Shockers end streak, beat FIU in Thanksgiving tournament

After falling into a losing streak, the Wichita State women’s basketball team has finally come out of its slump with a 76-62 win over Florida International University in the last game of the FIU Thanksgiving Classic on Sunday.

But the biggest story from the FIU Thanksgiving Classic was junior TaQuandra Mike, who was named the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week and selected to be on the All-Tournament team with her performances against Richmond on Friday and FIU on Sunday.

Against Richmond, Mike was one of three players with a double-digit score of 14 points. Mike stepped up her game in a major way with 28 points, one assist, two blocks and six steals against FIU.

Overall in both games, Mike played 76 minutes and shot 58.6 percent (14-24) from the field, along with 50 percent (8-16) outside the three-point line.

However, Mike wasn’t the only Shocker with impressive performances over the holiday weekend.

In the first game against Richmond, the Shockers fell 63-50, but other team members aside from Mike contributed with double-digit points. Sophomore Aundra Stovall and freshman Jyar Francis each scored 12 points. Stovall also added three assists while Francis added two assists, one block and five steals.

Those three double-digit point scorers put up 38 points combined, but there was more to be said for other Shockers. Sophomore Diamond Lockhart tacked on seven points and two assists, and freshman Ellie Lehne added five points and one block.

Overall, Richmond out shot the Shockers with 45.1 percent (23-51) to 34.7 percent (17-49) shooting from the field, but shooting from the three-point line was almost identical with Richmond shooting 34.8 percent (8-23) and the Shockers shooting 34.6 percent (9-26).

While the first game of the tournament didn’t seem to go too well, the second game turned the competition around.

The Shockers’ second game against FIU on Sunday ended in a 76-62 victory.

Mike led the team again, but was followed closely by Francis with 21 points, two blocks and one steal. Mike and Francis were the only two in double digits, but four other Shockers contributed to the victory. Lockhart added eight points, seven assists and two steals; Lehne put up seven points; Stovall and junior Jaleesa Chapel each scored six points with Stovall adding two assists and one steal, and Chapel had three assists.

Overall, the Shockers proved their skills with 60 percent (27-45) shooting from the field compared to FIU’s 41.1 percent (23-56). The Shockers also out-shot FIU from the three-point line with 43.8 percent (7-16) compared with 38.5 percent (5-13).

As of Wednesday, the Shockers sit on a 1-4 record, but there’s still plenty of basketball season ahead.

The Shockers’ next game is at 12:05 p.m. Friday against Southeast Missouri State at Charles Koch Arena or tune in on ESPN3.