The Wichita State women’s basketball team opened up their season Saturday with a 50-61 loss to former conference rivals Northern Iowa.

The Panthers held the Shockers to 30% shooting from the field and just 8% from behind the three-point line.

“Free throw wise, we were 13-24 and 1-12 on three point line. We missed layups and two footers,” Head Coach Keitha Adams said. “So, shooting and making plays, finishing at the rim, knocking down two-foot shots and free throws — you know, if we did that, you got a different situation.”

The Shockers were able to stay in the game by holding the Panthers to 29% shooting from the field in the first half and 25% from deep. Regardless, it still wasn’t enough to get the team over the hump.

“I thought our defense was really good the first half, and we held the other team to 24 points.” Adams stated. “The second half, our offensive struggled and they got a rhythm, and shots went in for them, but didn’t go in for us.”

Senior guard Maya Brewer also spoke to WSU’s first-half defense.

“Our communication was our best factor to the game,” Brewer said. “In practices, we’ve been working on how to improve our communication and talk out screens.”

At the closing buzzer, the Panthers were shooting 40% from the field, 23% from the three-point line, and 18-20 from the free throw line. Karli Rucker led the Panthers with 18 points and two assists.

Trajata Colbert led the Shockers with 12 points and five rebounds and Brewer contributed 11 points of her own. Sophomore Seraphine Bastin fouled out the game with nine points and three rebounds.

The Shockers were outrebounded 44 to 31, but racked up 14 steals.

Up next, the Shockers visit Oral Roberts Monday. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.