WICHITA – Wichita State dropped its second home overtime game of the season, falling 88-84 to SMU despite a career night from
Salese Blow Wednesday evening in Charles Koch Arena.
For the second time this season, Blow, the freshman from Murphy, Texas, hit a buzzer beater to send the game to overtime, banking in a three pointer as time expired. Blow finished with a career-high 24 points, shooting 6-for-18 from the field and going a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.
Daniela Abies recorded her ninth double-double of the year with 17 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Jayla Murray and
Raissa Nsabua also finished in double figures, with Murray putting up 13 and Nsabua scoring a career-high 12.
Ella Anciaux collected a career-high 11 boards, playing her most minutes of the season.
The Shockers recorded their best assist to turnover ratio of the season with a season-high 21 assists and 11 turnovers and out-rebounded the Mustangs 48-43.
The Shockers held SMU to just 3-for-15 (.200) from behind the arc, but SMU dominated the paint, scoring 56 points inside.
Wichita State took a 16-10 lead in the first quarter, but SMU got going inside and went on a 12-0 run, six of which came from Chantae Embry. Embry and TK Pitts combined for 18 points in the first period, and the Mustangs came away with an eight-point lead going into the second quarter.
Blow hit one of her three triples of the game in the second quarter to start a 7-0 run for the Shockers, and Wichita State finished the half with six-straight points courtesy of a pair of free throws apiece from Anciaux and
Ambah Kowcun and a rebound basket by Murray.
Nsabua sparked momentum in the third quarter, hitting two threes and scoring eight-straight Shocker points to make it a three-point game going into the fourth quarter.
Kowcun drained a three in the first possession of the fourth quarter to tie it up, but SMU hit two of their three made threes to keep stretching the lead back out.
Abies and Blow went on an 8-0 by themselves to tie it back up at 70-70 with less than three minutes to play.
19 of the final 26 points of the fourth quarter were free throws as Blow hit two crucial free throws to make it a two-point game with less than a minute to play.
SMU's Tiara Young hit two free throws on the other end, but Abies hit both of hers to cut it back to two.
Young went 1 of 2, and Pitts missed both of hers, but a Shocker lane violation gave her a third, which she made, and the Mustangs were up four again.
In the final five seconds, Blow got fouled shooting a three and made all three shots to make it a one-point game, but a Shocker foul gave Young another chance at the line, and she hit both, giving SMU the 80-77 advantage, still with five seconds remaining.
Abies inbounded the ball to Blow, who raced to the other end and threw up a shot, banking in the three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
SMU scored the first points of overtime after a Shocker turnover, but Murray tied it back up with a made second-chance layup. The Mustangs responded on the next possession to go up two, but Nsabua hit a pair of free throws to even the score at 84-84.
The Shockers couldn't get anything to go in the final two minutes of overtime, shooting 1-for-6, and the Mustangs outlasted Wichita State, handing them their second overtime loss of the season in The Roundhouse.
Wichita State hosts UTSA for senior night Saturday, March 2 at 2 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.
