WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State overcame a sluggish first half to pull away from Alcorn State in the season opener, 67-53, Wednesday night in Charles Koch Arena.

Wichita State begins the season 1-0 for the third consecutive season.

DJ McCarty scored a game-high 17 points off the bench behind a career-high 7-of-10 at the free throw line. She added four rebounds and four steals. Trajata Colbert recorded nine points and nine rebounds in the second half, finishing with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Alcorn attempted 17 more field goals than Wichita State thanks to 21 offensive rebounds, but connected on just 27 percent of those attempts, including 2-of-15 from long range. Alcorn also struggled at the free throw lline, going 13-of-26 compared to Wichita State's 20-for-29.

Offensively, Wichita State committed 20 turnovers and converted on only 5-of-17 tries from three.

Wichita State grabbed a 37-29 lead at the half behind nine first half points from Anciaux off the bench. It wasn't until under two minutes left in the second quarter that Wichita State finally got some breathing room. Alcorn took a one-point lead at the 4:50 mark, but Anciaux and Shamaryah Duncan combined to score the last seven points.

Alcorn started the game missing eight of its first nine field goal attempts, but slowly saw the basketball go through the net. They finished the half shooting 33 percent overall despite missing six of seven tries from beyond the arc. Wichita State converted on 41 percent of its attempts in the opening 20 minutes.

Wichita State finally pushed the lead to double digits with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter. That lead would grow to as many as 16 in the final frame behind eight points from McCarty.

Up Next
Wichita State begins a two-game road swing with a trip north to face Omaha on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m.