WICHITA STATE (6-9, 0-2 AAC) at UAB (9-5, 0-2 AAC)
Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 | 5:00 p.m.
Birmingham, Ala. | Bartow Arena
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Audacy.com/KFH with Pat Strathman 
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State and UAB both seek their first American Athletic Conference win after dropping their first two AAC contests.
The Shockers lead the all-time series against UAB 2-1, winning the most recent matchup, 68-65 in Birmingham in last season's regular season finale, making them 1-0 against the Blazers in Bartow Arena.
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 six 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 eight 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 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 four times. In the conference opener against North Texas, she hit five threes on her way to 17 points.
Wichita State leads the American Athletic Conference in bench points per game with 23.7 and ranks third in the conference in rebounds per game with 40.9.
Murray ranks third in the AAC in field goal percentage (54.7 percent).
All six wins this season have come when the Shockers outrebounded their opponent and led after the first half.
The Shockers have yet to win a game this season when trailing at halftime.
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 nine games, and Blow has hit at least one three in each of the last seven games.
Salese Blow has finished in double figures in six-straight games.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State fell in its first AAC road game, as Memphis hit 13 threes to claim a 93-83 victory Wednesday afternoon in Elma Roane Fieldhouse.
 
Despite recording its second-highest field goal percentage (.485) and scoring its second-most points of the season, Wichita State continued to be plagued by missed free throws, shooting just 11-for-22 from the line.
 
Two Tigers had 20-plus point outings, with Tilly Boler scoring 25 points (10-for-18 FG, 4-for-8 3FG), and Alasia Smith recording 20 points and 10 rebounds. Memphis was 31-for-68 (.456) from the field and a season-best 13-for-30 (.433) from behind the arc.
 
Junior transfer Maimouna Sissoko recorded her first career Division I double-double for the Shockers with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore Salese Blow and junior transfer Princess Anderson each put up 11 points, Blow's sixth-straight game in double figures.
 
Graduate transfer Taylor Jameson hit two threes in the first half, making nine-straight games with a three and her ninth game with multiple triples before exiting the game with an apparent leg injury at the end of the first half. Jameson started the second half but only played a few minutes before returning to the bench for the remainder of the game.
 
All 12 Shockers who entered the game scored. Senior Ella Anciaux scored a season-high eight points and grabbed six rebounds, senior Ornella Niankan had nine points and five rebounds, and senior Aicha Ndour recorded eight points and five rebounds.
 
Wichita State led by two in a first quarter with eight lead changes, but the Tigers took a one-point lead to end the quarter and never gave up the lead after.
 
Averaging six threes per game entering the contest, Memphis hit 10 in the first half to take a 50-45 lead at the half.
 
In the second half, Memphis extended its lead to 17 with seven minutes to play. Anderson created a spark off the bench for the Shockers, scoring all 11 of her points in the final six minutes of the game to help chip away at the Tigers' lead. Sissoko also came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of her 10 points in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit as Memphis improved to 1-0 in conference play (3-9 overall) and the Shockers fell to 0-2 (6-9 overall).

SCOUTING THE BLAZERS
Led by 12^th-year head coach Randy Norton, UAB is 9-5 (0-2 AAC) entering the matchup. Two Blazers are averaging double figures with Maddie Walsh leading the team with 12.7 points per game and Sara Bershers averaging 10.1 Jade Weathersby is the team's leading rebounder with 8.9 per game. Walsh ranks fourth in the AAC in blocks per game with 1.36, and Journey Armstead ranks third in the conference in assists per game with 4.9. The Blazers lead the AAC in assists per game (16.1), blocks per game (5.1), and three pointers per game (9.4). UAB was picked ninth of 13 teams in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll.
 
SERIES VS. UAB
The two teams meet for just the fourth time in program history with Wichita State leading the series 2-1. The Shockers won the only other meeting in Bartow Arena 68-65 in last season's conference finale.
 
LAST MEETING
Wichita State clawed back from down 16 to beat UAB, 68-65, in its regular-season finale. Daniela Abies recorded her 10^th double-double of the season with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, Salese Blow scored 14 points, her 19^th game in double figures, and Ambah Kowcun put up a season-high 11 points off the bench for the Shockers. Blow hit a career-high four three pointers, shooting 4-for-7 from behind the arc, and Abies led the Shockers to 36 points in the paint. Wichita State recorded its best field goal percentage since its win over Memphis, shooting 26-for-57 (.456) and shot 9-for-10 (.900) from the line, their best free throw percentage of the season. UAB shot 9-for-29 (.310) from three, seven of those coming in the first half. DJ McCarty scored eight points and dished out a team-high four assists, Ella Anciaux tallied six points and six rebounds, her third-straight game with five or more rebounds, and Jayla Murray grabbed seven rebounds.
 
 
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 15 games, Jayla Murray leads the Shockers in scoring with 11.5 points per game. Salese Blow is also averaging double figures with 11.4 per game. Princess Anderson has also been crucial for the Shockers off the bench with 7.8 points per game. Bre'Yon White is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 6.2 rebounds per game, and Murray is averaging 5.1.
 
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 four times and assists six times and has finished in double figures nine times. Jameson has hit at least one three pointer in each of the last nine games and has hit multiple threes nine times.
 
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 10 times this season with one 20+ point game, leading the team in scoring six 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, 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.
 
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.