LAS VEGAS – Wichita State shot a season-low 28 percent in the first game of the Duel in the Desert, falling to Northwestern 65-43 Wednesday night at the Cox Pavilion.

Wichita State (6-5) will play Washington State tomorrow at 2:30 PST in the third-place game of the Duel in the Desert.

Alyssia Faye scored a team-high 11 points to go with five rebounds. Carla Bremaud and Shyia Smith added nine points apiece, while Smith grabbed a team-leading seven boards.

The Shockers hit just 2-of-18 attempts from beyond the arc and attempted only eight free throws compared to 22 for Northwestern. Northwestern also registered 14 steals and 10 blocked shots – both season highs by an opponent.

After a hot-shooting first half, NU finished the game shooting only 38 percent. Abi Scheid led all scorers with 13 points.

Wichita State burned a timeout five minutes into the game after the Wildcats shot out to a 17-0 lead. The Shockers would miss their first seven field goal attempts, while committing eight turnovers before a Maya Brewer driving layup got WSU on the board, but still trailed 20-2 with 3:34 to go in the opening quarter.

The Wildcats would shoot 50 percent from the field in the quarter and take a 29-8 lead into the second.

Another 5-plus minute scoring drought allowed Northwestern to extend its lead to 41-10 with 3:40 remaining in the half.

A Bremaud three-pointer would break the scoring drought with just a little over 2:00 minutes on the clock. WSU added one more score from Jada Peacock to end the half trailing 48-15.

Bremaud led the Shockers with five first half points and no other player had more than two. WSU shot a first half season low 22 percent to go with 19 turnovers. On the other end the Wildcats hit 44 percent of their attempts, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. NU also got to the free throw line 18 times, making 13 of them.

The final three minutes of the third quarter would see WSU go on an 8-0 spurt to pump a little energy into the team. The Shockers outscored NU 17-11 in the frame, but still trailed 59-32 after three quarters.

Wichita State opened the final quarter scoring the first eight points and holding the Wildcats scoreless for the first seven minutes. The Shockers trimmed the lead to 19 before a cold spell of their own kept the lead hovering around 20 for the remainder of the game.