WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State fell 55-42 to Northwestern State in game two of the 2025-26 season Thursday night inside Charles Koch Arena.
"We just couldn't execute like we needed to execute on offense," head coach
Terry Nooner said. "Defensively, I think we did our job. Some of the careless turnovers we had and our ball movement let us down."
The Shockers battled back late but couldn't overcome a cold shooting night, finishing 15-for-58 (25.9%) from the field and 5-for-26 (19.2%) from beyond the arc. Northwestern State shot 32.3% overall and 33.3% from long range to build an early lead and hold off WSU's second-half push.
"Shot making, I'm not too concerned about," Nooner said. "We're a team that shoots it better than we did tonight."
Wichita State had five assists and 25 turnovers after opening the season against Lincoln with 24 assists.
Graduate guard
Abby Cater paced Wichita State with 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting and added six rebounds after picking up two early fouls in the first quarter.
Jaila Harding chipped in 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers, and
Sophie Benharouga led the Shockers on the glass with nine rebounds.
Wichita State trailed 19-8 after the first quarter and went into halftime down 31-18. Northwestern State's Vernell Atamah fueled the visitors' offense with 25 points, including seven made threes, while Clarence Djuela led the game in rebounding with 12.
The Demons led by as many as 22 before the Shockers outscored Northwestern State 16-8 in the final period, showing resilience down the stretch, but the early deficit proved too much to overcome.
Wichita State won the battle of the boards, 48-39, including 17 offensive rebounds, but turnovers (25) and a slow start from the field kept the Shockers from closing the gap.
Despite outrebounding the Demons, Wichita State only scored five second chance points off 17 offensive rebounds while Northwestern State scored 10 points off 12 offensive rebounds.
Wichita State (1-1) hits the road for the first time this season, taking on Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Ky. on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 6:30 p.m.
