WICHITA STATE (3-12, 0-2 American) at TEMPLE (6-7, 0-1 American)
Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2025 | 6:00 p.m.
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
TV: ESPN+ with Shane Dennis and Tracy Anderson
Radio: GoShockers.com/Listen with Pat Strathman
Father-Daughter Night
 
OPENING TIPS
Wichita State looks to pick up its first American Conference win at home against Temple Tuesday evening on Father-Daughter Night.
The matchup features the top two three-point shooters in the American Conference, Jaila Harding vs. Kaylah Turner.
The Shockers and Owls meet for the 17^th time in program history with Temple leading the series, 11-5, and winning both matchups last season. The series is tied 3-3 inside Charles Koch Arena.
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 13.6 points per game, while Abby Cater is chipping in 10.6 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 third in made threes with 49 to lead the conference and tied for eighth all-time in Wichita State history. She ranks second in the nation in three-point attempts with 130 and fifth in threes per game with 3.27.
Cater ranks seventh in the conference in free throw percentage (77.8), shooting 100 percent from the line six times this season, including 5-for-5 against CSU Bakersfield and 8-for-8 in the win over LMU.
Treasure Thompson ranks fifth in the conference in blocks per game with 1.29 and recorded her 100^th career block in the non-conference finale.
The Shockers rank third in the American Conference in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 38.2 percent from the floor and 28.3 percent from beyond the arc, holding opponents to 63.6 points per game.
Wichita State is averaging 22.5 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 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 15 games, including the last five straight.
Harding has hit two or more threes in 13 of the first 15 games and at least one in 15-straight.
Treasure Thompson has led the Shockers in rebounding in the last three games, finishing with eight or more rebounds in all three and is the first Shocker this season to finish with double figure rebounds, grabbing 10 last time out against Tulane.
Harding is the only Shocker to have started every game this season. Wichita State has tested 11 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's fourth quarter comeback effort was not enough to overcome a strong inside attack as Tulane secured a 70-60 win Saturday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers (3-12, 0-2 American) trimmed a third quarter deficit to get the game back within reach, but the Green Wave (6-8, 1-1 American) controlled the paint and capitalized on turnovers to hold the lead for nearly the entire contest. Tulane jumped out to a 19-10 advantage after the opening quarter, scoring 10 points off turnovers in the first 10 minutes and ending the quarter on a 10-0 run. Wichita State responded in the second period, outscoring Tulane 18-16 to cut the halftime margin to 35-28. The Shockers continued to fight in the third quarter, with Diamond Richardson attacking the lane and Abby Cater providing a spark defensively. Wichita State pulled within single digits multiple times after the Green Wave led by as many as 16, but Tulane answered each run and continued to capitalize on Shocker turnovers. In the fourth quarter, Wichita State went on a 10-0 run to make it a one-possession game with less than two minutes remaining, but Tulane sealed the game at the free-throw line down the stretch to secure the 10-point victory. Jaila Harding led Wichita State in scoring for the sixth time this season with 18 points. The Wichita native hit four threes, bringing her season total to 49 to tie for eighth all-time in Wichita State history for single-season threes. Richardson joined her in double figures with 15 points, and Treasure Thompson chipped in seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds to anchor the effort on the glass. Wichita State shot 22-for-56 from the field but only 5-for-22 from the three-point line. The Green Wave held a 40-26 advantage in points in the paint and scored 28 points off Shocker turnovers. Three Tulane players finished in double figures, Dyllan Hanna and Amira Mabry both with 14 and CC Mays with 12.
 
SERIES VS. TEMPLE
The teams meet for the 17^th time in program history with Temple leading the series 11-5, while the series is tied 3-3 in Charles Koch Arena.
 
LAST MEETING
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 OWLS
Led by ninth-year head coach (fourth at Temple) Diane Richardson, Temple is 6-7, coming off a 47-50 home loss to UTSA in its American Conference opener. The Owls rank third in the American Conference in three-point percentage, averaging 31.5 percent from behind the arc. Two Owls are averaging double led by Kaylah Turner with 16.9 and Tristen Taylor with 11.0, respectively. Turner leads the American in points per game, field goal percentage (42.2 percent), and three-point percentage (43.6 percent). Saniyah Craig leads Temple in rebounding with 9.1 per game, good for third in the conference. Temple was picked fourth of 13 teams in the American Conference Preseason Poll, and Turner Sneed were named to the Preseason All-Conference First Team.
 
TREY-LA HARDING
Jaila Harding is the best shooter on Wichita State's roster, shooting 37.7 percent from beyond the arc. The graduate transfer and Wichita native leads the conference in threes per game with 3.27, hitting four or more threes in seven different games and tying her career high of six at Tulsa. Her 49 total threes this season landed her on Wichita State's all-time top-10 list for single-season threes, currently tying for eighth. 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.
 
THE MAIN DISH
Taya Davis is described as a true pass-first point guard, leading the Shockers in assists with 3.4 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 host East Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena for the Yellow Out.