Senior guard DJ McCarty had the best performance of her career and led the Wichita State women’s basketball team to victory against Tulsa on Saturday, 74-65.
The Shockers are now 8-18 this season and 4-10 in the American Athletic Conference. Tulsa is 8-5 in the AAC.
McCarty has been battling injuries all season but delivered a career-high performance with 26 points, five assists and two steals. McCarty said she had a “chip on my shoulder.”
“It’s also coming down to me having confidence in myself,” McCarty said. “I haven’t been playing as much as I wanted to; I’ve been hindered by injury.”
The first half was back-and-forth but ended with a buzzer-beating jump shot from the Golden Hurricane’s Delanie Crawford to send the Shockers into the locker room down by two, 36-34.
McCarty did not back down going into the third quarter, scoring a pair of 3-pointers to tie the game twice, 40-40 and 50-50. Before this game, she had not made a shot from beyond the arc since Dec. 16.
Tulsa closed out the third with a 3-pointer from Katia Gallegos to take a three-point lead, 53-50. The game had nine lead changes and 15 ties before the last quarter.
The fourth quarter saw a different game than the tight first three quarters, with the Golden Hurricane taking a six-point lead off a 3-pointer from Crawford, 56-50.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, a layup by sophomore forward Daniela Abies and a pair of free throws from McCarty put the Shockers on top, 61-59.
With three consecutive turnovers from the Golden Hurricane, the Shockers were able to create an 11-2 run to close out the game.
Abies achieved her eighth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds, and senior forward Sierra Morrow added 11 points as well.
Wichita State out-rebounded Tulsa 43-37 and held American Athletic Conference leading scorer Temira Poindexter, who averages nearly 20 points, to 14 points.
McCarty said going forward, she hopes to build off the career high and play her part on the team.
“If it comes with scoring or defense or wherever it goes, you need to do it just building on it,” McCarty said.
Up next, Wichita State will travel to North Carolina to face off against Charlotte on Saturday, Feb 24. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
