Wichita State women’s basketball made less than 12% (2-17) of its shots from the floor and turned the ball over five times during the second quarter of its game on the road against Tulane University on Saturday afternoon.
It led to a 68-64 loss on the Green Wave’s senior day. WSU has dropped seven straight games against road American Athletic Conference (AAC) opponents.
With the loss, Wichita State dropped to 9-20 overall and 3-13 in the AAC. The Green Wave upped their record to 16-10 overall, 9-6 in the AAC and avoided a four-game losing streak.
The last time the Shockers shot worse in a single quarter was during a loss last season against Temple University when they sank 7% (1-7) of their attempts in the first quarter.
Wichita State head coach Terry Nooner said in his postgame radio interview that the team was rushing their shots throughout the quarter in Saturday’s affair.
“They’re (Tulane) not a really big-time shot-blocking team,” Nooner said. “They kind of get in the way and they try to wall you up … it was our better finishers too (not making shots).
“I mean, we just couldn’t finish a lot of baskets today.”
The Shockers shot the ball 79 times and hit 23 of them for the entire game.
The 79 attempts are the most since the team shot 80 in an 83-81 loss to the University of Alabama at Birmingham last season — and that game went to overtime.
Nooner said the team struggled to make simple layups, a problem they had in the 66-62 loss against Tulane in January.
“We had breakaway layups that we didn’t finish,” Nooner said. “We had two-on-ones and just had a bunch of situations where we just couldn’t finish.”
Tulane, on the other hand, cashed 37% (22-59) of its attempts from the floor, including 38% (9-24) from the 3-point line.
Tulane’s senior forward Sherese Pittman torched Wichita State, scoring 17 points on 40% (6-15) shooting. Two other Green Wave players eclipsed double-digit scoring.
Junior guard Princess Anderson was the only bright spot for the Shockers throughout the game.
Anderson scored 25 points, a game- and new Division I career-high, on 33% (8-24) shooting. Her last five points came when there was less than a minute in the game, however. This was Anderson’s third game eclipsing 20 points in her last four outings.
Nooner said the performance epitomizes who Anderson is as a player.
“She’s (Anderson) a natural scorer,” Nooner said. “We just got to work on her efficiency … get a little bit more efficient with her shot.”
Junior forward Jayla Murray, who leads the team in points per game (12.8), scored just five points and fouled out after 27 minutes of playing time. It’s her second straight game where she got into foul trouble, and her most recent two outings are the first two-game stretch of the season where Murray failed to eclipse double-digit scoring.
Wichita State scored the first five points of the first quarter but proceeded to fall asleep on offense for the next 2:26 of game time, not scoring anything. Anderson scored the Shockers’ next four points and they later went on a 6-0 run to up the cushion to 10 points, 15-5, which was their largest lead of the game.
Wichita State’s defense continued to stymie the Green Wave in the mid-court and inside the 3-point arc but gave up two treys and four free throws by the end of the quarter. The Shockers led by four points at the end of the period, 19-15.
Wichita State went on a scoring drought of more than seven minutes which accumulated during the end of the first quarter and most of the second. During that time, Tulane went on a 12-0 run and took the lead, 23-19.
At the 4:42 mark of the second quarter, the Shockers made their first basket and didn’t score again until three seconds were left. The Green Wave ended the half on a 13-3 run and went into the break leading by 11 points, 36-25.
Tulane upped its cushion to 14 points early in the third quarter, but an 8-0 run from Wichita State cut the Green Wave’s lead to six, 43-37. Tulane ripped off a 7-0 run almost immediately after and went into the final period with a 55-42 lead.
The Green Wave managed to increase the lead to 17 points — the largest of the game — midway through the fourth quarter. Wichita State cut the lead to nine points, then later five with 17 seconds left.
The late push proved too little, too late as the Shockers left the gym with their four-point loss.
Nooner credited the team’s effort and hustle throughout the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.
“We ramped up our defense and kind of forced them (Tulane) into quick shots,” Nooner said. “And we outrebounded a lot better and we were able to get out in transition and score before they (could) get their defense set.”
During the second half, the Shockers converted 10 points off of turnovers and managed 13 on fast breaks.
Next up, Wichita State will return to Charles Koch Arena to round out its season on Saturday, March 1, and Tuesday, March 4. The tipoff for the Saturday game is set for 2 p.m. against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
