WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State unofficially opens year two of the Keitha Adams era with an exhibition matchup vs. Missouri Southern State Thursday night in Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers and Lions will tip at 6:30 p.m.

New Tip Times
This season the Shockers will tip 30 minutes earlier on weeknights and select weekend games. Contests will now start at 6:30 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. like in seasons past.

On The Air
Thursday's game can be heard online at GoShockers.com/listen with the voice of Shocker Women's Basketball Steve Strain calling the action. Strain begins his fifth season broadcasting games for the women's program.
 

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Approaching 300
Wichita State head coach Keitha Adams is just two 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 14 in her first at Wichita State. She has a career record of 298-226.

Youngsters
Wichita State's roster consists of eight true freshmen, one redshirt freshman, one sophomore, two juniors, one redshirt junior and two seniors. All told, the average age of the 2018-19 Shockers is just 19.2 years, making them the second youngest team in the country.

1. SMU - 19.0
    UMBC - 19.0
3. Oklahoma - 19.1
    Georgia Tech - 19.1
5. Wichita State - 19.2
6. Northern Kentucky - 19.3
7. Georgia Southern - 19.33
8. Florida State - 19.4
9. Duke - 19.43
10. FAU - 19.5

2017-18 Season Review
Wichita State put together a 14-17 record in head coach Keitha Adams' first season with the Shockers. After starting the season 0-6, the Shockers went 14-11 the rest of the way, including a season-best six-game winning streak in conference play. Wichita State finished league action with a 9-7 mark and a sixth place finish after being picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches poll. Wichita State recorded its signature win on Jan. 21, 2018 when the Shockers upset No. 23 USF in Charles Koch Arena, 64-56. It marked the first victory over a ranked opponent in 20 years when WSU last defeated No. 25 Missouri State on Dec. 27, 1998. Senior forward Rangie Bessard earned All-Conference Second Team honors after leading the team and ranking third in the conference in scoring at 19.7 points per game. Bessard finished her senior campaign with 610 points, which set a new school record for the most points in a single season. She capped her Shocker career with 1,467 career points, which ranks sixth in the school record books. Seniors Angiee Tompkins and Diamond Lockhart also put together strong seasons. Tompkins ranked second on the team in scoring (10.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg). Lockhart led the team in assists with 97 to go along with 10.3 points per game. Her 94.2 percent shooting from the free throw line obliterated the single season mark. Playing in its first-ever American Athletic Conference Championship, the No. 6 seed Shockers were upset in the first round vs. No. 11 seed Temple, 72-59.

Shockers Picked 10th in Preseason Poll
Wichita State was picked to finish 10th in its inaugural American Athletic Conference season by the league's coaches. The Shockers return just 19.8 percent of their scoring from a season ago after the graduation of eight seniors, including All-Conference selection Rangie Bessard. WSU will feature only two seniors (Cesaria Ambrosio and Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage) on the 2018-19 squad and just five upperclassmen total. Ten newcomers - eight of them true freshmen - make up two-thirds of second year Adams' roster. Wichita State is coming off a 14-17 overall record and tying for fifth with a 9-7 mark in their inaugural season as members of the American Athletic Conference.

International Flavor
For the second season in a row, the Shocker basketball team will feature several players from international countries. Cesaria Ambrosio (Fully, Switzerland) and Alyssia Faye (Valence, France) return along with three newcomers hailing from overseas - Natalia Ryng (Gdynia, Poland), Carla Bremaud (Angers, France) and Seraphine Bastin (Dinant, Belgium). Associate Head Coach Ewa Laskowska leads the charge in international recruiting thanks to Stalowa Wola, Poland, being her hometown. Graduate assistant manager Ruta Savickaite (Vilnius, Lithuania) begins her first season on the Shocker staff after playing collegiately at Western Kentucky and Southern Indiana.