WICHITA STATE (5-6) at CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD (0-10)
Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024 | 4:00 p.m. CT
Bakersfield, Calif. | Icardo Center
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Audacy.com/KFH with Pat Strathman 
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State continues its California road trip at Cal State Bakersfield.
The Shockers look to leave the Golden State with two wins after defeating LMU on Sunday in Los Angeles.
The two programs meet for the first ever time.
The Shockers won back-to-back games for the first time this season and look to make it three-straight for the first time in the Terry Nooner era.
Wichita State has entered year two of the Terry Nooner era, and 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 four games with 16 points against Belmont, 17 against Missouri State, 13 in the win over Western Kentucky and 14 in the win at LMU.
Bre'Yon White recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the win over WKU. She has led the Shockers in rebounding six times.
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 five games and again at Kansas and against WKU. Jameson has led the Shockers in scoring three times and assists six times.
Redshirt-junior Jayla Murray has led the Shockers in scoring four times with one double-double. She has finished in double figures six times and was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honorable mention player of the week least after her performance in the win over LMU.
Junior Princess Anderson has been a spark plug off the bench for the Shockers, leading the team in scoring with 17 and 16 points against Prairie View A&M and Kansas.
Wichita State ranks second in the American Athletic Conference in bench points per game with 22.2.
All five wins this season have come when the Shockers outrebounded their opponent and led after the first half.
The Shockers rank 75^th in the NCAA in rebounds per game with 40.4.
Jameson ranks fifth in the AAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.68) and eighth in assists per game (3.4).
Aicha Ndour ranks 13^th in the AAC in blocks per game with 0.9.
All but one win in the Terry Nooner era have come when holding opponents to less than 70 points.
 
STREAKS
Wichita State has out-rebounded its opponents in each of the last four games.
Jameson has hit at least one three pointer in each of the last five games.
Jayla Murray and Salese Blow have both finished in double figures in two-straight games.
 
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State claimed its first road win of the season with a 68-56 win over Loyola Marymount Sunday afternoon in Gersten Pavilion.
 
The Shockers (5-6) led by as many as 25 in a wire-to-wire win over LMU (6-2), shooting 45.8 percent from the field and ending the Lions' six-game win streak.
 
Three Shockers finished in double figures as Jayla Murray and Salese Blow each scored 14, and Princess Anderson put up 11, shooting 3-for-3 from behind the arc.
 
Murray also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists, and Blow had four rebounds, four assists and zero turnovers.
 
Aicha Ndour led the Shockers on the glass with seven rebounds, and Ornella Niankan tallied nine points, shooting 7-for-8 from the line,  with six rebounds and four assists.
 
The Shockers protected the ball well, committing just eight turnovers, a season low, and recording 16 assists.
 
Wichita State played great defense, holding LMU's leading scorer this season, Naudia Evans, who averaged 15.6 points entering the game, to nine points, and held the Lions to a season-low 56 points.
 
Seven different Shockers scored early on their way to the team's highest scoring first quarter of the season, giving Wichita State a 22-13 lead after one.
 
Loyola Marymount cut the Shockers' lead to five in the second quarter before Wichita State went on a 13-2 run to end the quarter, as the Lions were unable to make a field goal for the last 6:14 of the period.
 
Wichita State opened the second half with back-to-back Murray jumpers to spark an 8-0 run and take a 25-point lead.
 
The Lions chipped away, hitting five of their six three pointers in the second half and going on a 12-2 run to come within nine late in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late as Niankan hit free throws down the stretch to seal the win for the Shockers.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
Led by first-year head coach Ari Wideman, CSU Bakersfield has yet to pick up a win this season. The Roadrunners are averaging just 46.2 points per game with no players averaging double figures. Freshman guard Caitie Gingras leads the team in scoring through the first 10 games with 7.8 points per game. CSUB was picked 10th of 11 teams in the Big West Conference Preseason Poll. Senior forward Ary Dizon is the Roadrunners' leading rebounder with 5.3 per game, and she ranks third in the Big West in blocks per game with 2.2.
 
SERIES VS. CSUB
The two teams meet for the first time in program history.
 
LEADING LADIES
Through 11 games, Jayla Murray leads the Shockers in scoring with 11.0 points per game. Salese Blow and Taylor Jameson are also averaging double figures with 10.5 and 10.0 per game, respectively. Bre'Yon White is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 6.6 rebounds per game, and Aicha Ndour is averaging 5.5 boards per game.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Entering the season, no Shockers on the roster had ever recorded a Division I double-double. Jayla Murray and Bre'Yon White have each logged their firsts, Murray's in the season opener and White's in the win over WKU.
 
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.
 
#BREMODE
Junior Bre'Yon White recorded her first career double-double in the win over Western Kentucky and has led the Shockers in rebounding six times. She has finished in double figures twice this season, her first time in double figures in her career.
 
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 scoring three times and assists six times and has finished in double figures seven times. Jameson has hit at least one three pointer in each of the last five games and has hit three three pointers in four 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 has led the Shockers in scoring three times (against No. 9 Oklahoma, Creighton and Prairie View A&M) and recorded her first career double-double in the home opener against Oklahoma Christian.
 
P3
Princess Anderson had a breakout game in the win over Prairie View A&M, scoring a Division I career-high 17 points, recording four steals and grabbing five rebounds. She was also a spark plug for the Shockers against Belmont, hitting three three pointers and finishing with 12 points. She led the Shockers again at Kansas with 16 points off the bench. She averaged 26.7 points per game as a sophomore at Pratt CC, leading the NJCAA in scoring.
 
NEW HEIGHTS
Senior transfer from Illinois, Aicha Ndour, is the tallest player in Wichita State history at 6-6.
 
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).
 
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.