WICHITA STATE (7-14, 1-7 AAC) at EAST CAROLINA (10-10, 2-6 AAC)
Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025 | 5:00 p.m. CT
Greenville, N.C. | Minges Coliseum
TV: ESPN+ with Evan Budrovich and Debra Taylor
Radio: Audacy.com/KFH with Pat Strathman
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State travels to Greenville to face East Carolina on Wednesday evening in Minges Coliseum.
East Carolina leads the all-time series 7-4 and have won the last four-straight.
Last season when the two teams met, ECU won 72-51 in Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State's last win over the Pirates came in 2022 in Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State is in 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 12.5 and 11.3 points per game, respectively.
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 two double-doubles. She has finished in double figures 12 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 both of her 20-point performances against UAB.
Junior Princess Anderson has been a spark plug off the bench for the Shockers in a handful of games, leading the team in scoring five times with a Division I career high 19 points last time out against UAB.
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. She missed the last two games due to concussion protocols.
Jasmine Peaks has proven to be a great facilitator for Wichita State, dishing out a career-high eight assists against Tulane, one of four times leading the team in assists and second time this season with five or more assists. She started the last two games in place of Jameson.
Wichita State is one of the deepest teams in the AAC, ranking second in the conference in bench points per game with 23.5.
Free throws have plagued the Shockers as they rank 12th in the AAC in free throw percentage (62.3), 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 third in the AAC in field goal percentage (52.3 percent), making the fifth-most in the league with 115.
 
STREAKS & TRENDS
Blow has started 24-straight games for the Shockers.
Blow has been perfect from the charity stripe five times this season and 12 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.
 
The Shockers have missed as many or more free throws than the final score margin in a loss six times this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
For the second-straight season, Wichita State dropped an overtime heartbreaker on its home court to the Blazers, coming up just short as UAB came away with a 76-73 victory.
 
Redshirt-junior Jayla Murray recorded her second career double-double and second career 20-point performance, leading all scoring with 20 points and leading the Shockers with 11 rebounds. Junior Princess Anderson poured in a Division I career-high 19 points with five rebounds and two steals. Redshirt-junior Bre'Yon White finished in double figures for the third time this season with 11 points and grabbed five rebounds.
 
For the Blazers, Sara Bershers was 5-for-6 from three with 19 points, and Jade Weathersby had a double-double with 16 points and 19 rebounds. UAB proved why they lead the American Athletic Conference in three pointers per game, hitting 14 from behind the arc to Wichita State's three.
 
For the sixth time this season, the Shockers missed as many or more free throws than the final score margin in a loss, shooting 18-for-27 from the line tonight in a three-point loss.
 
Wichita State scored the first four points off the game, all from the free throw line and led by as many as five in the first quarter. The game saw three lead changes and six ties, and every time UAB started to pull away, the Shockers fought back. The Blazers went up 11 in the second quarter, but White hit back-to-back jumpers at the end of the half to cut it to six.
 
One minute into the third quarter, UAB went up 11, but the Shockers were able to erase that deficit and regain the lead with three minutes remaining in the period, courtesy of a 12-point quarter from Anderson.
 
Bershers hit a three with seven seconds left in the quarter to lead by three going into the fourth. The Blazers went on a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter to regain an 11-point advantage, but the Shockers held them scoreless through the final five minutes of regulation to tie it up and take it to overtime. Anderson and Murray scored 30 of their combined 39 points after halftime.
 
UAB opened overtime on a 7-1 run and hit 9 of 10 free throws in the period, white the Shockers were 6-for-10 from the line in overtime. Journey Armstead scored 9 of her 17 points in overtime, seven from the charity stripe to help seal the deal for the Blazers.
 
The Shockers had multiple opportunities to tie it up but couldn't get layups to fall in the final minute of overtime. Murray made a second-chance layup as time expired, but the Blazers came out on top, 76-73. Despite the loss, Nooner was proud of his team for the resilience they showed throughout the hard-fought game.

