Wichita State women’s basketball had its worst performance during conference play this season, losing 72-49 against Temple University.
“We got to get back in the gym and take some more shots and have a better performance,” head women’s basketball coach Terry Nooner said following the loss.
The Shockers began with a slow start against Temple, scoring their first few points from a sophomore Daniela Abies at the free throw line.
The Owls out-performed Wichita State in the first quarter, 15-5, and took its momentum into the half, 32-15.
Wichita State was able to create some hope by going for a 6-0 run, but it would ultimately be too late as the Owls would finish the night with a 23-point lead.
Despite the Shockers forcing 25 turnovers, the team was only able to score five points. A bad shooting night for Wichita State proved to be deadly as the team shot 18-for-64 from the field.
“When you shoot like that, you just don’t give yourself a chance,” Nooner said.
Nooner said Wichita State’s bench scored more than half of the Shockers’ points and outscored Temple’s bench 27-19.
“That group — they really gave us great energy,” Nooner said.
Nooner said that, in hopes of creating some energy in the fourth quarter, players junior Ella Anciaux and senior Aniya Bell were brought off the bench.
Freshman Salese Blow led the Shockers with 10 points, and senior Jeniah Thompson followed suit with eight of her own coming off the bench.
Thompson took a hard hit in the first half of the game but was able to come back in the second half of the game to score the Shockers’ only 3-pointer of the night.
Nooner said he was concerned about Thompson’s injury, but during halftime, she was ready to get back on the court.
“She… (is) a connector and keeps everything together for us,” Nooner said.
Despite the loss, Nooner said he advises the team to not let one bad performance snowball into another.
“The good thing about basketball is you get another opportunity within a week,” Nooner said. “We can’t think about the bad shooting or that kind of stuff because you don’t want to let one bad performance bleed into another like we did this time.”
The Shockers dropped its overall record to 5-11 and 1-3 in conference play. Wichita State will play its next match in Denton, Texas, against North Texas University on Jan. 14. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
