Battle of the Titans: Women’s Basketball Showdown Against North Texas!

WICHITA STATE (6-7) vs. NORTH TEXAS (8-4)
Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024 | 1:00 p.m.
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
TV: ESPN+
Radio: GoShockers.com/Listen with Pat Strathman
Holiday Special Ticket Deal: $5 GA tickets

OPENING TIPS
Wichita State welcomes North Texas for its conference opener, marking the fourth encounter between the teams.
The Shockers currently lead the series 2-1, with all three contests being determined by four points or fewer.
Wichita State holds a 1-0 record in Charles Koch Arena against the Mean Green.
Wichita State has commenced year two of the Terry Nooner era, and the Shockers have their leading scorer from conference games returning, sophomore Salese Blow. With nine newcomers on the roster, the Shockers only bring back 37.6 percent of their scoring.
Blow has been the top scorer for the Shockers in five games and achieved her first 20-plus point game of the season with 23 points against CSUB, marking her sixth career 20-point performance as a sophomore.
Redshirt-junior Jayla Murray led the scoring for the Shockers during non-conference play, averaging 11.7 points per game, including one double-double. She has scored in double figures seven times and was recognized in the American Athletic Conference weekly honorable mention players list after her performance in the victory over LMU. In the match against CSUB, she recorded a career-best of 19 points.
Junior Princess Anderson has been an energizing presence off the bench for the Shockers, leading the team in scoring on three occasions and achieving a Division I career-high of 17 points in the victory against Prairie View A&M.
Wichita State ranks second in the American Athletic Conference for bench points per game with 23.2 and sits fourth in rebounds per game with an average of 40.5.
Murray holds the second position in the AAC for field goal percentage (55.3 percent), while North Texas’s Tommisha Lampkin is leading the conference at 58.8 percent.
Taylor Jameson stands seventh in the AAC for assist/turnover ratio (1.52).
Aicha Ndour occupies the 16^th position in the AAC for blocks per game with 0.9.
All six triumphs this season have come when the Shockers have outrebounded their opponents and led at halftime.
Out of all victories in the Terry Nooner timeframe, all but one have been achieved by restricting opponents to fewer than 70 points, including all six wins this season.

STREAKS
Taylor Jameson has made at least one three-pointer in the last seven games.
Jayla Murray and Salese Blow have both scored in double figures for four consecutive games.
Ornella Niankan has recorded five or more rebounds in each of the last four games, and Murray has achieved this in the last three.
Aicha Ndour has tallied at least one block in each of the last three games.
Coach Nooner has utilized the same starting lineup for the past six games.

WWW
The Shockers claimed three consecutive victories for the first time under the Terry Nooner regime, overcoming Prairie View A&M, LMU, and CSU Bakersfield.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State’s winning streak ended with a 77-65 defeat against Oral Roberts on Saturday afternoon in the Mabee Center.

The Golden Eagles shot 47.6 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc, led by Ruthie Udoumoh and Jalei Oglesby, both scoring 19 points.

The Shockers were outrebounded for the first time in the last six games, shooting only 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) from three-point range.

Four Shockers reached double digits in scoring, with Princess Anderson leading at 13 points, followed by Salese Blow, Jayla Murray, and Ornella Niankan, each contributing 12 points.

Aicha Ndour led the Shockers in rebounding, matching her career-high with eight.

Oral Roberts opened the scoring and maintained the lead throughout the game, although the Shockers kept it competitive in the first half. ORU surged ahead by nine points halfway through the second quarter, but Wichita State countered with a 9-0 run to level it at 32-32.

The Shockers trailed by just three at halftime and stayed within five for most of the third quarter until the Golden Eagles launched a 7-0 run to extend their advantage to ten.

Wichita State was down by 12 with 1:22 remaining, but Niankan and Anderson hit layups to narrow it to eight with 50 seconds left. Anderson scored seven points in the fourth quarter, but Wichita State couldn’t catch up to the Golden Eagles.

Wichita State concluded its non-conference campaign with a 6-7 record.

SCOUTING THE MEAN GREEN

Under the leadership of 11^th-year (second at UNT) head coach Jason Burton, North Texas stands at 8-4 as they enter conference play. Four players are averaging in double digits, spearheaded by senior forward Tommisha Lampkin with 17.3 points per game. Kyla Deck (11.7), Desiree Wooten (11.3), and Ereauna Hardaway (10.1) round out the double-figure scorers. Lampkin also leads the team in rebounding with an average of 8.8 per game. She tops the conference in field goal percentage (58.8), double-doubles (6), and free throws made (50), ranking third in rebounds per game. Deck is second in the AAC for steals with 25 this season. The Mean Green were projected to finish second out of 13 teams in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, securing three first-place votes, and Lampkin was named Co-Preseason Player of the Year.



SERIES VS. NORTH TEXAS

The two teams are meeting for the fourth time in the history of their programs, with Wichita State holding a 2-1 lead, also boasting a 1-0 advantage on home turf.



