WICHITA STATE (3-16, 0-6 American) at MEMPHIS 7-11, 1-4 American)
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 | 6:00 p.m.
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
TV: ESPN+ with Shane Dennis and Tracy Anderson
Radio: GoShockers.com/Listen with Pat Strathman
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State looks to pick up its first American Conference win at home against Memphis in Charles Koch Arena.
The Shockers and Tigers meet for the 13^th time in program history with Memphis leading the overall series, 7-5, and the series in Wichita, 4-2.
The Shockers concluded their non-conference slate with a 3-10 record, defeating Lincoln in the season opener and claiming back-to-back wins over Loyola Marymount and Oral Roberts in December.
Jaila Harding is leading the Shockers in scoring with 12.1 points per game, while Abby Cater is chipping in 10.2 per game, including back-to-back season-high performances, 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 17th in made threes with 54 to lead the conference and rank fourth all-time in Wichita State history for single-season threes. She ranks fourth in the nation in three-point attempts with 157 and 26th in threes per game with 2.84, ranking second in the conference.
Cater ranks third in the conference in steals per game with 2.44, recording a career-high eight at Florida Atlantic, good for No. 7 all-time in program history for single-game steals. She also ranks eighth in the conference in free throw percentage, shooting 77 percent from the charity stripe.
Treasure Thompson ranks fifth in the conference in blocks per game with 1.06 and recorded her 100^th career block in the non-conference finale.
The Shockers rank third in the American Conference in three-point percentage defense, holding opponents to 28.8 percent from beyond the arc.
 
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 the three wins this season.
Eighty-seven percent of Terry Nooner's wins have come when outrebounding the opponent.
Harding has finished in double figures in 13 of the first 19 games, including two 20-plus point performances.
Harding has hit two or more threes in 14 of the first 19 games and at least one in 19-straight.
Harding is the only Shocker to have started every game this season. Wichita State has tested 13 different starting lineups.
Wichita State has hit three or less three pointers in the last four games.
 
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 opened Saturday night with strong energy, but South Florida used a decisive second-half surge to pull away for a 75-53 decision at the Yuengling Center. The Shockers led after one quarter and were within striking distance at halftime before the Bulls took control in the third, outscoring Wichita State 22-12 to create separation. Wichita State jumped out early, shooting 66.7 percent in the opening quarter and taking a 19-18 lead after 10 minutes. Jaila Harding knocked down an early three, while seven other Shockers scored in the period, 12 points coming in the paint. South Florida answered in the second quarter behind Katie Davidson, who finished with a game-high 24 points. The Bulls held Wichita State to six points in the period and carried a 32-25 lead into the locker room. The Bulls continued to apply pressure coming out of halftime, shooting 66.7 percent in the third quarter. Davidson, Edyn Battle and Jelena Bulajic combined to score 16 points in the frame as USF extended its lead to double digits. Despite the deficit, Wichita State continued to battle. Karys Washington led the Shockers with six points and three rebounds off the bench in the second half, while Azjah Reeves chipped in five points after the break. Wichita State struggled to stop the Bulls in the paint as South Florida finished with 44 points inside. The Bulls also found success in transition, scoring 25 fast break points on the day. South Florida shot 51.7 percent for the game and held a 37-24 rebounding edge. Three Bulls finished in double figures, while no Shocker broke the 10-point barrier. Harding and Washington led the Shockers' scoring with eight points each.
 
SERIES VS. MEMPHIS
The teams meet for the 13^th time in program history with Memphis leading the all-time series 7-5, and leading the series, 4-2, in Wichita. The last Wichita State win came in January of 2-24 when the Shockers won 71-66 at home.
 
