WICHITA STATE (1-2) vs. MISSOURI STATE (3-0)
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025 | 3:30 p.m. CT
Kansas City, Mo. | T-Mobile Center
Radio: GoShockers.com/Listen with Pat Strathman
TV: None
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State faces Missouri State as part of the 28.5 Hoops Women's Invitational Saturday afternoon in the T-Mobile Center.
The teams meet for the 91^st time in program history as Missouri State leads the series 53-37.
Missouri State won the last meeting, 82-77 a season ago in Charles Koch Arena.
The Shockers are coming off a 73-71 overtime loss at Western Kentucky.
The Shockers return just 9.6 percent of their scoring from last season but bring an abundance of experience to the court with eight graduate students on the roster, tying ULM for the most graduate players on a Division I roster this season.
With only one underclassman on the roster, the Shockers are 93 percent upperclassmen, the second-highest percentage of upperclassmen in the NCAA (DI), and they bring 44 seasons of combined collegiate basketball experience.
Wichita State returns Bre'Yon White, the Shockers' second leading rebounder from last season, who grabbed 154 boards, averaging 4.8 per game.
For the third-straight season, Nooner has brought a Wichita native home for their final season of collegiate basketball – Tre'Zure Jobe in 2023-24, Taylor Jameson in 2024-25, and now Jaila Harding, who shot 35.7 percent from behind the arc both of her last two seasons at New Mexico State.
Harding is leading the Shockers in scoring with 15.3 points per game, and Jaida McDonald is leading Wichita State in rebounding with 6.7 per game.
The Shockers rank second in scoring defense, holding opponents to 56.7 points per game, and third in steals per game with 12.3.
Through three games, Harding leads the conference in three pointers per game with 4.0, made threes with 12 and three point attempts with 31.
Taya Davis ranks third in the conference in assists per game, averaging 5.7.
 
STREAKS & TRENDS
All but two wins in the Terry Nooner era have come when holding opponents to less than 70 points, including nine of the 10 wins last season.
Ninety percent of Terry Nooner's wins have come when outrebounding the opponent.
Harding has finished in double figures in three-straight games.
Harding has hit more than one three pointer in each of the first three games.
Cater and Jaida McDonald have each grabbed five or more rebounds in each of the first three games.
Taya Davis has dished five or more assists in two of the first three games.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State women's basketball came up just short in a 73–71 overtime thriller at Western Kentucky on Monday night inside E.A. Diddle Arena.
 
Graduate guard Jaila Harding led the Shockers with 19 points, knocking down five three-pointers to finish in double figures for the third-straight game. Treasure Thompson added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Jaida McDonald posted six points and a team-high eight boards.
 
Point guard Taya Davis once again orchestrated the offense with a game-high seven assists to go along with nine points and six rebounds.
 
After trailing 18-11 early in the second quarter, Wichita State erupted for a 21–6 run to take a 32-22 lead into halftime. The Shockers stretched their advantage to 15 midway through the third quarter, but Western Kentucky rallied behind 20 points from Tia Shelling and 17 from Jeniffer Silva, going on a 14-3 run to cut the Shockers' lead to three at the end of the third.
 
The Toppers outscored WSU 19–16 in the fourth to force overtime, then edged the Shockers 12–10 in the extra period.
 
Wichita State shot 38.7 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent from three, compared to 46.9 percent from the field for WKU. The Shockers held a 36-43 rebounding disadvantage but outscored WKU 36-30 in the paint and forced 24 turnovers, turning them into 19 points.
 
Fouls hurt the Shockers as they sent the Hilltoppers to the line 38 times, including the game-tying free throw to send it to overtime.
 
SERIES VS. MISSOURI STATE
The teams meet for the 91^st time in program history with Missouri State leading the series, 53-37. The Shockers are 4-0 against the Bears at neutral sites.
 
LAST MEETING
After falling behind by 15 in the first half, the Shockers battled back to tie it up in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Bears held them off to claim an 82-77 victory. Four Shockers finished in double figures, led by sophomore Salese Blow with 17 points. Blow tied her career high for made threes, shooting 4-for-7 from behind the arc. Graduate transfer Taylor Jameson scored a season-high 16 points with a career-high seven assists, freshman KP Parr tallied a career-high 13 points, and redshirt-junior Jayla Murray scored 11 points. Junior Bre'Yon White grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and scored eight points. Six Shockers scored in the first quarter, led by Ornella Niankan with six as Wichita State led by as many as seven in the first, but second-quarter struggles put the Shockers in a 13-point deficit at halftime. The Lady Bears went on an 17-1 run in the second quarter, outscoring the Shockers 24-9, as the Shockers were unable to score for almost six minutes. Wichita State came out in the third and hit four threes courtesy of Jameson and Blow, making it a four-point game with 6:13 remaining in the quarter. The Shockers battled back to tie it up at 66-66 with 5:35 remaining in the fourth and kept it a one-possession game until the 1:59 mark. Missouri State shot 4-for10 from the line down the stretch, leaving an opening for the Shockers, but Wichita State couldn't capitalize. Kyrah Daniels led the Lady Bears with 16 points, and Lacy Stokes recorded 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
 
C.A.R.E. PILLARS
Coach Nooner emphasizes the value of team culture, recruiting student-athletes who fit in with the team's core values of character, accountability, respect and effort.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
Wichita State's roster features four foreign players, two from France, Sophie Benharouga and Fiona Diomande, one from Mali, Maimouna Sissoko, and one from Cameroon, Bella Belong.
 
THEY HAVE HISTORY
Two newcomers reconnect with former coaches as Taya Davis played for current Wichita State assistant coach Antwain Scales from 2022-23 in his final season as head coach at Garden City CC, and Sophie Benharouga played for current director of operations and assistant coach Uyen Tran from 2022-23 while she was an assistant coach at Morehead State.
 
UP NEXT
The Shockers return home to face Southeast Missouri State on Tuesday, November 18 at 6 p.m. on Game Show Night in Charles Koch Arena .