Wichita State’s women’s basketball needed a win Saturday against Tulane to keep its conference tournament hopes alive with just one week remaining in the regular season.
The Shockers battled all afternoon at Devlin Fieldhouse, trading the lead 15 times before a final Green Wave push sealed a 62-54 loss for Wichita State.
The Shockers dropped to 7-22 and 4-12 in conference play, while also slipping out of contention for the American Conference Championship. The last time they didn’t compete in a conference tournament was the 2004-05 season.
Tulane, which didn’t make a single attempt from 3-point range, ended the game on a 6-0 run in the final 53 seconds to close the door on the Shockers. The Green Wave was led by a 20-point, four-rebound, two-steal outing from guard Kanija Daniel, who scored 16 points in the second half alone.
The last time Wichita State held a team to no makes from beyond the arc was against Central Florida in January 2018.
Graduate guard Abby Cater led the Shockers’ efforts with a game-high 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting but didn’t find much help elsewhere. The remaining nine players who entered the game for Wichita State combined to shoot 9-for-37.
And even though the Shockers won the rebounding battle 37-29, their 19 turnovers resulted in 23 points for Tulane.
Wichita State did manage to take a 17-16 lead at the end of the first quarter, and its defense held strong to start the second, not allowing Tulane to convert a bucket for the first five minutes of the period.
But offensive struggles showed for the Shockers, as well, who shot an abysmal 6% from the floor in the second, yet took a 26-25 lead before the break.
Cater scored on a fast break to open a three-point lead at the start of the third quarter and Wichita State later went up by as many as five. Despite an eight-minute scoring drought, the Shockers managed to cling to a two-point lead at the quarter’s end.
Tulane shot 75% from the field in the fourth quarter to Wichita State’s 30% to flip the scoreboard and complete a season sweep over the Shockers. The Green Wave scored 10 more points than WSU in the period.
The Shockers will compete in their final home game of the season against North Texas at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Koch Arena.
Box score breakdown
WSU — 17; 9; 16; 12 — 54
Tulane — 16; 9; 15; 22 — 62
Shooting totals (fg-3p-ft)
WSU (34% – 23% – 74%)
Tulane (47% – 0% – 67%)
Leaders
Points — WSU: Abby Cater (24), Jaila Harding (9), Karys Washington (6). Tulane: Kanija Daniel (20), Amira Mabry (15), Jayda Brown (10).
Rebounds — WSU: Karys Washington (6), Taya Davis (6), Abby Cater (5), Bre’Yon White (5). Tulane: Amira Mabry (8), Kanija Daniel (4), Mecailin Marshall (4), Shiloh Kimpson (4).
Assists — WSU: Taya Davis (3), Bre’Yon White (2), Treasure Thompson (2), Diamond Richardson (2). Tulane: Shiloh Kimpson (3), CC Mays (3), Kanija Daniel (2), Mecailin Marshall (2).
