The RoundHouse | 11/19/2021 4:44:00 PM

 
Take a breath, Trajata Colbert says. It helps.
 
Before each game, before the coaches enter to deliver their final message, the Wichita State women's basketball team gathers. The purpose is to breathe and focus on the next four quarters.
 
"We inhale and we exhale," Colbert said. "To calm our nerves. I asked (teammates) if they wanted to take breathing exercises and they were like 'Yeah, Jata, let's breathe.' And that's when we won our first regular-season game."
 
The Shockers took that routine on the road last weekend and won at Wyoming (57-48) and Denver (76-61), winning back-to-back non-conference road games for the first time since 2013. On Saturday, Wichita State (3-0) plays at Northern Iowa (2-1) at 11 a.m. (KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM).
 
"It helps you relax, even though you're nervous," Wichita State junior Jane Asinde said. "Let it in and let it out."
 
Wichita State won the turnover battle in both games. It held Wyoming to 31.5 percent shooting. It outscored Denver by 10 points at the foul line and generated 18 more shots by grabbing 23 offensive rebounds and scoring 26 points on second shots. Colbert grabbed six of those offensive rebounds, part of her17-point, 13-rebound performance.
 
Wyoming bills its Arena-Auditorium as the highest elevation in NCAA Division I basketball. The elevation of 7,220 feet is displayed prominently as a reminder to visitors. Shockers coach Keitha Adams said the team's success started with conditioning and toughness to combat fatigue.
 
"Our defense was a big factor," she said. "What was really awesome was that all of our kids were really, really having a good time, having fun with another after the game in the locker room. They're about each other and supporting each other."
 
That is an example of the passion Adams talked to the Shockers about before the games.
 
 

Hungry for more. We're just getting started.#watchus pic.twitter.com/ZYPsrREDha

— Wichita State Women's Basketball (@GoShockersWBB) November 17, 2021

"Everybody bought into that, and we all just came out with passion," Colbert said. "Focus. Not let the crowd get to us. We really stuck to our game plan."
 
The Shockers made a season-high seven of 20 three-pointers at Wyoming but shot poorly (36.7 percent) overall. Against Denver, they missed 10 of 12 threes, but made 16 of 17 foul shots. They scored 19 points off 17 turnovers by the Pioneers.
 
Winning on the road often requires a team to survive cold shooting.
 
"We played together and we had passion," Asinde said. "If you have a mission and you're determined, you can do anything."
 
The Shockers put that theory to the test on Saturday against the Panthers. Last season, UNI came to Koch Arena and defeated the Shockers 93-91 in double overtime.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.