WICHITA STATE (2-4) vs. MISSOURI  (5-3)
Emerald Coast Classic
Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024 | 5:00 p.m. CT
Destin, Fla. | Raider Arena
TV: FloSports.com with Roland Ruiz and Hector Ledesma
Radio: Audacy.com/KFH with Pat Strathman 
 
OPENING TIP
Wichita State is set to take on Missouri in the second round of the Beach Bracket in the Emerald Coast Classic.
The teams meet for the eighth time in history as the Shockers seek their first ever win over the Tigers.
Wichita State has entered year two of the Terry Nooner era. The Shockers return their leading scorer from conference play, sophomore Salese Blow.
With nine newcomers on the team, the Shockers return just 37.6 percent of their scoring.
Blow has led the Shockers in scoring in 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 four games and dished out a career-high seven assists against Missouri State, earning AAC Honorable Mention weekly recognition on Nov. 18. She averages 32 minutes per game.
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 four of the last five games.
Redshirt-junior Jayla Murray scored a career-high 16 points in the last outing against Creighton.
All but one win in the Terry Nooner era have come when holding opponents to less than 70 points.
 
LAST TIME OUT
A big first half for Creighton became too much to overcome for Wichita State as the Bluejays soared past the Shockers, 91-63, Monday evening in the first round of the Beach Bracket at the inaugural Emerald Coast Classic women's tournament. Jayla Murray scored a career-high 16 points, and Salese Blow and Jasmine Peaks joined her in double figures with 14 and 10, respectively, a Division I career high for Peaks, but five double figures performances from the Bluejays led Creighton to a 28-point victory. Taylor Jameson tied her career high in assist, dishing out seven.
 
Ornella Niankan opened the game with a three and Jayla Murray scored four inside to keep it tied at 7-7 before Creighton went on a 13-0 run as Wichita State shot 0-for-7 over the next five minutes, giving the Bluejays a 20-7 lead. Creighton ended the quarter up 12 after forcing seven Shocker turnovers and didn't relinquish its lead for the remainder of the game.
 
KP Parr hit a pair of free throws to score the Shockers' first points of the second quarter after the Bluejays scored six straight to open the period, and Salese Blow hit a three to cut the deficit back to 13. Despite a pair of layups from Blow and Ella Anciaux, the Bluejays stretched their lead to 25 to head into halftime up 50-25.
 
Creighton led by as many as 33 in the second half, but Murray and Bre'Yon White combined for 10 of the Shockers 15 points in the third quarter, and Peaks scored eight of her 10 points in the second half as the Shockers only lost the half by three.
 
The Bluejays shot 32-for-62 (.516) from the field and 19-for-22 (.864) from the line, forcing 20 Wichita State turnovers and winning the battle of the boards 34-25.
 
The Shockers recorded their best free throw percentage of the season, shooting 13-for-15 (.867) from the line and finished the game 24-for-51 (.471) from the floor.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
After six games, the Shockers rank in the top 100 nationally in offensive rebounds per game (14.2) despite only recording three against Creighton. Wichita State ranks fourth in the American Athletic Conference in assist/turnover ratio (0.78).
 
Taylor Jameson ranks second in the conference in overall assists (27) and assist/turnover ratio (2.5) and ranks fourth in assists per game (4.5) with a career-high seven against Missouri State and Creighton.
 
LEADING LADIES
Through six games, three Shockers are averaging double figures with Taylor Jameson leading the team with 11.2 points per game, Salese Blow averaging 10.5 and Jayla Murray scoring 10.2 points per game with one double-double in the season opener. Bre'Yon White is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 7.0 rebounds per game.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Led by 30^th-year head coach (15^th at Missouri) Robin Pingeton, Missouri is coming off an82-59 loss to Syracuse in the first round of the Emerald Coast Classic. The Tigers are 5-3 this season after ending the 2023-24 season 24-11 (2-14 SEC). Missouri was picked 15^th of 16 teams in the SEC Preseason Poll. The Tigers rank second in the SEC and 26 in the NCAA in three point percentage (.391), led by Abbey Schreacke, who has hit the third-most threes in the NCAA this year (25). Three Tigers are averaging double figures through the first eight games with Grace Slaughter averaging 14.8, Schreacke averaging 11.6 and Laniah Randle scoring 10.8 per game. Randle is the team's leading rebounder with 7.0 per game.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. MISSOURI
Wichita State and Missouri meet for just the eighth time in program history with the Tigers leading the series 7-0 dating back to 1976.
 
LAST MEETING
The last time the two teams met, Missouri claimed a 64-57 victory in Columbia, Mo. Wichita State was led in scoring by Rangie Bessard's 19 points while Missouri's Lianna Doty had 15 points to lead the Tigers.
 
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).
 
T-TIME
Wichita native Taylor Jameson was named to the AAC weekly Honorable Mention list on Nov. 18 after averaging 17 points, 6.5 assists and 4 steals in two games. She has led the Shockers in points twice and assists three times in six games.
 
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. She led the Shockers in scoring against No. 9 Oklahoma and Creighton and recorded her first career double-double in the home opener against Oklahoma Christian.
 
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.