LAST MEETING

Wichita State witnessed its 18-point lead diminish as North Texas rallied in the fourth quarter, ultimately taking down the Shockers 72-68 on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, in The Super Pit. Salese Blow topped all scorers with a career-high 23 points, shooting 8-for-17 and hitting three threes for the Shockers. Tre’Zure Jobe and Jayla Murray also finished in double digits with 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Shockers achieved a then season-high nine three-pointers as a team (Blow 3, Jobe 3, Aniya Bell 2, Murray 1), shooting 9-for-21 (.429). Daniela Abies led the team in rebounding for the 10^th time that season, narrowly missing a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 2:16 left in the game. The Shockers enjoyed their best first half since their Dec. 20 win against Oral Roberts, leading 32-24 at halftime. Coming out of the break, Wichita State initiated an 11-2 run to start the third quarter, holding an 18-point lead with two minutes left in the third quarter, yet the Mean Green responded with a 9-2 run to close the gap to 11 by the end of the quarter. North Texas capitalized on that momentum in the fourth quarter, not missing a shot for the first three minutes while going on a 9-0 run to reduce the Shockers’ lead.lead to merely two. The Mean Green converted 12-of-19 (.632) in the final quarter as DesiRay Kernal recorded 11 of her 21 points during that period while the Shockers managed only 5-of-15, failing to contain North Texas as the game progressed. North Texas launched a 12-0 surge to secure its initial lead since midway through the second quarter with two minutes remaining and expanded its advantage to six with under a minute left. Jobe netted 11 of her 13 points in the latter half, sinking a three-pointer with six seconds left in the contest to pull the Shockers back within two, yet Kernal converted both her free throws on the opposite end to clinch the victory for the Mean Green.

 

LEADING LADIES

After 13 games, Jayla Murray heads the Shockers in scoring with an average of 11.7 points per game. Salese Blow is also posting double figures with 11.5 per game. Taylor Jameson and Princess Anderson have been instrumental as well, contributing 9.6 and 8.2 points per game, respectively. Bre’Yon White stands as the team’s top rebounder, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game, while Murray averages 5.5.

 

DOUBLE TROUBLE

At the start of the season, no Shockers on the roster had previously achieved a Division I double-double. Both Jayla Murray and Bre’Yon White have registered their firsts, with Murray’s occurring in the season opener and White’s in the victory over WKU.

 

NOT SO NEW-COMERS

Among the nine new additions to the 2024-25 Wichita State roster, they collectively boast 20 years of collegiate basketball experience. Nooner recruited three Division I transfers: Taylor Jameson from George Mason, Aicha Ndour from Illinois, and Bre’Yon White from TCU.

 

Princess Anderson (Pratt CC), Kyleigh Ortiz (Coffeyville CC), Jasmine Peaks (Indian River State), and Maimouna Sissoko (Cloud County CC) all transferred from junior colleges, collaborating with Jayla Murray (Florida SouthWestern State) and Ornella Niankan (Odessa College) to include six Shockers who commenced their careers in the NJCAA.

 

#BREMODE

Junior Bre’Yon White accomplished her first career double-double in the triumph over Western Kentucky and has been the top rebounder for the Shockers on six occasions. She has reached double figures twice this season, marking her inaugural appearances in double figures in her career.

 

T-TIME

Wichita native Taylor Jameson was recognized on the AAC weekly Honorable Mention list on Nov. 18 after averaging 17 points, 6.5 assists, and 4 steals over two games. She has spearheaded the Shockers in scoring three times and assists six times and has achieved double figures in eight games. Jameson has connected on at least one three-pointer in each of the last six games, and has drained three three-pointers in four games.

 

BOBO DA SHOW

Salese Blow, affectionately called BoBo by her mother because Salese struggled to articulate the L in her last name during childhood, embarks on her sophomore season after earning three American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week honors in 2023-24. As a freshman, she enhanced her scoring from non-conference to conference play, leading the Shockers in points per game against AAC rivals with 13.5. She recorded 21 double-digit scoring games with five performances exceeding 20 points. This season, she has finished in double figures seven times with one game surpassing 20 points, leading the team in scoring five times and earning a spot on the AAC weekly honorable mention player of the week list once.

 

MURRAY ON THE RISE

Redshirt-junior Jayla Murray returns better than before after dedicating her summer to training and enhancing her nutrition. Further recovered from her ACL injury, Murray, who averaged 7.1 points per game last season, is competing with heightened confidence. She has led the Shockers in scoring on four occasions and notched her first career double-double in the home opener against Oklahoma Christian.

 

P3

Princess Anderson delivered a standout performance in the victory over Prairie View A&M, scoring a Division I career-high 17 points, registering four steals and collecting five rebounds. She was also a catalyst for the Shockers against Belmont, sinking three three-pointers and finishing with 12 points. Once more, she led the Shockers at Kansas with 16 points and at Oral Roberts with 13. As a sophomore at Pratt CC, she averaged 26.7 points per game, leading the NJCAA in scoring.

 

NEW HEIGHTS

Senior transfer from Illinois, Aicha Ndour, is the tallest athlete in Wichita State history at 6-6.

 

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR

The Shockers’ roster showcases international players from five distinct countries, including Canada (Ornella Niankan), France (Fiona Diomande), Mali (Maimouna Sissoko), Mozambique (Carla Budane), and Senegal (Aicha Ndour).

 

SUMMER WELL SPENT

The Shockers took a trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands from July 28-August 2, engaging in two games against Regina, a Canadian team. This journey facilitated team bonding and cultural exposure, helping them develop as a cohesive unit both on and off the court. Wichita State emerged victorious in the first game 81-76 and claimed the second game 69-60.