TULANE (7-4) at WICHITA STATE (4-8)
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023 | 2 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena 
TV: ESPN+ with Shane Dennis and Tracey Anderson
Radio: GoShockers.com/Listen with Steve Strain  OPENING TIPS
> Wichita State opens American Athletic Conference play at home against Tulane Saturday at 2 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.
> The teams meet for the 13^th time with the series tied at 6-6.
> Senior transfer from Miami (OH) Sierra Morrow made her long-awaited Shocker debut against Kansas after her NCAA transfer waiver was finally approved. She tied for a team-high 12 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds off the bench. In her third game of the season, she scored a career-high 29 points against Oral Roberts to land herself on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll.
> Morrow is averaging 15.3 points per game through her first three games of the season, leading the team in scoring in two of three games.
> Four Shockers are averaging double-digit scoring (Morrow 15.3 ppg, Daniela Abies 12.3 ppg, Tre'zure Jobe 11.8 ppg, Salese Blow 10.1 ppg).
> Jobe has started all 123 games of her collegiate career, including her five years at Emporia State.
> Jobe is ranked 127^th in the nation, fifth in the conference in steals with 24 and 146^th in the nation, fifth in the conference in steals per game with 2.0.
> Abies is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 6.8 rebounds per game with one double-double (18 pts, 11 reb) against Akron. Morrow is also recording 5.7 rebounds per game.
> Abies has finished in double figures in eight of 12 games with three 18-point games and a career-high 19 against Oral Roberts.
> Wichita State ranks in the top 100 nationally in the following categories: No. 38 in free throw attempts per game (21.1), No. 52 in three-point percentage defense (26.7), No. 78 in offensive rebounds per game (13.8), No. 83 in rebound margin (-1.5), and No. 97 in bench points per game (23.2).
> The Shockers are ranked second in the American Athletic Conference in free throw attempts per game.
> First-year head coach Terry Nooner has only one returning starter, DJ McCarty.
> 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.
> Wichita State has only two true freshmen on the roster in Salese Blow (Texas) and Sophia Goncalves (California).
> Blow has scored in double figures four times with a career-high 20 points against Dayton and got her first collegiate start at Belmont. She has led the team in scoring in three games, most recently tying Abies with 18 points against Missouri State.
> Blow claimed the American Athletic Conference's third Freshman of the Week award on Nov. 27 following her 19 points in the win over Omaha and career-high 20 points against Dayton, leading the team in scoring in both contests.
> DJ McCarty is 120 points away from 1,000 career points.
> Morrow is 13 blocks away from 100 career blocks.

SCOUTING TULANE
> Led by 30^th-year head coach Lisa Stockton (33^rd year overall), Tulane (7-4) is coming off a 64-61 win over Maine in the Tulane Holiday Tournament.
> Both the Shockers and Green Wave have dropped a game to Missouri State. Tulane lost 70-60 on Dec. 1 and Wichita State fell 72-65 on Dec. 16.
> Kyren Whittington ranks 10^th in the nation in steals per game (3.27) and 17^th in steals (36). She also is in the top 100 in free throw attempts, free throws made and points per game.
> Whittington has landed on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll twice.
> KaylaH Rainey is top 100 in assists, and assists per game.
> Marta Galic ranks in the top 100 in three point percentage and three pointers per game. Galic joined Sierra Morrow on the last AAC Weekly Honor Roll.
> Three Green Wave players are averaging double-digit scoring with Whittington leading the team with 16.7 points per game, followed by Marta Galic with 14.9 points per game, and Hannah Pratt with 12.4.
> Oral Roberts was picked sixth of 14 teams in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll and currently sit in eighth at 7-4.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. TULANE
> Wichita State and Tulane have met 12 times dating back to 2003.
> The Shockers won the last meeting 69-61 at home last February after falling 76-53 on the road a month prior.
> Wichita State is 3-2 against Tulane in Charles Koch Arena.
 
LAST MEETING
> Jane Asinde and Trajata Colbert both recorded 20-10 double-doubles in the 69-61 win over Tulane in Charles Koch Arena.
> Wichita State struggled from behind the arc, shooting 1-for-11 but made up for it by going 24-for-27 from the free throw line.
> The Shockers out-rebounded Tulane 42-33 and committed just seven turnovers.

NON-CONFERENCE NOTABLES
> Wichita State faced three first-time foes in the non-conference docket, Presbyterian, Belmont and Dayton.
> The Shockers opened their season against No. 23 Oklahoma.
> Belmont (MVC) and Southeastern Louisiana (Southland) were picked to win their respective leagues.
> The Shockers' played two games against teams that finished inside the Top 50 of last year's NCAA NET Rankings (Kansas – 30 and Oklahoma – 38).

LAST TIME OUT
> Wichita State dropped its fourth-consecutive game, falling 76-74 to Oral Roberts in a heartbreaker at home.
> The Golden Eagles overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, going on a 16-2 run.
> Morrow scored a career-high 29 points, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc, including a game-tying three pointer with 17 seconds left in the game.
> Morrow grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and blocked two shots in her third game with the Shockers after sitting the first nine games while awaiting the NCAA's decision on her transfer waiver.
> Abies recorded a career high for the Shockers, scoring 19 points, her fourth time with 18-plus points this season, shooting 8-for-11.
> The Shockers had emphasized their third quarter performance during practices leading up to the game after their third quarter had been their lowest-scoring period in seven games, and Wichita State made the third quarter its best quarter, outscoring the Golden Eagles 22-10.
> The Shockers committed five turnovers in the fourth quarter, and the Golden Eagles capitalized on all five, scoring 10 points off turnovers.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... make them 5-8 on the season
... make them 4-4 at home
... improve their record to 7-6 all-time against Tulane
... bring Terry Nooner's record to 5-8 at Wichita State
... make Wichita State 655-748 all-time

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... make them 4-9 on the season
... make them 3-5 at home
... drop their record to 6-7 all-time against Tulane
... bring Terry Nooner's record to 4-9 at Wichita State
... make Wichita State 654-749 all-time

UP NEXT
Wichita State heads to the Lone Star State for road battles against Rice and UTSA on Jan. 3 and 6, respectively.