The Wichita State women’s basketball season came to a close after a second-round exit in the American Athletic Conference tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. The Shockers won against Florida Atlantic, 64-50, but ultimately fell to South Florida in the second game, 69-64.
vs. Florida Atlantic
The 13th-seeded Wichita State cruised to victory against 12-seed Florida Atlantic in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament in Dickies Arena.
The Owls started the game strong, making a 3-pointer to open up the scoring after a missed layup from sophomore Daniela Abies. The first quarter saw four lead changes, but the Shockers ended the quarter on a layup and free throw from redshirt sophomore Jayla Murray to lead, 13-10.
At the start of the second quarter, Wichita State went up by seven with a layup from senior DJ McCarty and a layup from Murray, 17-10.
An Abies layup sent the Shockers into a dry spell for almost four minutes, which the Owls capitalized on to take the lead, 20-18. Florida Atlantic held on to the lead going into halftime, 25-24.
The third quarter saw more back-and-forth action, with no team leading by more than four points. The Shockers created a late 8-0 run in the quarter from an Abies layup to take a four-point lead, 45-41.
The Owls started the fourth quarter with a layup to make it a two-point game, 45-43, but they went on their own dry spell for almost three minutes. The Shockers made five points to further the lead, 50-44.
With 3:43 left to go, the Owls tried to get the momentum going, making it another two-point game, 52-50. The Shockers responded with a 12-0 run in the final two minutes to win the game.
Head coach Terry Nooner was impressed with the Wichita State defense down the stretch.
“I thought (the) four-quarter defense was some of the best defense we played this whole season,” Nooner said.
Abies led the Shockers with 22 points and a career-high 22 rebounds, breaking the AAC tournament single-game record for total rebounds.
Nooner said Abies’ achievement showed how she finds ways to contribute to the team.
“I’m just so happy for her and the performance that she had and it’s a testament to her artwork,” Nooner said.
vs. South Florida
The Shockers returned to Dickies Arena for the second round of the tournament but fell to fifth-seed South Florida.
Nooner said he ultimately felt proud of his team for making it this far.
“I thought we played a great basketball game today,” Nooner said. “It went down to the wire, and if we could have made a couple of more shots, a couple more free throws the result would have been different.”
The Shockers started hot with a layup from junior Ella Anciaux to open the game.
The Bulls responded with a layup of their own before freshman Salese Blow would take the lead on a 3-pointer, 5-2.
The Shockers suffered from an almost six-minute scoring drought. The Bulls capitalized, going on a 9-0 run to finish the quarter with a 14-8 lead.
Wichita State sought to take the lead early in the second quarter on a free throw from Anciaux and a layup from junior Ornella Niankan to make it a two-point game, 14-12. A pair of 3-pointers from the Bulls made it an eight-point game, 20-12.
By the third quarter, South Florida had its largest lead of the night, going up 42-31. The Shockers would begin to chip at the lead in the final minutes of the quarter. Redshirt senior Tre’Zure Jobe made a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to just four points going into the fourth.
The fourth quarter saw an ignited Shocker offense that was able to tie the game at 60 with 2:38 left in regulation. The Bulls made a free throw to take a 61-60 lead, and Abies was fouled in the next possession but only made 1 of 2 free throws to tie it again, 61-61.
South Florida saw the free-throw line six times in the final minute of the game to end Wichita State’s season.
Blow led the Shockers with 20 points, and Niankan followed suit with 12.
Nooner said he ultimately felt proud of his team for making it this far.
“I thought we played a great basketball game today,” Nooner said. “It went down to the wire, and if we could have made a couple of more shots, a couple more free throws, the result would have been different.”
Wichita State women’s basketball closed out the campaign with a 10-22 record, its worst winning percentage since the 2015-16 season.
