Since a close defeat to the No. 6 ranked Tennessee Volunteers on Dec. 16, the Wichita State women’s basketball team has been on a winning streak.

Overall, the team has a 14-3 record going into their 7 p.m. game against Illinois State Friday at Charles Koch Arena.

In the last few weeks, the Shockers have been unstoppable on the road and at home, beating opponents by more than 10 points every game.

The Shockers said goodbye to 2014 by overthrowing Sam Houston State by 24 points on Dec. 28. Junior Jamillah Bonner led the team to the win defensively with six rebounds, and made nine out of 10 of her free throws.

Senior point guard Alex Harden was the highest scorer for the Shockers during the first few weeks of 2015, with 21 points on Jan. 2, 20 points on Jan. 4 and 31 points on Jan. 9.  

Harden’s momentum led her to be named Missouri Valley Player of the week for two weeks in a row, and she has taken over 10th place on the career-scoring list as a Shocker with 1,358 points.

In the last away game against Loyola in Chicago, the game started slow for the Shockers, who opened the first half shooting 14 percent. After several timeouts by head coach Jody Adams, the Shockers took off on a 26-8 run, taking over the game and increasing the lead to 17 points. Sophomore Alie Decker contributed to the lead with two back-to-back three pointers in the second half.

The Shockers ended the game against Loyola 65-41.

Loyola head coach Sheryl Swoopes had one thing to say about the Shockers at the press conference after her team’s defeat: “WSU is the best team in the Missouri Valley Conference right now.”

The Shockers are looking for their sixth conference win during this week’s game against Illinois State.

The game will have a theme, “Backing Pat,” for Alzheimer’s awareness. Students can pick up a free ticket with their student ID at the box office 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.