For the second straight year, fans at Wichita State women’s basketball’s annual pink out game for cancer awareness were treated to a thrilling overtime matchup — and for the second straight year, the Shockers came up short.

WSU dropped its Saturday afternoon game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), 76-73. The Shockers trailed by 11 points midway through the fourth quarter, storming back to tie the game, but couldn’t come up with the win.

Despite the loss, Wichita State head coach Terry Nooner said he was proud of the “toughness and resilience” the Shockers showed in the game.

“I know we lost and we’re sad,” Nooner said. “And it’s tough for us because we felt like we could have (won) it, but at the end of the day, I’m happy just to see that we showed some fight and showed some resilience, especially for the great cause that we’re playing for today.”

The Shockers fell to 1-7 in the American Athletic Conference, while UAB got above water at 5-4. The Blazers avenged a home loss to the Shockers on Jan. 4, Wichita State’s lone win at this point in conference play.

Nooner said the pink out games have special meaning for him. His mother passed away from breast cancer in 2008.

“For me it’s a serious day,” Nooner said. “And we really talked a lot about, you know, with our team, we have a lot of people who’ve been touched by breast cancer in some way or form, and we wanted to come out and play with that kind of passion, you know, we’re playing for the people who we lost or who’ve been affected by it. For me, it’s real personal just because of my mom.”

Wichita State made more baskets from the field than UAB — but unfortunately for the Shockers, three is worth more than two.

The Blazers came into the game ranked 22nd in the country in 3-point attempts putting up 26 per game. They shot 35 against the Shockers, knocking down 14. Wichita State, meanwhile, scored only three 3-pointers on 19 attempts with six players combining for zero makes on 11 attempts.

Nooner said the Shockers attempted to limit the Blazers’ three-balls — but whether it was defenders doing too much help defense or missing shots and allowing threes in transition, UAB still got its shots up.

“Sometimes … when (you’ve) got somebody that’s driving for a layup in there, you know their intention, and everything we’ve been teaching them all year, is when you see somebody driving, you try to help,” Nooner said. “And so they were able to crease and create some driving opportunities that way.”

The Shockers took an early 10-5 lead in the first quarter, but UAB came back to level the score at 14 by the end of the frame.

Thirteen of UAB’s 18 field goal attempts in the first period came from 3-point range, although the Blazers only managed two makes.

UAB kept up its frequency of deep attempts in the second period, but caught fire, knocking down five of six attempts. Two of the makes contributed to a 9-0 Blazer run to open the quarter, opening up a lead that UAB would carry into the break, 33-27.

The Blazers looked to put the game out of reach by taking a quick 11-point lead in the third quarter, but Wichita State immediately rallied back, going on a 9-0 run to cut the gap to 38-36. With just under four minutes left, junior guard Princess Anderson gave WSU its first lead since the first quarter with a banked-in 3-pointer.

Two minutes later, UAB retook the lead with consecutive 3-point makes as the game remained tight heading into the fourth quarter. The Shockers began playing more out of control on the offensive end, going on a five-minute scoring drought as UAB took a firmer grasp of the game, 62-51.

Yet again, when things looked bleak, the Shockers fought back. Applying defensive pressure, flying around the court and visibly frustrating the UAB players, Wichita State went on an 11-0 run, tying the game at 62 with 1:37 left.

Junior forward Jayla Murray missed a wild left-handed shot with less than 30 seconds left, giving the Blazers a chance to win the game in regulation. But the buzzer-beating UAB post-shot was too strong, and the teams went into overtime. The Blazers ended the fourth quarter on a 4:49 scoring drought.

The Shockers were a step behind UAB for the entirety of the extra period, keeping the gap close but never tying or taking the lead. 

With a minute left and down by two points, WSU pulled down two offensive boards on one possession, with junior Jasmine Peaks ending up at the free throw line. Both of her attempts rattled out.

It seemed like the game was over — and then UAB threw the ensuing inbounds pass away, giving the Shockers another possession. But mirroring regulation, a Murray layup rimmed out, and UAB cashed both its free throws to open a two-possession lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

“I’m glad my coach had to trust in me to take those shots today,” Murray said. “They just weren’t falling. But I’m trying to continue to go back to practice, (to) practice on them, going off two feet, making the layup, and we’re going to get it next time.”

Nooner said the team is within reaching distance of winning the close games. The Shockers have lost four games in conference play by 10 points or less.

“Part of the process of building programs is you lose a lot of games, and then you try to cut margins, and then you lose close games, and then once you start winning those close games, I think that’s what gets you over the top,” Nooner said.

Wichita State was playing without graduate student guard Taylor Jameson, who is in concussion protocol, for the second straight game.

Murray and Anderson buoyed the Shocker offense, scoring 20 and 19 points, respectively. 

Murray grabbed 11 boards to go along with her game-high points, marking her second double-double this season. Anderson set her season-high in scoring in just 17 minutes on the court.

Nooner said Anderson pushed herself to her limits in the game.

“She just really had it going, scoring in transition, hitting threes, hitting pull-ups, making plays on defense,” Nooner said. “And you can just kind of see it in her eyes. She was just in attack mode. And, I mean, that’s something that we need from her every game.”

The Shockers will take on East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 5 p.m.