Following a loss to the University of Kansas earlier this week while going into the fourth quarter with the lead, Wichita State women’s basketball bounced back to knock off the previously undefeated Western Kentucky University on Sunday afternoon.
The Shockers led once again going into the final period but were able to spoil the Hilltoppers’ undefeated start, 64-59, in Charles Koch Arena.
Wichita State finished the game shooting 40% from the floor and held Western Kentucky to a low 28%, the Hilltoppers’ lowest shooting mark of the season.
WSU head coach Terry Nooner said the 28% mark for Western Kentucky was due to the team’s new approach to defense: up-tempo pressure and forcing teams into bad shots.
“We felt like if we could put in a system where we can keep the ball in front of us, keep the ball out of the paint and really just protect the paint … then (we can) kind of build from there,” Nooner said.
Wichita State improved to 4-6 overall this season, winning its second-straight home contest. Western Kentucky’s undefeated season was spoiled as the Hilltoppers dropped to 7-1.
Junior forward Bre’Yon White said the new defense has been a good fit because the Shockers have the personnel to switch and guard any player on the floor.
“It’s not like somebody’s going to attack hard off that screen and get a layup,” White said. “I think the versatility throughout the team has been good for this defense.”
The teams started the first quarter slow offensively, as Wichita State shot 1-8 from the floor and Western Kentucky went 1-6 during the first four minutes. However, the Shockers caught fire first and went on a 7-0 run that sophomore guard Salese Blow capped off with a stop-and-pop jumper from the left elbow and a 3-pointer on the next possession, 9-5.
The lead was short-lived for Wichita State as the Hilltoppers came out in a 2-3 zone following a media timeout that stifled the Shockers’ offense. The home team finished the period shooting 1-5 from the floor. Western Kentucky ended the quarter on a 10-2 run, propelling it to a 4-point advantage, 15-11.
Wichita State regained its lead, 28-17, in the second quarter following a 14-0 run that lasted more than seven minutes of game time. It wasn’t pretty, however, as the Shockers turned the ball over three times and relied on a Hilltopper scoring drought of over eight minutes.
Wichita State went into halftime leading by 9 points, 28-19.
During the half, the Shockers turned the ball over 10 times, resulting in nine second-chance points for Western Kentucky. Wichita State made up for this by shooting 40% from the field compared to a measly 19% from Western Kentucky. The Shockers also out-scored the Hilltoppers 16-6 down low and by five points on fastbreak opportunities.
The first three minutes of the third quarter saw sloppy play from both teams as Wichita State turned the ball over four times and shot 0-3 from the floor while Western Kentucky started the period shooting 1-5.
It wasn’t until the final three minutes of the period that the teams found life, trading blow for blow on eight straight possessions as the Shockers went into the fourth quarter clinging to a 7-point lead, 43-36.
Wichita State maintained the lead despite finishing the quarter with six more turnovers.
Blow extended the Shockers’ lead to nine points in the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer from the right wing and a coast-to-coast layup in transition on back-to-back possessions, but two quick buckets from the Hilltoppers cut the Wichita State lead to 5 points, 50-45.
Western Kentucky later cut the Shockers’ lead to 2 points, but a 6-0 run late in the period sent Wichita State up by 8 points, 60-52. With less than a minute left, a late Hilltoppers surge proved too little, too late as the Shockers snuck away with the win.
Blow ended the game with a team-high 13 points on 5-16 shooting, adding six rebounds to her stat line. Three other Wichita State players ended the game with double-digit scoring, including 12 points off the bench from White.
With less than 10 seconds left in the game, graduate student guard Taylor Jameson went down on the floor with an injury, sending her into a frenzy of screams.
Nooner said the Wichita, Kansas, native seemed to be fine. She celebrated with the team and got her ankle wrapped in ice.
“Injuries are never good,” Nooner said. “But we have a week before our next game and our training staff is probably some of the best in the country … I don’t know if she’s (Jameson) going to miss or not, but this is a good time because we have a week before our next game.”
Junior guard Princess Anderson came in for Jameson to sink two free throws and seal the win.
Wichita State will take to the road for its next three games from Dec. 15 to Dec. 21, the first of which is against Loyola Marymount University.
Nooner said Wichita State is “turning a corner” as a collective group in the win against an undefeated team.
“I just think we’ve really taken some big-time steps forward,” Nooner said. “And now we have a week to fine-tune and tweak some stuff more and get better so that hopefully we can have a good time and perform well when we’re out in L.A.”
Tipoff against the Lions is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 15, at 4 p.m. in Los Angeles.