LAST MEETING
Wichita State fell in its first AAC road game, as Memphis hit 13 threes to claim a 93-83 victory Wednesday afternoon in Elma Roane Fieldhouse. Despite recording its second-highest field goal percentage (.485) and scoring its second-most points of the season, Wichita State continued to be plagued by missed free throws, shooting just 11-for-22 from the line. Two Tigers had 20-plus point outings, with Tilly Boler scoring 25 points (10-for-18 FG, 4-for-8 3FG), and Alasia Smith recording 20 points and 10 rebounds. Memphis was 31-for-68 (.456) from the field and a season-best 13-for-30 (.433) from behind the arc. Junior transfer Maimouna Sissoko recorded her first career Division I double-double for the Shockers with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore Salese Blow and junior transfer Princess Anderson each put up 11 points, Blow's sixth-straight game in double figures. Graduate transfer Taylor Jameson hit two threes in the first half, making nine-straight games with a three and her ninth game with multiple triples before exiting the game with an apparent leg injury at the end of the first half. Jameson started the second half but only played a few minutes before returning to the bench for the remainder of the game. All 12 Shockers who entered the game scored. Senior Ella Anciaux scored a season-high eight points and grabbed six rebounds, senior Ornella Niankan had nine points and five rebounds, and senior Aicha Ndour recorded eight points and five rebounds. Wichita State led by two in a first quarter with eight lead changes, but the Tigers took a one-point lead to end the quarter and never gave up the lead after. Averaging six threes per game entering the contest, Memphis hit 10 in the first half to take a 50-45 lead at the half. In the second half, Memphis extended its lead to 17 with seven minutes to play. Anderson created a spark off the bench for the Shockers, scoring all 11 of her points in the final six minutes of the game to help chip away at the Tigers' lead. Sissoko also came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of her 10 points in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Led by head coach Alex Simmons, Memphis is 7-11, coming off back-to-back losses to South Florida and North Texas after picking up their first conference win at home against Florida Atlantic. The Tigers lead the American Conference in three-point percentage (43.8) and rank second in turnovers forced per game (19.0). Three Tigers are averaging double figures, led by Chae Harris with 12.9, Daejah Richmond with 12.4, and Tamya Smith with 11.4. Smith is also the team's leading rebounder with 5.1 per game. Richmond ranks second in the conference in steals with 47 and steals per game with 2.61. Smith ranks sixth in the conference in blocks per game with 1.0. Memphis was picked ninth out of 13 teams in the American Conference Preseason Poll.
 
TREY-LA HARDING
Jaila Harding is the best shooter on Wichita State's roster, shooting 34.4 percent from beyond the arc. The graduate transfer and Wichita native leads the conference in made threes per game with 54, hitting four or more threes in seven different games and tying her career high of six at Tulsa. Her 54 total threes this season landed her on Wichita State's all-time top-10 list for single-season threes, currently sitting No. 4. The record was set by Courtney Sims at 73 during the 1999-2000 season.
 
SERVING POINTS ON A PLATTER
Abby Cater poured in 47 points over 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. At Florida Atlantic, she put up 17 points and recorded a career-high eight steals, good for No. 7 all-time in program history for single-game steals.
 
THE MAIN DISH
Taya Davis is described as a true pass-first point guard, leading the Shockers in assists with 2.7 per game.
 
DEPTH CHART
The Shockers rank fourth in the conference in bench points per game, averaging 23.8 with 11 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game.
 
NON-CONFERENCE IN REVIEW
The Shockers finished their non-conference slate 3-10, opening with a 96-49 win over Lincoln before hitting a nine-game slump. Wichita State got back on track with back-to-back wins over Loyola Marymount and Oral Roberts before falling to Middle Tennessee State in a 45-46 heartbreaker in the non-conference finale. Seven of the 10 losses were single digit games. Jaila Harding and Abby Cater led the team in scoring, averaging 12.6 and 11.2 points per game, respectively. Cater recorded back-to-back 20-plus point performances in the wins over LMU and ORU, and Harding put up 21 at UC Irvine. Jaida McDonald led the Shockers on the boards, averaging 5.1 rebounds per game.
 
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 hit the road for a rematch with East Carolina on Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 5 p.m. CT.