WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State opens postseason play with first round action of the Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship against No. 10 Houston Friday.

ON THE AIR
Friday's game can be heard on the radio at KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM with the voice of Shocker Women's Basketball Steve Strain calling the action. Strain is in his sixth season broadcasting games for the women's program. The game will also be televised on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.

NO. 7 SEED SHOCKERS
Wichita State enters the Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship as the No. 7 seed. The Shockers finished the conference season in a four-way tie with Tulane, SMU and Temple at 7-9 in league play. The tiebreaker gave Tulane the No. 5 seed, SMU the No. 6 seed and Temple the No. 8 seed. Wichita State's 7-9 mark is the second-best record the Shockers have put together in three years as members of The American.

WICHITA STATE AT THE AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP
Wichita State is set to make its third appearance at the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Shockers are the No. 7 seed in the 2020 Championship after earning the No. 6 seed in their inaugural season in 2018 and No. 10 seed in 2019. Wichita State has yet to earn a victory at the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Shockers were upset in 2018 by the No. 11 seed Temple Owls, 72-59, and fell to No. 7 Tulsa in 2019, 61-50.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State dropped its lone matchup against UCF in the regular season finale, 95-50 Monday night. With the loss, Wichita State is now 0-3 all-time vs. the Knights. The Shockers gave up season highs in points (95), field goal percentage (56.1 percent) and the 45-point margin was the largest of the season and second largest of the Keitha Adams era. Wichita State was outrebounded by 18, tying for the most this season (-18 at UConn). Trajata Colbert scored a career-high 17 points to lead Wichita State. DJ McCarty added 11 points and Asia Henderson pulled down eight rebounds in her first career start.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Houston enters the matchup at 12-18 overall and 5-11 in league play. Houston is riding a seven-game losing streak. The Cougars defeated Wichita State in the only regular season meeting back on Jan. 25 in overtime, 64-56. Dymond Gladney leads three Cougars in double-figures at 11.4 points per game. Tatyana Hill averages 10.9 points and a team-high tying 6.4  rebounds, while Dorian Branch scores 10.3 per contest. Julia Blackshell-Fair posts 9.9 points to go with team-highs in rebounds (6.4), assists (115) and steals (68). Blackshell-Fair ranks third in the conference and 34th nationally in steals. Her 115 assists also put her third in the league.

THE SERIES VS. HOUSTON
Wichita State and Houston have met six times prior to Friday, with the Cougars winning all six meetings. Houston is 4-0 vs. Wichita State as members of The American. Wichita State and Houston have never met on a neutral floor. The two schools met only once during the regular season, an overtime game the Cougars won 64-56 in Houston.

LAST MEETING
Wichita State dropped the only meeting during the regular season, a 64-56 win for the Cougars in Houston. Wichita State went into halftime with a two-point lead and led by as many as 10 in the game before the Cougars mounted a fourth quarter comeback. Houston outscored Wichita State 11-3 in the overtime session after holding the Shockers to only nine points in the fourth period. Wichita State committed a Keitha Adams era high 38 turnovers in the contest. Five different Shockers had at least five turnovers in the game. Maya Brewer scored a game-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Mariah McCully added 10 points, but was just 4-of-17 from the field and Seraphine Bastin grabbed 10 rebounds.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... make them 16-14 on the season
... snap a two-game skid
... be their first-ever win vs. Houston
... make them 1-6 vs. UH and 1-0 on a neutral floor
... be their first-ever win in the AAC Championship
... run Adams' career coaching record to 453-295
... make Adams 326-258 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 612-697 all-time

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... drop them to 15-15 overall this season
... end the year on a three-game losing streak
... drop them to 0-7 all-time against Houston
... keep them winless at the AAC Championship
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 452-296
... make Adams 325-259 at the Division I level
... make Wichita State 611-698 all-time

BREMAUD SURPASSES 500 CAREER POINTS 
Wichita State sophomore guard Carla Bremaud scored her 500th career point on Saturday, Feb. 29 vs. Cincinnati. She now has 502 for her career through her first two seasons as a Shocker. She is the active career scoring leader for Wichita State and is averaging 8.6 points per game in the 58 games she's suited up. Bremaud is on pace to become the 21st Shocker to score 1,000 career points in the Black & Yellow.

COLBERT SHINES AT UCF
Sophomore Trajata Colbert scored a career-high 17 points - 13 in the second half - in Wichita State's loss at UCF in the regular season finale on March 2. The Rochelle, Ga., native was a career-best 5-of-6 from the free throw line and 6-of-10 from the field.

OH MY MARIAH
Junior Mariah McCully has been on a  scoring tear for the Shockers this season. She has scored 10 or more in 17 of the last 20 games, including two 20-point outings. Her 17-game double-digit streak was snapped at Tulsa on Feb. 23 when she finished with nine points. McCully's 18 games of 10 or more points this season rank first on the team and she is Wichita State's leading scorer on the year at 12.9 per game. The Shockers have three 20-point outings this season, two of which belong to McCully.

REBOUNDING IS THE KEY
When Wichita State wins the rebound battle, the outcome has been positive this season. The Shockers are 11-1 when winning the battle of the boards and 4-13 when they don't. In Wichita State's 15 wins this season, the Shockers are outrebounding their opponents by an average of 4.5 boards a game and grabbing 37.8 in those games. In the 12 losses, they average only 33.0 rebounds and are outrebounded by 6.8.

TURNOVER TULANE 
Wichita State set a season high with 17 steals and forced 26 turnovers - the second most this season. Wichita State has recorded 12 or more steals eight times this season. It was the 13th time forcing 20 or more turnovers. Mariah McCully was responsible for seven of the team's 17 steals - the most since TaQuandra Mike had seven against Northern Iowa on Jan. 1, 2017.

UP NEXT
Should Wichita State eliminate Houston from the American Athletic Conference Championship, the Shockers would face No. 2 seed UCF on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET in the quarterfinals.