WICHITA STATE (3-9) vs MIDDLE TENNESSEE (4-7)
Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
TV: ESPN+
Radio: GoShockers.com/Listen with Pat Strathman
Holiday Sweater Game/First Responders Day
Giveaway: Free ornament for first 250 fans
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State looks to end non-conference play on a high note as they take on Middle Tennessee on Saturday afternoon in Charles Koch Arena during its annual holiday sweater game.
The Shockers are coming off their second-straight win, defeating Oral Roberts 79-65 on Tuesday morning in front of over 3,000 kids.
The Shockers and Blue Raiders meet for just the second time in program history with Middle Tennessee winning the first meeting 63-44 in 1990. This is the first time the teams will face off in Charles Koch Arena.
Jaila Harding is leading the Shockers in scoring with 12.8 points per game, while Abby Cater is chipping in 11.2 per game, including back-to-back season-high performances over the last two games, leading Wichita State to wins over LMU and Oral Roberts with 23 and 24 points.
Harding is one of the best three-point shooters in the nation, ranking six in made threes with 37 to lead the conference. She ranks third in the nation in three-point attempts with 98.
Jaida McDonald leads Wichita State on the boards with 5.4 per game.
Cater ranks 11^th in the conference in free throw percentage (77.5), shooting a percent 100 percent from the line five times this season, including 5-for-5 against CSU Bakersfield and 8-for-8 in the win over LMU.
Treasure Thompson ranks third in the conference in blocks per game with 1.18 and is three away from 100 career blocks after recording a season-high three in the win over ORU.
Taya Davis ranks fourth in the conference in total assists with 42 and eighth in assists per game, averaging 3.5.
The Shockers rank fourth in the American Conference in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to 29.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Wichita State is averaging 24.0 bench points per game.
 
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 and both wins this season.
Eighty-seven percent of Terry Nooner's wins have come when outrebounding the opponent.
Harding has finished in double figures in 10 of the first 12 games.
Harding has hit two or more threes in 10 of the first 12 games and at least one in 12-straight.
Jaida McDonald has grabbed five or more rebounds in nine of the first 12 games, leading the team in rebounding six times.
A Shocker has yet to finish with double figure rebounds this season.
Abby Cater has recorded two-straight 20-point performances.
Jaila Harding is the only Shocker to have started every game this season. Wichita State has tested 10 different starting lineups.
 
THE SHOCKS, IN SHORT
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  but lost its top four scorers.
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.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State used a dominant second-half performance to pull away from Oral Roberts, securing a 79-65 victory Tuesday morning in front of over 3,000 kids at Charles Koch Arena. After trailing by eight at the half, the Shockers flipped the script coming out of the locker room, outscoring the Golden Eagles 46-23 over the final two quarters. Wichita State took control with a 24-13 third quarter before sealing the win with a strong defensive fourth. Abby Cater delivered another season-high scoring performance off the bench, pouring in 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting, 14 of which came in the fourth quarter. Jaila Harding gave the Shockers 17 points, her 10th game in double figures this season, knocking down four three-pointers to spark the comeback. Diamond Richardson added a Division I career-high 16 points and dished out a game-high and career-high five assists, while Jaida McDonald grabbed a game-high eight rebounds, her third-straight game leading the Shockers on the boards. Bre'Yon White scored seven points for the Shockers, including her first career three to give Wichita State the lead late in the third quarter. Wichita State leaned on its depth throughout the afternoon, getting 36 bench points and outscoring Oral Roberts 38-26 in the paint. The Shockers also capitalized in transition, posting a 15-6 edge in fast-break points. The Shockers shot 60.7 percent in the second half and 54.7 percent overall, while holding Oral Roberts to just 23 points after halftime. Wichita State's 46 second-half points were its most in the second half all season. The Golden Eagles (5-6) were led by Anna Trusty with 23 points and Jalei Oglesby with 15, but Wichita State limited ORU to 25.0 percent shooting in the fourth quarter to close the game. With the win, Wichita State improves to 3-9 on the season, winning its second straight.
 
SERIES VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE
The teams meet for just the second time in program history with Middle Tennessee winning the first matchup 63-44 on Nov. 27, 1990. The teams have never faced off in Charles Koch Arena.
 
SCOUTING THE BLUE RAIDERS
Led by 21^st-year head coach Rick Insell, Middle Tennessee is 4-7, coming off back-to-back losses to Southern Indiana on the road and Auburn at home. MTSU's last win was over American Conference opponent, Memphis, 60-51, at home. The Blue Raiders lead Conference USA in free throw percentage, shooting 72.7 percent from the line. One Blue Raider is averaging double figures as Blair Baugus leads the team with 13 points per game. Baugus also leads the Blue Raiders in rebounding with 9.0 per game, leading Conference USA in double doubles with five. MTSU was picked third of 12 teams in the Conference USA Preseason Poll, and Alayna Contreras was named to the C-USA Preseason All-Conference Team. Contreras is averaging 9.8 points per game for the Blue Raiders.
 
SERVING POINTS ON A PLATTER
Abby Cater has poured in 47 points over the last two games, leading the Shockers to back-to-back wins over LMU and Oral Roberts. She shot 11-for-12 from the field against Oral Roberts and a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line against LMU.
 
THE MAIN DISH
Taya Davis is described as a true pass-first point guard, leading the Shockers in assists with 3.5 per game.
 
TREY-LA HARDING
Jaila Harding is the best shooter on Wichita State's roster, shooting 37.8 percent from beyond the arc. The graduate transfer and Wichita native ranks third in the conference in threes per game with 3.1, hitting five three different times against Lincoln, Western Kentucky and UC Irvine. Her 37 total threes this season are on track to land her on Wichita State's all-time top-10 list. The record is held by Courtney Sims at 73, while the No. 10 mark is 47, performed by Carla Bremaud and Tisharria Huggins.
 
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 begin conference play after the holiday, heading down the road to take on Tulsa on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 6:30 p.m. in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.