WICHITA STATE (9-19, 3-12 AAC) at TULANE (15-10, 8-6 AAC)
Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. CT
New Orleans, La. | Fogelman Arena
TV: ESPN+ with Tiffany Aidoo and Bryce Koon
Radio: Audacy.com/KFH Listen with Pat Strathman
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State concludes its regular season conference road schedule Saturday afternoon at Tulane.
The teams meet for the 15^th time in program history with the series tied at 7-7. The Green Wave won the first matchup of the season, 66-62, back in January in Charles Koch Arena
Wichita State is in year two of the Terry Nooner era, and the Shockers return their leading scorer from conference play, sophomore guard Salese Blow. With nine newcomers on the team, the Shockers return just 37.6 percent of their scoring.
Redshirt-junior forward Jayla Murray and Blow have been the 1-2 punch for the Shockers for most of the season, leading the team with 12.8 and 11.1 points per game, respectively, and junior Princess Anderson has emerged as another big scorer with two 20-point performances in the last three games.
Blow has led the Shockers in scoring in eight games with three 20+ point performances, making eight career games over 20.
Murray led the Shockers in scoring during non-conference play, averaging 11.7 points per game with two double-doubles. She has finished in double figures 16 times, recording two 20-point performances, both against UAB, and has led Wichita State in scoring 10 times.
Murray ranks second in the AAC in field goal percentage (51.5 percent), making the fifth-most in the league with 155.
Anderson had been a spark plug off the bench before getting the start in the last two outings, leading the team in scoring seven times with a Division I career high 21 points at Charlotte.
Graduate transfer and Wichita native Taylor Jameson returned home for her final season of college basketball and has led the Shockers in scoring six times. In the conference opener against North Texas, she hit five threes on her way to 17 points and at UTSA she drained a career-high six threes, scoring a season-high 22 points. She missed three games due to injury but returned to the lineup four games ago at Tulsa. She led the Shockers with 18 points in the win over Rice.
Freshman KP Parr has been a pest on defense, applying ball pressure and being a constant, frustrating presence for the opposition.
Aicha Ndour is one of the top shot blockers in the conference, ranking fifth in total blocks (30) and sixth in blocks per game (1.15).
Jasmine Peaks has proven to be a great facilitator for Wichita State, dishing out a career-high eight assists against Tulane, one of five times leading the team in assists and second time this season with five or more assists. She stepped into the starting lineup while Jameson was out.
Wichita State is one the deepest teams in the AAC, ranking No. 2 in the conference in bench points per game with 21.6.
The Shockers have limited turnovers, averaging 15.4 per game, good for second-best in the conference.
Free throws have plagued the Shockers as they rank 12th in the AAC in free throw percentage (63.9), but they hit their most free throws of the season (20) in the road win over UAB, including a perfect 10-for-10 from Blow. In the win over Rice, they hit crucial free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
 
STREAKS & TRENDS
Blow and Murray have started every game this season for the Shockers.
Jameson has hit at least one three pointer in each of the last six games and in 21 of 24 games she's played in this season. She has hit two or more in each of the last three games.
Ndour has recorded at least one block in each of the last eight games she's played in
Eight of nine wins this season have come when the Shockers outrebounded their opponent.
The Shockers came back to beat both UAB and Florida Atlantic after being down at halftime, their only times this season overcoming a halftime deficit to win a game.
All but two wins in the Terry Nooner era have come when holding opponents to less than 70 points, including eight of the nine wins this season.
The Shockers have missed as many or more free throws than the final score margin in a loss six times this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Despite a Wichita State halftime lead, Temple ran away with it in the third quarter, storming to a 70-51 lead over the Shockers Wednesday evening in The Liacouras Center.
 
Tarriyonna Gray led Temple with 25 points, hitting seven of the Owls' nine threes. Temple scored 23 points off 18 Shocker turnovers, and its bench put up 25 points to Wichita State's zero bench points.
 
Wichita State's Princess Anderson recorded her second 20-point performance of the season, and Salese Blow also finished in double figures with 14. Aicha Ndour led the team in rebounding for the second-straight game with seven. Only four Shockers scored on the night as Jayla Murray had nine and Taylor Jameson had eight.
 
It was all Anderson and Blow for the Shockers in the first half as the duo scored 23 of the team's 28 points before halftime. The Owls scored the first five points of the game before Anderson went on an 8-0 run by herself. Temple regained the lead, finishing the quarter on a 13-2 run to go up eight.
 
Wichita State held the Owls scoreless for five minutes in the second quarter, going on a 9-0 run courtesy of a three by Taylor Jameson and three-straight buckets from Blow. Temple hit a three to tie it back up at 25-25, but Anderson responded with a three of her own with 10 seconds left in the half to give the Shockers a three-point lead at the break.
 
It was all Temple in the third quarter as the Owls scored 31 points in the quarter, going on a 19-0 run over four minutes and holding the Shockers to just seven third-period points. Temple shot 5-for-6 from three and forced eight Shocker turnovers to take a commanding 56-35 lead going into the fourth.
 
The Owls scored 16 points off turnovers in the second half, and although the Shockers won the fourth quarter 16-14, it wasn't enough to come back from the third quarter thumping.

SCOUTING THE GREEN WAVE
Led by fourth-year head coach (first at Tulane), Ashley Langford, Tulane is 8-6 in conference play, coming off three-straight losses to North Texas, Temple and Tulsa. Four players are averaging double figures with Sherese Pittman leading the way with 13.8 points per game. Dyllan Hanna ranks second in the conference in blocks per game with 1.5, blocking 33 shots overall. Kendall Sneed and Pittman rank fourth and fifth in the AAC in free throw attempts, and Sneed ranks third in made free throws. The Green Wave ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage (42.5), field goal percentage defense (37.1), and turnovers per game (15.4). Tulane was picked 10th out of 13 teams in the AAC Preseason Poll.
 
