WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State is set to play its final home game of the 2017- 18 season Saturday afternoon when Tulane comes to Charles Koch Arena. Following the game, Wichita State will recognize the eight seniors playing in their final contest in the Roundhouse.
On the Air
Saturday's game can be heard online through the Shocker HD portal on 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 televised on COX YurView (HD 2022) and streamed online through ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Denning Gerig and Zach Bush on the call.
70.0%
Wichita State broke the school record for field goal percentage in a single game in the win Wednesday night vs. Temple. The Shockers converted 35-of-50 attempts - good for 70.0 percent - to obliterate the previous record of 65.4 percent. Earlier this season, WSU tied that mark in the win vs. Alcorn State.
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 Green Wave
Tulane comes into the matchup sporting a 12-15, 4-10 record. Wichita State won the first meeting this season in New Orleans, 64-56. The Green Wave own wins over Maine (42-34), Vanderbilt (71-59), San Diego State (80-46), McNeese (70-66), New Orleans (79-56), Middle Tennessee (62-44), Troy (106-75), UTEP (67-56), Tulsa (72-63 and 70-39), ECU (64-58) and Temple (69-65). Kolby Morgan leads Tulane in scoring at 19.3 points per game. Morgan ranks fifth in The American in scoring and minutes played per game. Kayla Manuirirangi has a team-high 103 assists to go with 8.4 points. Harlyn Wyatt pulls down 6.0 rebounds to go with 24 blocks. Tulane averages 62.7 points per game and allows 66.4 a contest.
Wichita State-SMU Leftovers
Wichita State leads the all-time series with SMU, 4-2, after sweeping the season series with the Mustangs... Wichita State held SMU to 43 and 45 points in the two meetings this season, the two lowest totals for a Shocker opponent... The Shockers held the Mustangs to single digits in both the second and third quarters... The 18 made field goals and 48 field goal attempts tied season lows... Senior F
Rangie Bessard scored a game-high 16 points... Senior G
Keke Thompson finished with 12 points and six rebounds... Senior F
Angiee Tompkins pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, marking her second game of the season with 10 or more boards.
Approaching 300
Wichita State head coach
Keitha Adams is just four 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 10 in the middle of her first at Wichita State. She has a career record of 296-225.
Block Party
Junior F
Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage has upped her game on the defensive end during Wichita State's recent run of games. Over her last 10 games, Lozada-Cabbage has blocked 22 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 10 games, Wichita State is averaging 5.0 blocks per game as a team. The Shockers averaged 2.9 in the first 18 games.
Shockers in Conference
In American Athletic Conference games only, the Shockers rank in the top five in scoring offense (5th), free throw percentage (1st), field goal percentage (2nd), rebounding defense (2nd), rebound margin (5th), blocked shots (3rd), assists (2nd), steals (5th), turnover margin (t-5th), assist-turnover ratio (4th), offensive rebounds (5th) and offensive rebound percentage (2nd). Individually,
Rangie Bessard ranks second in scoring (20.8), fourth in rebounding (7.5), seventh in free throw percentage (.839), fifth in offensive rebounds (2.9) and fifth in blocked shots (1.4).
Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage is fourth in blocked shots (1.9).
Bessard in Conference Action
Through the first 14 games of conference play, senior forward
Rangie Bessard is posting 20.8 points and 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 85.0 percent from the free throw line. Bessard has produced a 20-10 double-double in four of the 14 American games.
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 26 games in 2017-18, Lockhart has scored 262 points (10.1 ppg), while making 103-of-256 (40.2 percent) shots from the field.
| Stat |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
| GP |
31 |
26 |
| GS |
17 |
26 |
| Minutes |
572 |
822 |
| FG Made |
40 |
103 |
| FG Attempts |
109 |
256 |
| Free Throws Made |
15 |
43 |
| Free Throw Attempts |
21 |
46 |
| Points |
105 |
262 |
| Rebounds |
59 |
101 |
| Assists |
38 |
85 |
| Steals |
23 |
37 |
The Series with Tulane
Wichita State and Tulane have met only twice prior to Saturday's matchup with the series all tied up at 1-1. The Shockers and Green Wave have never met in Wichita.
Last Meeting
Wichita State defeated Tulane, 64-56, in New Orleans a little over a month ago on Jan. 13. The Shocker defense held Tulane to 36.8 percent shooting, forced 20 turnovers and had a season-high 12 blocks and 16 steals.
Rangie Bessard stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 blocks.
Cesaria Ambrosio tallied a career-high 13 points and
Diamond Lockhart added 11 points.
Shocker Summary
Wichita State is 12-16 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 62-73), UCF (53-59), ECU (67-77), Cincinnati (69-75) and No. 1 UConn (43-124). 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 52-45, No. RV/23 USF, 64-56 and Temple, 88-81. Senior F
Rangie Bessard leads Wichita State in scoring (19.5) and rebounding (7.4) through 28 games. Senior G
Diamond Lockhart ranks second on the team at 10.1 points per game. Senior F
Angiee Tompkins averages 9.9 points and is shooting a team-best 51.7 percent from the floor. Bessard has scored in double-digits in 27 of the team's 28 contests this season with seven double-doubles. She is far and away the current leader in double-figure scoring games for Wichita State with 72 career games of 10 or more points. Out of those 72 games, she has led the team in scoring 53 times. Wichita State is averaging 65.2 points per game and allowing 69.1. Shocker opponents are shooting 43.7 percent overall. On the offensive side of the ball, Wichita State is making 43.5 percent of its shots, including 26.2 percent from long range. WSU has converted on 76.9 percent of its attempts from the free throw line. The Shockers have outrebounded their opponents in 18 of the 28 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-30 of the NCAA in five offensive categories. Through 28 games Bessard ranks 15th in free throws made (141), 23rd in free throw attempts (174) and field goals made (200), 25th in total points (547) and 26th in field goal attempts (441). Out of American Athletic Conference players only, Bessard ranks first in field goals made, second in free throws made and attempted, third in field goal attempts, fourth in total point, points per game and free throw percentage, sixth in rebounds, seventh in blocks per game and eighth in field goal percentage and rebounds per game.
A Shocker Win Would...
... make them 13-16 on the season
... run their record to 8-7 in conference play
... lift them to 2-1 all-time vs. Tulane
... give them their second straight win vs. Tulane
... make them 1-0 vs. the Green Wave in Wichita
... improve their record to 355-222 all-time in Charles Koch Arena
... run Adams' career coaching record to 424-262
... make Adams 297-225 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 583-664 all-time
A Shocker Loss Would...
... drop them to 12-17 on the season
... send them to 7-8 in the league this season
... drop them to 1-2 all-time vs. Tulane
... snap a two-game win streak
... drop them to 0-1 vs. the Green Wave in Wichita
... make them 354-223 all-time in Charles Koch Arena
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 423-263
... make Adams 296-226 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 582-665 all-time
Up Next
Wichita State concludes the regular season with Havoc in the Heartland. The Shockers visit Tulsa on Monday for a 7 p.m. tip on the American Digital Network.
