Women’s basketball falls short against Memphis 

Senior+Mariah+McCully+drives+the+ball+down+the+court+during+the+game+against+Memphis+on+Jan.+16.

Mia Hennen/ The Sunflower

Senior Mariah McCully drives the ball down the court during the game against Memphis on Jan. 16.

After winning their first conference game on Thursday, the Wichita State women’s basketball team dropped their second conference game of the season to the Memphis Tigers on Sunday. This is Memphis’s first conference win of the season after they defeated the Shockers 50-49.

It all came down to the wire for the Shockers. As Memphis led 50-47 with less than a minute remaining, the Shockers needed a three-pointer to tie the game. The closest the Shockers came to pulling off an upset was when Asia Strong scored a second chance layup with seven seconds remaining. After Strong’s layup, the Shockers could not recover the ball with 3.8 seconds left. 

WSU trailed Memphis throughout the course of the game, leading only at 4-2 in the first quarter, but Memphis’ largest lead of eight points came in the first half of the game. 

The Shocker offense settled for shooting three-pointers instead of passing the ball and finishing at the rim for much of the game. Their lack of patience on offense led to Memphis taking over on defense.

“Us only having seven points off of fast breaks that hurt us and you see Memphis had 25 turnovers so we should have scored a lot more points off of fast breaks because with Memphis turning it over that many times,” head coach Keitha Adams said. 

Junior Jane Asinde goes up for a two-pointer during the first half of the game against Memphis on Jan. 16. (Mia Hennen/ The Sunflower)

Despite Memphis’ losing streak, they still had one of the strongest defenses in the AAC. The Tigers are steadfast within their defensive transitions making it difficult for the Shockers to make any easy shots. Their offense took over as they out rebounded the Shockers 48-35.

Statistically, the Shockers came into the game shooting the ball better than Memphis from the  field (40.2%-38.1) and from the free throw line (74.5%-70.4%). WSU did not live up to those numbers, as their free throw percentage dropped to 60% and field goals dropped to 30%.

Returning to the second half of the game, the Shockers had high hopes with Memphis leading 31-27 with an 8% shot difference. However, WSU could not catch up.

Senior Mariah McCully led Wichita State scoring a team high of 13 points. She was the only Shocker to score double digits and scored the first six points of the game. 

“I have noticed that our third quarter has been our struggle lately,” McCully said. “We come out of half time and we’re slower, we’re heavier than the beginning of the game. I feel like we need to find that heart to play all four quarters. We haven’t had that yet.”

After a successful play, the women’s basketball team cheers on the rest of their team. (Mia Hennen/ The Sunflower)

WSU went into a scoring drought for three minutes in the third quarter without any scoring and it took over three possessions to get the ball past the paint.

This season Jane Asinde has developed great footwork which has helped her become a strong asset in the lineup for the Shockers. Asinde recorded 10 rebounds, two assists and scored a total of nine points against Memphis. 

Up next, the Shockers will face Tulane at the Avron B. Fogelman Arena on Saturday, Jan 22. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. and will be broadcasted on ESPN+.