SCOUTING THE PIRATES
Led by ninth-year head coach (sixth at ECU) Kim McNeill, the Pirates are 2-6 in conference play, dropping their last three-straight to Rice, Temple and South Florida. Two players are averaging double figures with junior forward Amiya Joyner leading the way with 13.3 points per game and junior guard Jayla Hearp averaging 11.2 per game. Joyner also leads the team in rebounding, ranking fourth in the AAC with 8.4 per game. She also ranks second in the conference in double-doubles with seven. ECU's Kyia Miller ranks third in the AAC in steals per game with 1.8. The Pirates were picked sixth of 13 teams in the AAC Preseason Poll, and Joyner was named to the AAC Preseason All-Conference Second Team.
 
SERIES VS. ECU
The two teams meet for the 12^th time in program history with East Carolina leading the all-time series 7-4. The Shockers have only prevailed one time in Minges Coliseum, winning 61-53 in January of 2020.
 
LAST MEETING
East Carolina's defense stifled the Shockers as Wichita State dropped its fifth-straight game, 72-51, Sunday, February 4, 2024. East Carolina, a team ranked fourth in the nation in turnovers, turned Wichita State over 22 times, scoring 23 points off turnovers. Danae McNeal led the scoring with 23 points, and Tatyana Wyche recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Wichita State struggled in transition, only scoring four points off 14 Pirate turnovers but out-rebounded ECU 44-42. Salese Blow scored a team-high 13 points, and Tre'Zure Jobe put up 12 points, all in the first half. Jayla Murray recorded nine points, eight of which came in the fourth quarter, and eight rebounds. East Carolina held Wichita State's leading scorer, Daniela Abies, to just six points as four of the Pirate's 11 blocks were directed at her. The Pirates sunk nine three pointers, hitting four in the first quarter. East Carolina hit back-to-back-to-back threes, going on a 9-0 run early in the first quarter to take an 11-3 lead. The Pirates had six blocks and forced seven turnovers in the first quarter, denying Wichita State early. Neither team scored for two two-minute stretches in the second quarter, but the Shockers scored six-straight points courtesy of Blow and Jobe to cut a 12-point deficit down to six, and the Shockers were able to make it a five-point game going into halftime, winning the second quarter 14-10. The Pirates hit back-to-back threes to open the third quarter and extend their lead back to 11, and the Shockers weren't able to come closer than nine points the remainder of the game. East Carolina outscored the Shockers 21-11 in the fourth quarter to come away with the 21-point road victory.
 
LEADING LADIES
Through 21 games, Jayla Murray leads the Shockers in scoring with 12.5 points per game. Salese Blow is also averaging double figures with 11.3 points per game. Taylor Jameson has been the best three-point shooter for Wichita State, hitting 37 threes this season. Murray is also the team's leading rebounder with 5.4 per game and two double-doubles. Jasmine Peaks is leading the team in assists during conference play with 3.1 per game.
 
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.
 
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.
 
#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 seven times with two double-doubles and two 20-point performances.
 
P3
Princess Anderson had a breakout game in the win over Prairie View A&M, scoring 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, at Memphis with 11, and at North Texas with 13. She sparked momentum for the Shockers in the second half against UAB, scoring 19 points. 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.
 
DESTINED DUO
Jayla Murray and Jasmine Peaks go way back. The duo played high school basketball together at Tampa Bay Tech, where they won the 2019-20 Florida Class 8A State Championship together. Both decided to transfer after that season and coincidentally ended up at the same school, Winter Haven. The duo played on the same AAU team as well before heading off to college. Murray went to play for Florida SouthWestern State and Peaks went to Indian River State College. Murray transferred to Wichita State in 2022-23. Nooner started recruiting Peaks during that season, and the pair realized they might have a chance to play together again. The duo has great on-court chemistry having played together for so long and know each other's tendencies.
 
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.