WICHITA STATE (6-7) vs. NORTH TEXAS (8-4)
Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 | 1:00 p.m.
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
TV: ESPN+
Radio: GoShockers.com/Listen with Pat Strathman 
Holiday Special Ticket Offer: $5 GA tickets
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State hosts North Texas for its conference opener, the teams' fourth-ever meeting.
The Shockers lead the series 2-1 with all three games being decided by four points or less.
Wichita State is 1-0 in Charles Koch Arena against the Mean Green.
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 five games and recorded her first 20-plus point game of the season with 23 against CSUB, making six career 20-point performances for the sophomore.
Redshirt-junior Jayla Murray led the Shockers in scoring during non-conference play, averaging 11.7 points per game with one double-double. She has finished in double figures seven times and was named to the American Athletic Conference weekly honorable mention player of the week list after her performance in the win over LMU. In the win over CSUB, she put up a career-high 19 points.
Junior Princess Anderson has been a spark plug off the bench for the Shockers, leading the team in scoring three times with a Division I career high 17 points in the win over Prairie View A&M.
Wichita State ranks second in the American Athletic Conference in bench points per game with 23.2 and fourth in the conference in rebounds per game with 40.5.
Murray ranks second in the AAC in field goal percentage (55.3 percent) as North Texas's Tommisha Lampkin leads the conference at 58.8 percent.
Taylor Jameson ranks seventh in the AAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.52).
Aicha Ndour ranks 16^th in the AAC in blocks per game with 0.9.
All six wins this season have come when the Shockers outrebounded their opponent and led after the first half.
All but one win in the Terry Nooner era have come when holding opponents to less than 70 points, including all six wins this season.
 
STREAKS
Taylor Jameson has hit at least one three pointer in each of the last seven games.
Jayla Murray and Salese Blow have both finished in double figures in four-straight games.
Ornella Niankan has recorded five or more rebounds in each of the last four games, and Murray has in the last three.
Aicha Ndour has recorded at least one block in each of the last three games.
Coach Nooner has rolled with the same starting lineup for the last six games.
 
WWW
The Shockers won three-straight games for the first time in the Terry Nooner era, beating Prairie View A&M, LMU and CSU Bakersfield.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State's win streak came to an end with a 77-65 loss to Oral Roberts Saturday afternoon in the Mabee Center.
 
The Golden Eagles shot 47.6 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three, led by Ruthie Udoumoh and Jalei Oglesby with 19 points each.
 
The Shockers were outrebounded for the first time in the six games and shot just 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) from three.
 
Four Shockers finished in double figures in the effort, led by Princess Anderson with 13 and Salese Blow, Jayla Murray and Ornella Niankan with 12 apiece.
 
Aicha Ndour led the Shockers in rebounding, tying her career high with eight.
 
Oral Roberts scored the first points of the game and never relinquished the lead, but the Shockers kept it close in the first half. ORU went up by nine halfway through the second quarter, and Wichita State answered with a 9-0 run to tie it up at 32-32.
 
The Shockers were only down three at the half and stayed within five for most of the third quarter until the Golden Eagles went on a 7-0 run to stretch their lead to 10.
 
The Shockers were down 12 with 1:22 to play, but a pair of layups from Niankan and Anderson cut it to eight with 50 seconds remaining. Anderson had seven points in the fourth quarter, but Wichita State was unable to catch the Golden Eagles.
 
Wichita State concluded its non-conference slate with a 6-7 record.

SCOUTING THE MEAN GREEN
Led by 11^th-year (second at UNT) head coach Jason Burton, North Texas is 8-4 going into conference play. Four players are averaging double figures, led by senior forward Tommisha Lampkin with 17.3 points per game. Kyla Deck (11.7), Desiree Wooten (11.3) and Ereauna Hardaway (10.1) join her in double figures. Lampkin with also the team's leading rebounder with 8.8 per game. Lampkin leads the conference in field goal percentage (58.8), double-doubles (6) and free throws (50) and ranks third in rebounds per game. Deck ranks second in the AAC in steals with 25 this season. The Mean Green were picked second of 13 teams in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, receiving three first-place votes. Lampkin was named the Co-Preseason Player of the year.
 
SERIES VS. NORTH TEXAS
The two teams meet for the fourth time in program history with Wichita State leading the series 2-1 with a 1-0 advantage on its home court.
 
LAST MEETING
Wichita State watched its 18-point lead fade away as North Texas mounted a fourth quarter comeback, defeating the Shockers, 72-68, Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024 in The Super Pit. Salese Blow led all scoring with a career-high 23 points, shooting 8-for-17 and hitting three triples for the Shockers. Tre'Zure Jobe and Jayla Murray also finished in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Shockers hit a then season-best nine three pointers as a team (Blow 3, Jobe 3, Aniya Bell 2, Murray 1), shooting 9-for-21 (.429). Daniela Abies led the team in rebounding for the 10^th time that season and was just shy of a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 2:16 left in the game. The Shockers had their best first half since their Dec. 20 win over Oral Roberts, taking a 32-24 lead going into halftime. Coming out of the break, Wichita State went on an 11-2 run to open the third quarter and held an 18-point lead with two minutes left in the third quarter, but the Mean Green went on a 9-2 run to cut it to 11 to end the quarter. North Texas carried that momentum into the fourth quarter, not missing a shot for the first three minutes of the quarter and going on a 9-0 run to cut the Shockers' lead to just two. The Mean Green shot 12-for-19 (.632) in the fourth quarter as DesiRay Kernal scored 11 of her 21 points in the final period while the Shockers shot just 5-for-15 and were unable to stop North Texas down the stretch. North Texas went on a 12-0 run to gain its first lead since midway through the second quarter with two minutes left and increased its lead to six with less than a minute remaining. Jobe scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half, hitting a three with six seconds left in the game to bring the Shockers back within two, but Kernal hit both her free throws on the other end to secure the win for the Mean Green.
 
LEADING LADIES
Through 13 games, Jayla Murray leads the Shockers in scoring with 11.7 points per game. Salese Blow is also averaging double figures with 11.5 per game. Taylor Jameson and Princess Anderson have also been crucial with 9.6 and 8.2 points per game, respectively. Bre'Yon White is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game, and Murray is averaging 5.5.
 
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 eight times. Jameson has hit at least one three pointer in each of the last six 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. She has finished in double figures seven times this season with one 20+ point game, leading the team in scoring five times and being named to the AAC weekly honorable mention player of the week list once.
 
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 four times 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 and at Oral Roberts with 13. 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.