The RoundHouse | 10/31/2024 5:47:00 AM
By Paul Suellentrop
Wichita State's defense put up impressive numbers on Wednesday by forcing 31 turnovers and holding Northeastern State to 15 baskets.
The Shockers forced three five-second calls in their 81-46 exhibition win over the NCAA Division II team at Koch Arena. They recorded 14 steals, three by
Jayla Murray. Coach
Terry Nooner's goal is to record at least seven sequences of three straight scoreless possessions. The Shockers gave him eight.
That effort, however, did not satisfy Nooner, who has high expectations for his second season at Wichita State.
"I don't think I'll ever be happy," he said. "I looked at the turnovers and I was pretty shocked. I didn't think we played as hard as I thought we should."
The Shockers played hard enough to roll over the RiverHawks, who lost 88-54 at Arkansas on Friday. They forced the first five-second call 36 minutes into the game. Freshman
KP Parr fought around a bigger opponent in the post to steal a pass.
Minutes later, Parr harassed a guard into throwing the ball out of bound. Murray dove on the floor for a loose ball, passed to
Taylor Jameson, who hit
Jordan Jackson for a three-pointer and a 36-15 lead.
In all, the RiverHawks spent much of the shot clock dribbling with their back to the basket in an attempt to protect the ball. Wichita State's aggressive defensive, pestering dribblers all over the court, turned errant passes, steals, traveling calls and other mistakes into 28 points.
"Forcing turnovers is definitely something we look to do," Jameson said. "It gave us a lot of energy. It helps to be able to score in transition."
Jameson led that energy with her defense at guard by disrupting Northeastern guards as they tried to run an offense. Shocker guards either ruined the flow of the RiverHawks offense or rushed them into late shot-clock situations by taking them out of their preferred path and timing.
"Taylor heads the defense," Nooner said. "If you have a good point guard who can really guard the ball full court without fouling, you're going to have a real successful defense."
Jameson led the Shockers with 16 points and four assists, with no turnovers. She made 4 of 8 three-pointers and added two steals in 19 minutes.
The performance capped a significant moment for the Wichita native who watched the Shockers as a youngster. She played at Heights High and was thrilled to return to Wichita after transferring from George Mason.
"It was an out-of-body experience, I have to admit," she said. "Warming up, I was like 'Whoa, I actually play for this team.' Seeing my name on the back of the jersey, it meant a lot. Being able to do it in front of my family also meant a lot."
The video will give the Shockers many items to work on before Monday's opener against NCAA Division II Oklahoma Christian. The team's total of 13 turnovers – three in the second half – pleased Nooner. However, he promised more work at the line after the Shockers missed 20 of their 37 foul shots (45.9 percent).
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