SERIES VS. TULANE
The teams meet for the 15^th time in program history with the series tied at 7-7. The Green Wave won the first matchup of the season, 66-62, back in January in Charles Koch Arena. The last time the two teams met in New Orleans, Tulane came out on top, 76-53.
 
LAST MEETING
The Shockers' second-half comeback efforts fell short against Tulane on Jan. 15 in Charles Koch Arena. The Green Wave's interior defense limited the Shockers to just 31.9 percent shooting from the field. Their perimeter defense did just as well, holding Wichita State to 26.3 percent from beyond the arc in tonight's game. Despite this, the Shockers' leading scorer, Salese Blow, succeeded from deep, hitting 3-of-7 three-point attempts and finishing with 20 points and five rebounds, her third 20-point performance of the season. Joining Blow in double-figures was Jayla Murray, who scored 17 points of her own, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and collecting two blocks and two steals. Led by forward Amira Mabry, Tulane started the night in control as the Green Wave opened the game with a 20-11 lead. The Shockers closed the final minute of the first quarter with momentum, though, going on a 5-0 run to lessen their deficit to four (20-16). Mabry led the Green Wave in scoring, as she collected 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. The Green Wave's size and physicality gave the Shockers issues as Tulane out-rebounded Wichita State 52-41. Tulane had three players grabbing at least eight rebounds or more, while the Shockers had only one player reach seven (Jasmine Peaks). The two teams battled back and forth throughout the second frame, but the score would find the Green Wave up 34-33 at the half. Wichita State took care of the ball well compared to their counterparts in tonight's contest, winning the turnover battle with seven fewer turnovers (19-12). Five Shockers recorded at least one steal, with Blow and Jordan Jackson swiping away one and Peaks, Murray, and Taylor Jameson all corralling two. Tulane refused to lose its lead throughout the third quarter, but a 10-5 run fueled by knock-down free-throw shooting and a pair of buckets from Murray saw Wichita State take a 50-49 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Shockers crushed the Green Wave in points from the bench, proving why they lead the American Athletic Confrerence in bench points per game, as Wichita State's reserves contributed 23 points, while Tulane's failed to score a single point. The Green Wave reclaimed their lead immediately in the fourth with a put-back lay-in. Tulane held the lead for the remainder of the game as the Shocker's offensive attack froze up. The Green Wave hit clutch free throws down the stretch, while Wichita State failed to score on the offensive end, leading to a 66-62 loss. Allowing second-chance opportunities was a significant blow for the Shockers in the fourth quarter, allowing six second-chance points. Tulane scored 13 points on extra chances in the game, while Wichita State scored only eight. 
 
LEADING LADIES
Through 28 games, Jayla Murray leads the Shockers in scoring with 12.8 points per game. Salese Blow is also averaging double figures with 11.1 points per game. Taylor Jameson has been the best three-point shooter for Wichita State, hitting 48 threes this season, and is the Shockers' assists leader with 2.6 per game. Murray is also the team's leading rebounder with 5.3 per game and two double-doubles. Princess Anderson has emerged as an offensive threat for the Shockers, averaging 9.2 points per game with two 20-point performances in the last three games.
 
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 and then another against UAB, 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.
 
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.
 
#BREMODE
Junior Bre'Yon White recorded her first career double-double in the win over Western Kentucky and has led the Shockers in rebounding eight times. She has finished in double figures three times 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 five times and assists six times and has finished in double figures 10 times. Jameson has hit at least one three in six-straight games and two or more in that last three games. She recorded her first 20-piece of the year with 22 at UTSA. She leads the Shockers in three pointers, shooting 39.3 percent from behind the arc.
 
BOBO DA SHOW
Salese Blow, nicknamed BoBo by her mom Stacie, who is an NCAA women's basketball and G-League official, 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 16 times this season with three 20+ point games, leading the team in scoring nine 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 10 times with two double-doubles and two 20-point performances.
 
P3
Princess Anderson had a breakout game in the win over Prairie View A&M, scoring 17 points, recording four steals and grabbing five rebounds. She was a spark plug off the bench in a handful of games before getting her first career start in the home win over Rice. She averaged 26.7 points per game off the bench as a sophomore at Pratt CC, leading the NJCAA in scoring. She has led the Shockers in scoring seven times with two 20-point performances.
 
OFF THE COURT SUCCESS
Wichita State women's basketball set a new program record with their fall semester GPA of 3.52 with four perfect 4.0s.
 
NEW HEIGHTS
Senior transfer from Illinois, Aicha Ndour, is the tallest player in Wichita State history at 6-6. She ranks fifth in the conference in blocks with 30 this season.
 
DESTINED DUO
Jayla Murray and Jasmine Peaks go way back. The duo played high school basketball together at Tampa Bay Tech, where they won the 2019-20 Florida Class 8A State Championship together. Both decided to transfer after that season and coincidentally ended up at the same school, Winter Haven. The duo played on the same AAU team as well before heading off to college. Murray went to play for Florida SouthWestern State and Peaks went to Indian River State College. Murray transferred to Wichita State in 2022-23. Nooner started recruiting Peaks during that season, and the pair realized they might have a chance to play together again. The duo has great on-court chemistry having played together for so long and know each other's tendencies.
 
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.