WICHITA STATE (7-12, 1-5 AAC) at NORTH TEXAS (13-5, 5-1 AAC)
Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Denton, Texas | The Super Pit
TV: ESPN+ with Kyle Youmans and Austyn Iven
Radio: Audacy.com/KFH with Pat Strathman 
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State is set for a Saturday rematch with North Texas just three weeks after the teams' first meeting of the season on Dec. 29.
The series between the programs is tied at 2-2 with the Mean Green winning the last two meetings, including a 62-56 win a few weeks ago.
Wichita State has entered year two of the Terry Nooner era, and the Shockers return their leading scorer from conference play, sophomore guard Salese Blow. With nine newcomers on the team, the Shockers return just 37.6 percent of their scoring.
Blow and redshirt-junior forward Jayla Murray have been the 1-2 punch for the Shockers, leading the team with 12 points per game.
Blow has led the Shockers in scoring in eight games with three 20+ point performances, making eight career games over 20.
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 11 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. She recorded her first 20-point game with a career high 24 in the road win over UAB.
Jasmine Peaks has proven to be a great facilitator for Wichita State, dishing out a career-high eight assists last time out against Tulane, her third time leading the team in assists and second time this season with five or more assists.
Junior Princess Anderson has been a spark plug off the bench for the Shockers in a handful of games, leading the team in scoring four times with a Division I career high 17 points in the win over Prairie View A&M.
Graduate transfer and Wichita native Taylor Jameson returned home for her final season of college basketball and has led the Shockers in scoring five times. In the conference opener against North Texas, she hit five threes on her way to 17 points and at UTSA she drained a career-high six threes, scoring a season-high 22 points.
Wichita State is one of the deepest teams in the AAC, ranking second in the conference in bench points per game with 22.1.
Free throws have plagued the Shockers as they rank 12th in the AAC in free throw percentage (62.6), but they hit their most free throws of the season (20) in the road win over UAB, including a perfect 10-for-10 from Blow.
Murray ranks second in the AAC in field goal percentage (53.1 percent).
Jameson has hit the sixth-most threes of the season with 37.
 
STREAKS & TRENDS
Blow has started 22-straight games for the Shockers.
Blow has been perfect from the charity stripe four times this season and 11 times in her career.
The Shockers have yet to lead at halftime during conference play.
All seven wins this season have come when the Shockers outrebounded their opponent.
The Shockers came back to beat UAB after being down at halftime, their first time this season overcoming a halftime deficit to win a game.
All but two wins in the Terry Nooner era have come when holding opponents to less than 70 points, including six of the seven wins this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Shockers dropped their third-straight game as their second-half comeback efforts fell short against Tulane on Wednesday night in Charles Koch Arena.
 
The Green Wave's interior defense limited the Shockers to just 31.9 percent shooting from the field. Their perimeter defense did just as well, holding Wichita State to 26.3 percent from beyond the arc in tonight's game. Despite this, the Shockers' leading scorer, Salese Blow, succeeded from deep, hitting 3-of-7 three-point attempts and finishing with 20 points and five rebounds, her third 20-point performance of the season.
 
Joining Blow in double-figures was Jayla Murray, who scored 17 points of her own, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and collecting two blocks and two steals.
 
Led by forward Amira Mabry, Tulane started the night in control as the Green Wave opened the game with a 20-11 lead. The Shockers closed the final minute of the first quarter with momentum, though, going on a 5-0 run to lessen their deficit to four (20-16).
 
Mabry led the Green Wave in scoring, as she collected 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
The Green Wave's size and physicality gave the Shockers issues as Tulane out-rebounded Wichita State 52-41. Tulane had three players grabbing at least eight rebounds or more, while the Shockers had only one player reach seven (Jasmine Peaks).
 
The two teams battled back and forth throughout the second frame, but the score would find the Green Wave up 34-33 at the half.
 
Wichita State took care of the ball well compared to their counterparts in tonight's contest, winning the turnover battle with seven fewer turnovers (19-12). Five Shockers recorded at least one steal, with Blow and Jordan Jackson swiping away one and Peaks, Murray, and Taylor Jameson all corralling two.
 
Tulane refused to lose its lead throughout the third quarter, but a 10-5 run fueled by knock-down free-throw shooting and a pair of buckets from Murray saw Wichita State take a 50-49 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Shockers crushed the Green Wave in points from the bench, proving why they lead the American Athletic Confrerence in bench points per game, as Wichita State's reserves contributed 23 points, while Tulane's failed to score a single point.
 
The Green Wave reclaimed their lead immediately in the fourth with a put-back lay-in. Tulane held the lead for the remainder of the game as the Shocker's offensive attack froze up. The Green Wave hit clutch free throws down the stretch, while Wichita State failed to score on the offensive end, leading to a 66-62 loss.
 
