Wichita State (3-0) at Northern Iowa (2-1)
Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021 | 11 AM CT | McLeod Center
KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM 

WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State wraps up its three-game road trip with a matchup vs. former MVC rival, Northern Iowa, on Saturday in Cedar Falls.

ON THE AIR
Saturday's game can be heard on the radio at KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM with Steve Strain calling the action. Strain is in his eighth season as the radio voice for Wichita State women's basketball. 

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2018 and won its second straight road game in the process. It's the first time since Feb. 2019 the Shockers have won back-to-back road contests. Five Shockers reached double figures, led by Trajata Colbert's first double-double of the season (17 points, 13 rebounds). Mariah McCully scored eight of her 13 points after halftime. Jane Asinde set a season high with 12 points. DJ McCarty filled the stat sheet with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a career-high tying three steals. For the third straight game, Asia Strong finished in double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds. WSU dominated the rebound battle (47-25) with 23 of those coming on the offensive end.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
THE SERIES VS. NORTHERN IOWA
Wichita State and Northern Iowa have met 75 times dating all the way back to Jan. 6, 1984. The two programs played every year from 1984-2017, before WSU's move to The American. UNI has won the last five meetings. Saturday's matchup will be the 35th meeting in Cedar Falls. The Panthers own a 20-14 mark against the Shockers when playing at home.

LAST MEETING  
Wichita State and Northern Iowa met a season ago in an instant classic that saw the Panthers claim a 93-91 victory in double overtime in Charles Koch Arena. Asia Strong was one of four Shockers in double figures with a game-high 22 points, while also grabbing 13 rebounds. It marked her first career double-double. Trajata Colbert scored a career-high 21 points off the bench. Rachel Johnson and Seraphine Bastin added 17 and 16 points, respectively. Wichita State shot 44.7 percent from the field, but committed 25 turnovers. Northern Iowa knocked down 10 triples and shot nearly 50 percent from the field.

ROAD WARRIORS
Wichita State is 3-0 to begin the 2021-22 season with two of those victories coming on the road. The Shockers won two road games all of 2020-21. Wichita State is coming off a Rocky Mountain road trip that saw them defeat Wyoming (57-48) and Denver (76-61). The last time Wichita State won consecutive non-conference road games was all the way back in December 2013. From 2014-20, Wichita State was a combined 2-17 in non-conference road contests.

CONVERTING AT THE CHARITY STRIPE      
Through three games Wichita State is shooting 88.1 percent (37-for-42) at the charity stripe as a team. That 88.1 percent shooting ranks sixth nationally and leads the American Athletic Conference.
Just a season ago Wichita State shot just 67.6 percent at the free throw line. Seraphine Bastin is 11-of-12 (91.7 percent) to start the season, which ranks third in the American and 86th nationally. Seven Shockers have attempted a free throw thus far, and no one has missed more than two. Wichita State was one free throw shy of going perfect at the line vs. Denver (Nov. 15). The Shockers finished the game 16-of-17 (94.1 percent).

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING      
Wichita State is ranked in the top 50 nationally in nine categories after the first three games. The Shockers rank No. 6 in free throw percentage (88.1), No. 16 in offensive rebounds per game (18.7), No. 23 in rebounds (142), No. 26 in turnovers per game (12.0), No. 32 in rebounds per game (47.3), No. 34 in rebound margin (13.7), No. 35 in scoring defense (47.7), No. 47 in turnover margin (7.67) and No. 48 in field goal percentage defense (31.1).

SHOCKERS WIN BIG
Wichita State defeated Chicago State, 78-34, in the season opener on Nov. 9. The 44-point win marked just the third time in the Keitha Adams era the Shockers have won by 40-plus points. Wichita State defeated Alcorn State, 87-46 (+41) in 2017 and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 100-50 (+50) in 2019. Additionally, the 34 points allowed were the fewest an opponent has scored in the Adams era.

