Women's Basketball | 1/15/2020 9:27:00 PM

 
The Shockers described the first quarter in blunt terms.
 
"Really terrible," said guard Carla Bremaud.
 
"An iceberg," said coach Keitha Adams. "Frustrating."
 
Those levels of despair, however, did not last for Wichita State. The Shockers kept working on defense, added some passion, kept following the game-plan and pounded the offensive glass. The despair swapped sidelines and the Shockers rolled to a 57-46 win over Tulsa on Wednesday at Koch Arena.
 
"That first half was ugly," guard Seraphine Bastin said. "We had to face adversity and win as a team."
 
The Shockers (10-7, 2-2 American Athletic Conference) trailed 16-4 after the first quarter and 28-15 at halftime. They missed 12 of their first 14 shots and 22 of 29 in the half. They committed 10 turnovers.
 
They did not let those missed layups and bad passes sink into their brains. They regrouped at halftime, confident that their guards could get into the lane and start making shots. They planned to use their depth to win the offensive boards and their defense – not bad in the first half – locked down in the second.
 
"The thing I talked to the team about (at halftime) was that we had zero free throw attempts," Adams said. "We really talked about trying to turn the corner and attack and get in the paint more. We needed to get to the free throw line in the second half."
 
Bastin led that charge, pushing the ball after turnovers and driving to the basket after using screens. The Shockers made 10 of 14 shots and 5 of 6 free throws in the third quarter and took a 41-38 lead on Bremaud's three-pointer. Bastin scored nine of her 13 points in the quarter. Bremaud added five of her 13, four rebounds and assist during those 10 minutes.
 
Bastin turned a rebound into a three-point play to cut Tulsa's lead to 33-28. The Shockers threw a press at Tulsa, caused a backcourt violation and Trajata Colbert scored to cut the deficit to three points. Two foul shots by Bastin followed by a Mariah McCully basket gave Wichita State a 34-33 lead.
 
Bremaud's three at the end of the quarter grabbed the lead for good. A sequence in which the Shockers grabbed three offensive rebounds and then another after a missed free throw led to a putback for Asia Henderson and a 43-38 lead and signaled that the Shockers were winning the physical matchup.
 
"Winning the boards was huge against this team," Adams said. 
 
The numbers flipped in the second half. Wichita State outscored Tulsa 42-18 over the final 20 minutes by making 15 of 30 shots and 10 of 14 free throws. The Shockers trapped Tulsa guard Alexis Gaulden to disrupt the offense. Tulsa's Kendrian Elliott, from Wichita, scored 13 points in the first half, on 5-of-7 shooting, and finished with 16 on 6-of-11.
 
The Shockers closed out harder on shooters, contested almost every shot and rebounded fiercely in the second half. 
 
"It got a little heated in there," Adams said, "It got physical. In the second half, we had a lot more passion."
 
The Hurricane (5-12, 0-4) missed 11 of 15 shots in the third quarter and 11 of 14 in the fourth. Adams credited Shyia Smith for defending Elliott and everyone for continuing to work on defense despite the shooting problems.
 
"Defense is everything," Bastin said. "You have to stay strong."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.