WICHITA STATE at OKLAHOMA
Monday, Nov. 6 | Noon CT
Norman, Okla. | Lloyd Noble Center
TV: ESPN+ (Chad McKee and Dan Hughes)
Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM with Steve Strain
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State officially begins year one of the
Terry Nooner era on the road against No. 23 Oklahoma Monday afternoon at the Lloyd Noble Center.
This marks the 22nd meeting between the Shockers and the Sooners and the 10th in Norman.
WIchita State opens its season on the road for the first time since 2016-17 when they played Creighton in Omaha, Neb.
First-year head coach
Terry Nooner retained nine of 13 potential returners from 2022-23, including the lone returning starter,
DJ McCarty, the Shockers' assists and steals leader from 2022-23. He also maintained the commitment of
Salese Blow, who signed with the Shockers prior to Nooner's appointment.
Wichita State returns just 34.7 percent of its scoring from a season ago, having lost its top two leading scorers and three other triple-digit point scorers.
Trajata Colbert and
Curtessia Dean exhausted their eligibility, and three of the top six scorers departed through the transfer portal.
The Shockers were ranked 11th in the American Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.
Wichita native,
Tre'Zure Jobe, a two-time NCAA Division II All-American who scored over 2,000 points in her career at Emporia State, joins the Shockers for her final year of eligibility, and
Ella Anciaux returns for her junior season after a summer of much improvement and development.
No. 23 Oklahoma is coming off a 113-38 exhibition win over West Texas A&M after a 26-7 season in 2022-23, in which the Sooners made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where the fell to No. 4-seed UCLA. Oklahoma was led by two newcomers, Lexy Keys (Sr.) and Sahara Williams (Fr.), who put up 23 and 20 points, respectively.
The Sooners return their leading rebounder Skylar Vann, who was named to the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, as well as Liz Scott, who was named to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List. Vann averaged 11.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, and Scott averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game a season ago.
Oklahoma lost its 2022-23 leading scoring Madi Williams, along with their second-highest point scorer, Ana Llanusa.
AROUND THE WORLD
The Shockers' roster features international athletes from four different countries, including Canada (
Ornella Niankan and
Raissa Nsabua), Mozambique (
Carla Budane), Australia (
Ambah Kowcun) and Spain (
Daniela Abies). Wichita State also represents seven U.S. states with two Wichita natives,
Ella Anciaux and Jobe.
JUCO PRODUCTS
Redshirt-sophomore forward
Jayla Murray joins
Ambah Kowcun,
Ornella Niankan,
Raissa Nsabua and
Jeniah Thompson to make five junior college transfers on the Shockers' roster. Murray brings a season and a half of experience from Florida SouthWestern State, where she was the 2022 Southern Conference Player of the Year and earned third team NJCAA All-America recognition.
HALL OF FAMER
Shocker legend, Alex Harden, has officially been selected as a member of the 2024 Class of the Wichita State Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame. Harden is Wichita State's all-time leading scorer with 1,708 points, an honorable mention All-American and the 2015 MVC Player of the Year. She will be inducted on Jan. 27.
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... Make them 1-0 for the fourth-straight season.
... Be
Terry Nooner's first win as a head coach.
... Make them 8-14 vs. Oklahoma all time.
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... Make them 0-1 for the first time since 2019-20.
... Make
Terry Nooner 0-1 as Wichita State head coach.
... Make them 7-15 all-time vs. Oklahoma.
UP NEXT: PRESBYTERIAN
Wednesday, Nov. 8 | 11:00 a.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
ESPN+ | GoShockers.com/Listen
