Wichita State junior forward Jayla Murray set a new Division I career-high in scoring with 24 points on Saturday night as the Shockers won their first American Athletic Conference (AAC) matchup this season on the road, 82-70, against the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Murray ended the game shooting 56% (9-16) from the floor, 50% (2-4) from deep and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line, nabbing nine rebounds and registering a game-high +15 plus/minus.
Murray said her game plan was to remain aggressive and in a “go, go, go” mindset.
“We all (were) hungry for this win,” Murray said in an interview with ESPN+. “So I just had to keep pushing for my team and keep working.”
With the win, Wichita State improved to 7-9 on the season and 1-2 in the AAC, snapping a three-game losing streak. The Blazers dropped to 9-6 overall and remained winless in conference play.
The Shockers ended the game shooting 40% (28-70) from the floor, 29% (6-21) from deep and 77% (20-26) from the charity stripe, including a big second half where they outscored the Blazers 46-30.
Wichita State kept the first quarter back-and-forth out of the gates but two 7-0 UAB runs helped the Blazers ride out to a 17-9 lead. The Shockers couldn’t find the bottom of the net, ending the quarter trailing by nine points, 22-13, on 21% (4-19) shooting from the field, 20% from deep (2-10) and 50% (3-6) from the foul line.
The Shockers’ second 3-pointer came at the buzzer to keep the deficit under double digits.
UAB on the other hand, nearly got everything it wanted on the offensive end. The Blazers nailed 4-9 3-pointers, ending the period at 53%.
Despite the Blazers’ fiery start, Wichita State closed out on shooters and forced the ball into the lane during the second quarter. UAB couldn’t execute, shooting just 6-19 during the period, including a scoreless stretch of over two minutes of game time.
The Shockers used a 10-2 run late in the quarter to cut the deficit to two points but went into the locker room trailing, 40-36.
Murray went aflame during the quarter, scoring 13 points on 5-6 shooting, including the quarter’s opening 3-pointer while the ESPN+ announcers urged UAB to find an answer for her.
Murray eclipsed her Division I career-high during the third quarter, giving the Shockers their first lead since the opening period, 49-48. After that, the teams slowed down until the final four minutes of the quarter, trading the lead four times as Wichita State went into the final period with its largest lead, 63-56, following a 10-2 run.
The Shockers shot perfectly from deep during the quarter, going 2-2 and hitting seven foul shots. At the same time, the defense held the Blazers to 29% (4-14) from the floor and completely took away the 3-point shot as UAB shot 22% (2-9) from beyond the arc.
Wichita State maintained its 7-point advantage during the first five minutes of the final period, trading blows with the Blazers. The Shockers’ lead later crept up to 10 points following five straight unanswered from sophomore guard Salese Blow.
The cushion Blow helped create proved enough as Wichita State cruised to its first conference win, ending the game on 4-5 shooting while holding UAB to a 3:07 field-goal drought.
Blow matched Murray by scoring a season-high 24 points, 10 of which came at the free-throw line and 11 in the fourth quarter.
Murray said despite a slow start from Blow, she never quit.
“(In the) first half, she (Blow) was in her head,” Murray said. “But (in the) second half, she kept going, she kept feeling off of her other teammates, and she didn’t give up.”
Wichita State will attempt to continue its momentum on Wednesday, Jan. 8 in Charles Koch Arena against the University of South Florida. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