STARTING OFF STRONG
Wichita State senior forward Asia Strong has picked up where she left off in 2020-21. Through three games she's averaging a team-high 12.3 points. The South Bend, Ind., native scored 10 or more points in 16 of the team's 18 games, including four games of 20 or more as a junior. In Wichita State's 11 league games, she scored 11 or more in every game and averaged 15.4 points. Strong set a season high in points vs. Tulsa in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Championship with 24 points. She led Wichita State in scoring at 15.2 points per game, which ranked fourth in the American Athletic Conference.

DYNAMIC POINT GUARD
• Wichita State point guard Seraphine Bastin had her best season in a Shocker uniform in 2020-21. Bastin averaged 10.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.3 steals a game, while shooting 78.7 percent from the free throw line. The 5-foot-8 guard led the team in rebounding, assists, steals and double-doubles. In The American, Bastin ranked second in free throw percentage, third in assists, fourth in rebounding and fifth in assist-turnover ratio.

• She is off to another great start on the glass in 2021-22. Her 8.7 rebounds lead the team, and she's already had two games with 10 boards. This season Bastin is doing a majority of her damage on the offensive end with 15 of her 26 rebounds coming off Shocker misfires. Her 5.0 offensive rebounds a game rank 20th nationally and lead the American Athletic Conference.

• Bastin is on the brink of entering the Wichita State top 10 list for career assists, needing only six assists to crack the top 10. Allison Daniel currently holds the No. 10 spot with 308 career dimes. Bastin is already in the top 10 for career assists per game at 3.8. Her 3.8 helpers rank ninth best in school history.

• The Dinant, Belgium, native has a bulldog mentality and that is evident in her rebounding. Bastin led Wichita State and ranked sixth in the American Athletic Conference in rebounding at 7.7 per game and 131 total rebounds in 2020-21. Her 131 rebounds were 15 more than the next closest Shocker, which was Trajata Colbert with 116. Bastin has been one of the program's best rebounders since she arrived in 2018. She has 455 career rebounds, far and away the team's active leader. She has averaged 4.6 rebounds or more every season, including her career best 7.7 in 2020-21.

• With another season of eligibility remaining after the 2021-22 season, Bastin could find herself among the Shocker greats. She is on pace to finish her career with more than 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 400 assists and 150 steals. Only one player in Wichita State history has accomplished that feat - Alex Harden. As it stands now, Bastin has 650 career points, 455 rebounds, 303 assists and 109 steals.

BREMAUD ON THE CAREER CHARTS      
Wichita State junior guard Carla Bremaud comes into the 2021-22 season already in the top 10 for three-pointers attempted in a career at Wichita State. Her 375 three-point attempts place her in sixth and needing one more to pass Haleigh Lankster for fifth in school history. Bremaud also passed Jessica Diamond and Shelley Crow for seventh place on the career three-pointers made list. She now has 121 made treys and is one shy of moving into sole possession of sixth place. Bremaud swished  her 100th career three-pointer vs. Cincinnati on Jan. 2.

SHOCKERS PICKED EIGHTH IN PRESEASON POLL
Wichita State was picked to finish eighth in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. The Shockers garnered 36 points from the league's coaches, just two points behind seventh-place East Carolina. The defending champions, South Florida, was picked to repeat after receiving 10 first place votes and 100 points. UCF (91), Houston (77), Tulane (72) and Temple (69) round out the top five.

STRONG LANDS ON PRESEASON FIRST TEAM
Wichita State senior forward Asia Strong became the first Shocker to earn Preseason All-Conference First Team honors as a member of the American Athletic Conference. The league's coaches voted Strong to the first team after she averaged 15.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game a season ago. Strong was one of six players on the first team, joined by three from South Florida, one from UCF and the preseason Player of the Year, Mia Davis, from Temple.

UP NEXT
The Shockers open a four-game homestand Tuesday night (Nov. 23) vs. Prairie View A&M at 6 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.