The RoundHouse | 11/16/2024 5:18:00 PM
By Paul Suellentrop
Wichita State leaned on
Taylor Jameson for offense, defense, the clutch and the improbable on Saturday.
She led the Shockers with 18 points in the 69-64 win over St. Thomas (Minn.). She took a significant share of the defensive work on Tommies leading scorer Jade Hill, who went 2 for 11 from the field and scored four points, 14 below her average.
"She got going and she's the spark plug and energy for our team," assistant coach
Antwain Scales said.
Jameson made three of four free throws in the final 30 seconds. Her buzzer-beating three, from halfcourt, gave WSU a 38-26 halftime lead.
"During shootaround every day we actually end with halfcourt shots," Jameson said. "I think I've only made one."
Jameson, a senior guard, filled all those roles quite well to give the Shockers (2-2) a much-needed win over losses to Belmont and Missouri State. She made 6 of 11 shots, 3 of 6 from three-point range, and grabbed four steals. She handed out six assists without committing a turnover.
The Shockers trailed St. Thomas (3-2) 17-12 after one quarter. Jameson scored eight points and had two steals in the second quarter to spark a 26-9 quarter. Her steal led a to a three-pointer and a 25-24 lead. Soon after, she forced a jump ball turnover and another three gave WSU a 28-24 lead to spark a 20-2 run that ended the half.
"Defense for all of us carries over to offense and for (Jameson), she was sitting on (Hill) and giving her the world," forward
Bre'Yon White said. "She was in there contesting everything. Her momentum and energy from defense shifted to offense."
With Jameson bothering Hill and the Shocker bigs chasing down rebounds, Wichita State owned the 50-50 balls. The Shockers forced 15 turnovers and sored 22 points off those mistakes. They scored 13 second-chance points off 18 offensive rebounds.
White led the Shockers with 10 rebounds, four on offense.
Aicha Ndour added six rebounds, four on offense.
Ella Anciaux, who scored a season-high eight points, grabbed three offensive rebounds.
"Our emphasis was getting rebounds, boxing out, just being dominant in the paint," White said.
White also came up with a crucial defensive play in the final seconds. Out of a timeout, the Tommies tried to lob the ball to the basket. White read the intent and intercepted the pass. She credited teammate Jayla Murry with calling out a screen. That allowed her to navigate around the screen and snag the pass.
"The whole gameplan was to communicate," White said. "If you talk, you'll be in the right spot."
The Shockers got to the right spot just often enough on Saturday to end the two-game skid with No. 9 Oklahoma visiting Koch Arena on Tuesday.
"Losing doesn't feel the greatest, but there are lessons to learn," Jameson said. "We learned a lot. We want to be that team that grinds it out every single possession."
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
