WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State's struggles continued Saturday afternoon with a 65-59 loss to Cincinnati in Charles Koch Arena, the team's fourth consecutive loss after opening the season 3-0.

Wichita State (3-4, 0-2) is now 0-5 all-time vs. Cincinnati. The Bearcats entered the matchup riding their own five-game losing streak.

Asia Strong scored a team-high 15 points to go with six rebounds, marking her sixth game in double figures this season. Mariah McCully also scored 15 points and Carla Bremaud knocked down four three-pointers on the way to 12 points. Seraphine Bastin finished two points shy of a triple-double, tallying eight points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. It is her second straight game with a double-double.

Wichita State committed only two turnovers after halftime, but struggled putting the ball in the basket. The Shockers shot 37 percent, 7-of-22 from beyond the arc and 6-of-12 at the free throw line.

Cincinnati (2-5, 1-2) won the rebound battle by seven and shot 42 percent from the field, led by the nation's second leading scorer in IImar'I Thomas. Thomas scored a game-high 24 points to go with 17 rebounds.

An Asia Strong jumper put the Shockers on the board first, but Cincinnati would score 14 unanswered over the next 3:58. Wichita State turned the ball over five times and went 0-for-4 from the field during the stretch.

Wichita State's defense would pick up its activity, leading to a 12-2 run to close the quarter. Behind six points from Strong, the Shockers trailed by only two, 16-14, after 10 minutes. The two teams combined for 15 turnovers in the opening period.

The second quarter opened with five lead changes between the two teams, as Cincinnati held a 24-23 lead just over the midway point.

Cincinnati scored the final four points to take a halftime lead of 31-27 into the locker room. Thomas led all scorers with 11 points and nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action. The trio of Strong (9), McCully (8) and Bastin (6) scored 23 of the team's 27 first half points.

Neither team had much luck shooting from long range, as Cincinnati made only 2-of-7 to Wichita State's 1-of-6. The same could be said in the turnover category as the two had 24 miscues between both squads, 13 for UC and 11 for WSU.

With 3:59 remaining the score was tied at 40, but the Bearcats would finish the quarter on an 11-3 run to build a 51-43 lead.

The Shockers trailed by as many as 10 in the final quarter and never came closer than six points.

Up Next
Conference play ramps up with a trip to Tampa, Fla., to face No. 21 USF on Saturday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.