ST. THOMAS (3-1) vs. WICHITA STATE (1-2)
Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024 | 2 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
TV: ESPN+ with Tracy Anderson and Shane Dennis
Radio: GoShockers.com/Listen with Pat Strathman 

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Family Day: Purchase four (4) or more full-priced tickets and receive as many vouchers for a free hot dog, popcorn, and drink at the concession stand.
Canned Food Drive: Bring your canned food donations to the game in exchange for a pair of WSU socks.
Postgame Shootaround

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OPENING TIP
Wichita State is looking to even its record as it welcomes St. Thomas to Charles Koch Arena on Saturday for the teams' first-ever meeting.
Wichita State has entered year two of the Terry Nooner era, opening its season with a five-game home stretch.
With nine newcomers on the team, the Shockers return 37.6 percent of their scoring.
Sophomore Salese Blow has led the Shockers in scoring in the last two games with 16 points against Belmont and 17 points against Missouri State, shooting 4-for-7 from three in the latter.
George Mason transfer and Wichita native Taylor Jameson came home for her final season of collegiate basketball and is making a splash early in the season. She finished in double figures in each of the first three games and dished out a career-high seven assists against Missouri State.
Junior transfer from TCU, Bre'Yon White, opened the season with a game-high four steals in the win over Oklahoma Christian and has led the Shockers in rebounding in each of the last two games.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State dropped its second-straight game, falling to Missouri State, 82-77, Wednesday night in Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers battled back from a 15-point deficit to tie it up in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Bears held them off. Four Shockers finished in double figures, led by sophomore Salese Blow with 17 points. Blow tied her career high for made threes, shooting 4-for-7 from behind the arc. Graduate transfer Taylor Jameson scored a season-high 16 points with a career-high seven assists, freshman KP Parr tallied a career-high 13 points, and redshirt-junior Jayla Murray scored 11 points. Junior Bre'Yon White grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and scored eight points.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
After three games, the Shockers lead the American Athletic Conference in offensive rebounds per game with 19.0, ranking 12^th in the nation. Wichita State also ranks second in the AAC in overall rebounds per game (45.3) and 40^th in the nation.
 
Taylor Jameson ranks second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (2.4).
 
LEADING LADIES
Through three games, two Shockers are averaging double figures with Salese Blow leading the team with 13.7 points per game and Taylor Jameson averaging 13.0. Bre'Yon White is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 7.8 rebounds per game, and Jayla Murray is averaging 7.0 rebounds per game with one double-double.

SCOUTING THE TOMMIES
Led by 20th-year head coach Ruth Sinn, St. Thomas is coming off an 80-47 loss to No. 8 Iowa State on Thursday evening after winning its first three games against Milwaukee, Crown College and Northern Illinois. Three Tommies are averaging double figures through the first four games, led by Jade Hill with 18.3 points per game, while Jo Langbehn and Amber Scalia are averaging 14.5 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. Hill and Scalia were both named to the Preseason All-Summit League Second Team. Sammy Opichka is leading the Tommies in rebounding with 7.5 per game. St. Thomas was picked fifth of nine teams in the Summit League Preseason Poll after finishing fifth in the regular season in 2023-24.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. ST. THOMAS
Wichita State and St. Thomas meet for the first time in program history. St. Thomas, Minnesota's largest private university, is the first program in the NCAA's modern era to reclassify directly from Division III to Division I, beginning in 2021. With the four-year NCAA reclassification process for schools that transition to the Division I level, St. Thomas will be ineligible for NCAA postseason competition until 2025-26.
 
NOT SO NEW-COMERS
Between the nine new additions to the 2024-25 Wichita State roster, they combine for 20 years of collegiate basketball experience. Nooner brought in three Division I transfers: Taylor Jameson from George Mason, Aicha Ndour from Illinois and Bre'Yon White from TCU.
 
Princess Anderson (Pratt CC), Kyleigh Ortiz (Coffeyville CC), Jasmine Peaks (Indian River State), and Maimouna Sissoko (Cloud County CC) all transferred from junior colleges, joining Jayla Murray (Florida SouthWestern State) and Ornella Niankan (Odessa College) to make six Shockers who began their careers in the NJCAA.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
The Shockers' roster features international athletes from five different countries, including Canada (Ornella Niankan), France (Fiona Diomande), Mali (Maimouna Sissoko), Mozambique (Carla Budane), and Senegal (Aicha Ndour).
 
BOBO DA SHOW
Salese Blow, nicknamed BoBo by her mom when Salese couldn't pronounce the L in her last name as a kid, enters her sophomore season after claiming three American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week awards in 2023-24. As a freshman, she increased her scoring from non-conference to conference play, leading the Shockers in points per game against AAC opponents with 13.5. She recorded 21 double-figure scoring games with five 20+ point performances.
 
MURRAY ON THE RISE
Redshirt-junior Jayla Murray is back and better than ever after a summer spent in the gym and improving her nutrition. Further removed from her ACL injury, Murray, who averaged 7.1 points per game a season ago, is playing with more confidence.
 
NEW HEIGHTS
Senior transfer from Illinois, Aicha Ndour, is the tallest player in Wichita State history at 6-6.
 
SUMMER WELL SPENT
The Shockers embarked on a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands from July 28-August 2, where they played two games against Canadian team, Regina. The trip allowed the team to bond and experience a different culture, growing as a unit on and off the court. Wichita State won the first game 81-76 and the second game 69-60.