Allowing second-chance opportunities was a significant blow for the Shockers in the fourth quarter, allowing six second-chance points. Tulane scored 13 points on extra chances in the game, while Wichita State scored only eight.

SCOUTING THE MEAN GREEN
Led by 11-year head coach (second at UNT), Jason Burton, North Texas is 5-1 in conference play coming off back-to-back wins over South Florida and Rice. Four players are averaging double figures, led by Tommisha Lampkin with 16.9 points per game. Ereauna Hardaway, Desiree Wooten and Kyla Deck join her in double figures. Lampkin is also the Mean Green's leading rebounder with 9.1 per game. North Texas leads the conference in free throws made per game with 15.3 and ranks second in field goal percentage (39.1). Lampkin holds the AAC's best field goal percentage, shooting 57.8 percent, and leads the conference in rebounds per game. Deck ranks third in the AAC in free throw percentage (80.0) and fourth in steals per game (1.9). 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 Preseason Co-Player of the year.
 
SERIES VS. NORTH TEXAS
The two teams meet for the fifth time in program history with the all-time series tied at 2-2. The Mean Green have won both meetings since joining the American in 2023-24.
 
LAST MEETING
Wichita State battled back from down 14 to make it a one-point game in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough to overtake the Mean Green in the American Athletic Conference opener. Taylor Jameson hit five threes on her way to a 17-point performance to lead all scoring. Jayla Murray and Salese Blow also finished in double figures for the Shockers with 14 and 10 points, respectively, and Bre'Yon White led Wichita State in rebounding for the seventh time this season with nine. Jameson had a season-high six boards. Desiree Wooten led the Mean Green with 12 points and eight rebounds, and Tommisha Lampkin had a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. The Shockers shot just 29.2 percent (19-for-65) from the floor and 42.9 percent from the free throw line (9-for-21) but had their best three-point shooting day of the season hitting 9-for-19 (47.4 percent). Wichita State held North Texas to 2-for-17 (.118) from behind the arc, the lowest three-point percentage of a Shocker opponent this season. Averaging just 4.9 three pointers per game coming into the contest, the Shockers opened the game with three in the first five minutes courtesy of Murray (2) and Blow (1). The first quarter saw three lead changes and three ties, and the Shockers led by five before the Mean Green took a four-point lead at the end of the quarter and never again relinquished the lead. The Shockers struggled offensively in the second quarter, shooting just 2-for-14 (.143), while the Mean Green went on a 13-3 run to go into halftime up 14. After halftime, Jameson hit her third three of the afternoon before picking Jaaucklyn Moore's pocket and dishing it to Blow for her to drain another three, cutting the deficit to eight midway through the third quarter. A pair of layups from Jasmine Peaks sparked some momentum for the Shockers in the fourth, Jameson hit her fifth three of the day to make it a one-point game with a little over three minutes remaining. North Texas's Wooten and Tommisha Lampkin didn't let the Shockers gain the lead, scoring seven-straight for the Mean Green and stretching the lead back to 10. Murray made two second-chance layups down the stretch, but it wasn't enough to overtake the Mean Green.
 
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.
 
LEADING LADIES
Through 19 games, Jayla Murray leads the Shockers in scoring with 12.4 points per game. Salese Blow is also averaging double figures with 12.0 points per game. Taylor Jameson has been the best three-point shooter for Wichita State, hitting 37 threes this season. Bre'Yon White is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 5.6 rebounds per game, and Murray is averaging 5.2.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Entering the season, no Shockers on the roster had ever recorded a Division I double-double. Jayla Murray, Bre'Yon White and Maimouna Sissoko have each logged their firsts, Murray's in the season opener, White's in the win over WKU, and Sissoko's on her birthday at Memphis.
 
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 seven 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 five times and assists six times and has finished in double figures 10 times. Jameson hit at least one three pointer in 12-straight games before the streak ended against Tulane and has hit multiple threes 10 times. She recorded her first 20-piece of the year with 22 at UTSA. She leads the Shockers in three pointers, shooting 40.7 percent from behind the arc.
 
BOBO DA SHOW
Salese Blow, nicknamed BoBo by her mom Stacie, who is an NCAA women's basketball and G-League official, 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 11 times this season with three 20+ point games, leading the team in scoring eight 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 six times and recorded her first career double-double in the home opener against Oklahoma Christian. She put up a career-high 24 points in the road win over UAB.
 
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, at Oral Roberts with 13, and at Memphis with 11. She averaged 26.7 points per game as a sophomore at Pratt CC, leading the NJCAA in scoring.
 
OFF THE COURT SUCCESS
Wichita State women's basketball set a new program record with their fall semester GPA of 3.52 with four perfect 4.0s.
 
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.