WICHITA STATE (1-6) vs. IDAHO (6-1)
Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025 | 4:00 p.m. CT
Irvine, Calif. | Bren Events Center
Radio: GoShockers.com/Listen with Pat Strathman
 
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State wraps up its California trip with an afternoon matchup with Idaho Saturday at the UC Irvine ZotGiving Classic in the Bren Events Center.
Wichita State and Idaho meet for just the second time in program history with Idaho winning the lone meeting, 85-82, on Dec. 30, 1995 in Wichita.
The Shockers are coming off a 58-52 loss to UC Irvine on Friday in their first game of the ZotGiving Classic and are looking to snap a six-game losing streak.
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.
Two Shockers are averaging double figure scoring as Harding is leading the Shockers with 13.7 points per game, and Abby Cater is averaging 10.9. Treasure Thompson is also chipping in 6.8 points per game.
Junior Jaida McDonald is leading Wichita State in rebounding with 4.9 per game, getting her first Division I start last time out, and Maimouna Sissoko is averaging 4.8 per game, leading the Shockers last time out with nine.
The Shockers rank second in the American Conference in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 35.4 percent shooting and 60.4 points per game.
Through seven games, Harding leads the conference and ranks 12^th in the nation in three pointers per game with 3.3, hitting 23 total this season.
Taya Davis ranks fifth in the conference in assists per game, averaging 4.6, and Cater ranks third in the conference in steals per game with 2.4 after recording a career-high five against SEMO, the most in a single game by a Shocker since Tre'Zure Jobe in 2023.
 
 
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 six of the first seven games.
Harding has hit more than one three pointer in six of the first seven games and at least one in seven-straight.
Taya Davis has dished five or more assists in four of the first seven games.
McDonald has grabbed five or more rebounds in five of the first seven games, leading the team in rebounding three times.
A Shocker has yet to finish with double figure rebounds this season.
The Shockers were called for 20 or more fouls in the first five games this season while their opponents have fouled 12 or less times in four games.
Wichita State opponents have attempted 74 more free throws and made 53 more free throws than the Shockers this season.
The Shockers have attempted 10 or less free throws in five of the last six games.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback, outscoring UC Irvine 22-16 in the final frame, but the late surge wasn't enough to erase an early deficit as the Shockers fell 58-52 Friday afternoon inside the Bren Events Center. Trailing by as many as 20 midway through the third quarter, Wichita State flipped the energy in the final 10 minutes behind its most efficient offensive stretch of the game. The Shockers shot 62.5 percent in the fourth and held the Anteaters to just one made field goal over the final seven minutes, to claw within four in the final minute. Graduate guard Jaila Harding led the Shockers with a season-high 21 points on an impressive 8-for-15 shooting performance, including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Harding delivered eight points in the third quarter and rattled off seven more in the fourth during the comeback push. Taya Davis added seven points, six assists, and three rebounds, orchestrating a Shocker offense that generated 28 points in the paint. Maimouna Sissoko anchored the interior with nine rebounds and four points, while Treasure Thompson chipped in four points and six boards. After a cold first half in which the Shockers shot 29.6% and trailed 37-19, Wichita State responded with one of its best defensive quarters of the season, holding UC Irvine to just 2-of-15 shooting in the third to close the gap to 12 entering the fourth. Harding's transition three with 49 seconds left trimmed the deficit to 53-48, but UC Irvine converted at the line in the final minute to hold on. UC Irvine's Hunter Hernandez led the Anteaters with a game-high 20 points, including 13-of-16 from the free throw line, helping UCI fend off WSU's late momentum. For the fifth time in seven games, the Shockers have gone to the line for 10 or less free throw attempts, while UC Irvine shot 18-for-22 from the charity stripe, the fifth time a Wichita State opponent has shot more than 20 free throws this season.

THE MAIN DISH
Taya Davis is described as a true pass-first point guard, leading the Shockers in assists with 4.6 per game. Through seven games, Davis ranks fifth in the conference in assists per game and total assists with 32.
 
TREY-LA HARDING
Jaila Harding is the best shooter on Wichita State's roster, shooting 39.7 percent from beyond the arc. The graduate transfer and Wichita native leads the conference in threes per game with 3.29, hitting five last time out at UC Irvine.
 
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.