Shocker women blow out Southern Illinois on senior night

As a tune-up for their upcoming road trip, the Shockers’ win over Southern Illinois on Saturday was just right.

Darice Fountaine scored a career-high 17 points and everyone on the roster played as the Wichita State women’s basketball team (19-8, 13-2 Missouri Valley Conference) dismantled Southern Illinois (4-21, 1-13 MVC), 80-55.

Senior Jessica Diamond said the team worked on perfecting its passing and play making during practice. So it was only fitting that WSU dissected SIU’s zone defense early by making the extra pass in the corner and attacking the low-post, finishing with 24 assists.

“We knew ball movement is the key to breaking down the zone,” Diamond said. “Coach always says it’s like playing chess, so we run our offense, execute it and look for an opening.”

It was senior night for the Shockers as Diamond, Fountaine, Jasmine Jones, Jazimen Gordon, Chynna Turner and Nicole Wells played their final home game.

“It’s a little bittersweet, but to see how far this team has come and watching my fellow seniors grow up, it’s been an amazing journey,” Diamond said.

For Diamond, the moment didn’t affect her until the final buzzer sounded.

“I think it hit me after the game when I saw some people in tears,” she said.

For WSU coach Jody Adams, it meant one final time walking through the tunnel at Charles Koch Arena with the players that helped her bring the program back to relevancy.

 “Their selflessness,” Adams said when asked what she will miss the most about her six seniors. “Everything is for the program, about the program, and they’re not just great basketball players—they are great people.”

It figured to be a long night for the Salukis when WSU’s bench came into the game and sparked a 15-8 run for a 36-20 lead. From then on, the outcome was never in doubt. The Shockers led by as many as 33 points, though one wouldn’t have known it by watching the plays from the hustling bunch.

Despite the large lead, Michelle Price dove on the floor to secure an offensive rebound, Alex Harden nearly fell over the press table trying to intercept an SIU pass a few plays later, and both Diamond and Jordyn Courier fell to the ground attempting to grab a loose ball.

“The question was for who? Why do we do the hard stuff, why do we hustle, why do we do the little stuff?” Adams said. “It was for the seniors—today was about the seniors.”

The Shockers remain one game ahead of Creighton and close out Valley play with a three-game road trip, starting with Illinois State on Thursday.