures this season... Senior G
Diamond Lockhart added 11 points, marking her eighth game of the season with 10 or more points... A native of Orlando, senior
Angiee Tompkins played in front of a large contingent of friends and family.
Double-Double Up
Through the first three games of conference play,
Rangie Bessard is averaging a double-double. Bessard is posting 20.3 points and 10.0 rebounds, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 84.6 percent from the free throw line. She is the only Shocker averaging double-figures in scoring in league action.
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 17 games in 2017-18, Lockhart has scored 172 points (10.1 ppg), while making 68-of-165 (41.2 percent) shots from the field.
| Stat |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
| GP |
31 |
17 |
| GS |
17 |
17 |
| Minutes |
572 |
521 |
| FG Made |
40 |
68 |
| FG Attempts |
109 |
165 |
| Free Throws Made |
15 |
30 |
| Free Throw Attempts |
21 |
32 |
| Points |
105 |
172 |
| Rebounds |
59 |
64 |
| Assists |
38 |
50 |
| Steals |
23 |
21 |
The Series with Memphis
Wichita State and Memphis have met only twice prior to Wednesday's matchup with the Tigers winning both meetings. The last time the two schools met, Memphis handed the Shockers a 74-58 loss on March 21, 2010 in Memphis, Tenn.
About the Tigers
Located in Memphis, Tenn, the University of Memphis has an enrollment of 21,301 as a member of the American Athletic Conference. Memphis returns eight letterwinners, including four starters off last year's squad that finished 14-16 and 7-9 in The American. The Tigers finished tied for fifth in the league a season ago. Last year, Brea Elmore and Cheyenne Creighton earned AAC Third-Team honors. Memphis was picked to finish seventh in the preseason coaches poll of The American in 2017-18. The Tigers graduated Taylor Williams last year, the player with the most experience on the 2016-17 roster. Memphis, however, returns four starters including Cheyenne Creighton who started in every single game last year and led the team with 34.7 minutes played. The Tigers also return Breigha Wilder-Cochran, who is the most experienced player on McFerrin's squad. Wilder-Cochran has played in 100 games for Memphis with starts in 70 of them. Creighton is now just 46 points shy of becoming the 24th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 points in her career. Melissa McFerrin enters her 10th season as the head coach. McFerrin has a career record of 210-211 during her 14 years as a head coach. McFerrin is the third-winningest coach in Memphis history. She has recorded three victories over top-25 foes, most recently No. 20 USF in 2017. McFerrin has led the Tigers to five WNIT appearances including three straight from 2011-13. She led Memphis to the postseason in four straight seasons (2009-13) which was the longest postseason stretch since 1995-2001. Prior to Memphis, she helped rebuild American University and guided the Eagles to a WNIT appearance in 2008.
Shocker Summary
Wichita State is 5-12 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 and Alcorn State, 87-46. Senior F
Rangie Bessard leads Wichita State in scoring (18.6), rebounding (7.7) and blocks (14) through 17 games. Senior G
Diamond Lockhart ranks second on the team at 10.1 points per game. Senior F
Angiee Tompkins averages 9.6 points and is shooting a team-best 53.8 percent from the floor. Bessard has scored in double-digits in 16 of the team's first 17 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 61 career games of 10 or more points. Out of those 61 games, she has led the team in scoring 43 times. Wichita State is averaging 64.9 points per game and allowing 69.5. Through 17 games Shocker opponents are shooting 43.8 percent overall. On the offensive side of the ball, Wichita State is making 42.9 percent of its shots, including 24.4 percent from long range. WSU has converted on 75.3 percent of its attempts from the free throw line. The Shockers have outrebounded their opponents in 13 of the first 17 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 17 games Bessard ranks 19th in free throws made (79), 20th in free throw attempts (100), 24th in field goal attempts (258) and 25th in field goals made (118). Out of American Athletic Conference players only, Bessard ranks second in free throws made and attempted, third in field goals made, fourth in total points and field goal attempts, fifth in free throw percentage, points per game and total rebounds and eighth 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 6-12 on the season
... give them their first-ever win in The American
... snap a four-game skid
... give them their first win in the series vs. Memphis
... make them 1-0 vs. Memphis in Wichita
... improve their record to 351-220 all-time in Charles Koch Arena
... run Adams' career coaching record to 417-258
... make Adams 290-221 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 576-660 all-time
A Shocker Loss Would...
... drop them to 5-13 on the season
... send them to 0-4 in the league this season
... be their fifth straight loss
... make them 0-3 all-time vs. Memphis
... drop them to 0-1 vs. the Tigers in Wichita
... make them 350-221 all-time in Charles Koch Arena
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 416-259
... make Adams 289-222 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 575-661 all-time
Up Next
Wichita State makes its first trip to the Big Easy (New Orleans, La.) as a member of The American to face Tulane on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 2:30 p.m. CT.
