[11] WICHITA STATE (10-21, 4-14 AAC) vs. [6] TULANE (16-12, 9-8 AAC)
AAC Tournament – Second Round
Sunday, March 9, 2025 | 8:00 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
TV: ESPN
Radio: Audacy.com/KFH with Pat Strathman
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State opens the American Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 11 seed in a second-round matchup with No. 6-seed Tulane.
Wichita State's best finish in the AAC Tournament came in 2023 when they were the No. 8 seed and defeated No. 9 Temple in the first round and No. 1 South Florida in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 4 Houston in the semifinals.
A Shocker win would send Wichita State to the quarterfinals to face No. 3 South Florida.
The teams meet for the 15^th time in program history with the series tied at 7-7.
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 12.5 and 11.5 points per game, respectively, and junior Princess Anderson has emerged as another big scorer with three 20-point performances in the last six games.
Blow has led the Shockers in scoring in 10 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 21 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 (49.7 percent) and was named AAC Second Team All-Conference this season.
Anderson had been a spark plug off the bench before getting the start in the last three outings before Senior Night, leading the team in scoring eight times with a Division I career high 25 points at Tulane.
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 at Tulsa. She ranks No. 4 all-time in Wichita State history for single-season made threes with 53.
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 eighth in blocks per game (1.14).
Wichita State's bench production ranks No. 2 in the conference with 21 points per game.
The Shockers have limited turnovers, averaging 15.5 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 (63.8), 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 has started every game this season for the Shockers, and Murray has started every game except for senior night.
Jameson has hit at least one three pointer in 23 of 27 games she's played in this season. She has hit two or more in 15 games.
Blow has finished in double figures in the last four-straight games.
Ndour has recorded at least one block in nine of the last 10 games she's played in. She is four blocks away for No. 15 all-time in Wichita State for history single season blocks.
Nine of 10 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 nine of the 10 wins this season.
The Shockers have missed as many or more free throws than the final score margin in a loss seven times this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State fell 58-46 to Tulsa in the regular season finale Tuesday evening in Charles Koch Arena.
 
The Shockers secured the No. 11 seed in the American Athletic Conference tournament, where they will open against No. 6 seed Tulane in the second round on Sunday, March 9 at 8 p.m in Fort Worth, Texas.
 
Salese Blow led all scoring with 17 points, her 19th game in doubles figures this season, and Jayla Murray also finished in double figures with 10 points. Ornella Niankan led the Shockers in rebounding with seven.
 
Tulsa's Delanie Crawford recorded a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double, Mady Cartwright had 14 points, and Hadley Periman recorded eight points and 13 rebounds for the Golden Hurricane.
 
The story of the night was turnovers as Wichita State committed 22 and Tulsa had 23, but the Golden Hurricane were better at capitalizing off those turnovers with 18 points to the Shockers' eight.
 
Tulsa out-rebounded the Shockers 47-37 and scored 15 second-chance points with 13 offensive rebounds.
 
The Golden Hurricane led by as many as 18 in the third quarter, holding the Shockers to just seven points in the period.  Wichita State went on a 12-0 run to cut the deficit to six in the fourth, but Tulsa held on to claim its 17th win of the season.
 
Despite Tulsa shooting 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) from the field in the third quarter, the Shockers held the Golden Hurricane to 33.3 percent in the game. Both teams hit the same number of field goals, shooting 20-for-61 overall, but Tulsa shot 9-for 27 from three as opposed to Wichita State's 3-for-12 from behind the arc.
 
Taylor Jameson hit two threes to rank No. 4 in Wichita State history in single season made threes with 53.

SCOUTING THE GREEN WAVE
Led by fourth-year head coach (first at Tulane), Ashley Langford, Tulane is 9-8 in conference play, coming off two-straight losses to UTSA and UAB to end the regular season. Four players are averaging double figures with Sherese Pittman leading the way with 14.0 points per game, Kyren Whittington scoring 11.8 per game, Amira Mabry averaging 10.9 per game, and Kendall Sneed averaging 10.8 per game. Pittman is also the team's leading rebounder with 7.2 per game, ranking ninth in the conference. Victoria Keenan leads the AAC in three-point percentage (44.3), and Dyllan Hanna ranks second in the conference in blocks per game with 1.48. The Green Wave leads the AAC in field goal percentage, shooting 42.2 percent from the floor and ranks second in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 37.0 percent. 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. This is the first time the two teams will meet on neutral ground. Tulane swept the regular season series, winning by four points in both meetings.
 
LAST MEETING
The Shockers' second quarter slump gave the Green Wave the go ahead as Wichita State fell 68-64 in Fogelman Arena. Junior Princess Anderson led all scoring with a career high 25 points, her third 20-point performance in four games, and sophomore Salese Blow put up 17 points with four steals. Five Shockers grabbed five or more rebounds with redshirt-junior Jayla Murray leading the way with seven. Three Tulane players finished in double figures with Sherese Pittman recording a 17-point 15-rebound double-double, Victoria Keenan had 16, and Kyren Whittington had 12. Wichita State shot just 23-for-79 (29.1 percent) from the field, and Tulane out-rebounded the Shockers 51-46. Anderson hit a three to score the first points of the game and finished the quarter with nine points to lead all scoring after one. The Shockers went on a 6-0 run during the first period with points from Blow and Bre'Yon White to go up 10, but Tulane held the Shockers scoreless through the last two minutes of the quarter to make it a four-point game. The Shockers' scoring drought continued in the second quarter as the Green Wave scored 12-straight to capture their first lead of the game and go up four. Blow hit a three to give Wichita State its first points in seven and a half minutes, but Tulane finished the quarter on a 13-3 run, holding the Shockers to 2-for-17 shooting and just six points in the period, tying for the lowest scoring quarter of the season for WSU. Anderson's three to end the quarter gave her 12 first half points as the Shockers entered halftime down 11. Tulane shared the ball in the first half as eight Tulane players scored in the first half while only three Shockers put points on the board before halftime. The Green Wave went up 14 out of the break before the Shockers went on an 8-0 run early in the third quarter to cut the deficit to six, but Tulane stretched it back to 13 by the end of the quarter. Tulane was up by as many as 17 in the fourth as Wichita State tried to chip away. The Shockers' defense forced six turnovers over five and a half minutes, getting four-straight stops down the stretch couldn't convert on the other end. Anderson hit a buzzer-beater three to end the game as the Shockers lost by four to the Green Wave for the second time this season.
 
LEADING LADIES
At the conclusion of the regular season, Jayla Murray leads the Shockers in scoring with 12.5 points per game. Salese Blow is also averaging double figures with 11.5 points per game. Taylor Jameson has been the best three-point shooter for Wichita State, hitting 53 threes this season, and is the Shockers' assists leader with 2.6 per game. Murray is also the team's leading rebounder with 5.4 per game and two double-doubles. Princess Anderson has emerged as an offensive threat for the Shockers, averaging 9.3 points per game with three 20-point performances in the last six 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.
 
BLOCK OF ICE
Aicha Ndour ranks eighth in the conference in total blocks with 32. She has recorded at least one block in 21 games and is four blocks away from No. 15 on the Wichita State all-time list for single season blocks. She has recorded multiple blocks in five of her last seven games.
 
#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 eight of the last nine games and two or more in five of that last six games. She recorded her first 20-piece of the year with 22 at UTSA. She leads the Shockers in three pointers, shooting 37.6 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 19 times this season with three 20+ point games, leading the team in scoring 11 times and being named to the AAC weekly honorable mention player of the week list twice.
 
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 eight times with three 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.