Print edition: 
Sometimes winning can create the illusion of improvement.
Last week, the Wichita State women’s basketball team tacked on two more wins to its winning streak, which grew to 10 games to equal the longest in program history. But last week Wichita State did not improve as a basketball team, coach Jody Adams said.
Friday’s 68-59 loss to Illinois State was a painful way for the Shockers to discover their shortcomings in front of 3,573 fans at Koch Arena that only saw remnants of the team that won its first seven Missouri Valley Conference games.
“I saw it coming about a week and a half ago,” Adams said of the loss. “At that time, it’s not a good time for me to point those things out. You want to roll with their confidence, them thinking they’re doing the right thing and just coaching and correcting as you see it. But I began to see it about a week and a half ago.”
Wichita State is not a prolific offensive team. Friday, the Shockers shot 38.9 percent from the field.
That would be enough to sink average teams. But WSU thought it had entered into an elite echelon, where teams survive bad shooting nights through gritty defense.
But on Friday, Wichita State’s defense was only average. The Redbirds’ four-guard line-up feasted on WSU’s overzealous defense, pulling up on drives for quick jumpers as their defenders blew by. Illinois State made nearly half of its shots (29 of 60).
“They proved to us they could score on us one-on-one, and they could stop and pop on the best athletes there are in the Valley,” Adams said. “And they proved that tonight on someone else’s court.”
Having those events unfold at Koch Arena was the most disturbing problem to Adams. Once Illinois State tied the score four minutes into the game, the Shockers never had the lead. WSU never scored more than four points consecutively in the game.
“I thought, bottom line, Illinois State came in here and set the tempo from the jump,” Adams said. “It wasn’t Wichita State. Illinois State did it.”
Nothing made Illinois State’s 2-3 zone distinctive, but WSU could never solve it. The Shockers were content to reverse the ball around the perimeter and ultimately settle for long jumpers.
“We needed to attack more,” said point guard Jessica Diamond. “We needed to move the ball quicker. I felt like we got stagnant. We were just standing and watching. If we were more aggressive and moved the ball quicker, it would have been no problem.”
Two of WSU’s leading scorers, Chynna Turner and Haleigh Lankster, were scoreless for the first 32 minutes. Turner finished without a field goal and Lankster scored eight of her 10 points in the final five minutes with the outcome already decided.
The style that was present during the winning streak that brought so many fans to Koch Arena out of curiosity vanished Friday.
“I don’t feel like it was an opportunity lost,” Lankster said. “I still think we have quite a few fans and I still think they will come out.”
Winning helps. The last 10 games created the excitement. But Adams is hoping the loss helps more.
“The streak and the wins that these guys have put together, they’ve put it together by working hard and working together and growing,” Adams said. “This is a game to learn from and how we got ourselves here.”
ILLINOIS STATE (11-8, 6-2): Hall 6-9 1-3 13, Sykes 7-12 0-3 16, Nelson 2-2 0-0 4, Broadway 7-16 2-3 17, Russell 2-7 2-2 6, Jenkins 4-8 1-4 10, Seberger 0-3 0-0 0, Winge 0-0 0-0 0, Oliver 0-0 0-0 0, Puni 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 29-60 6-15 68.
WICHITA STATE (13-6, 7-1): Turner 0-2 5-6 5, Gordon 5-9 2-3 12, Sanchez 1-9 0-0 2, Diamond 7-13 0-0 15, Lankster 3-7 2-2 10, Jones 2-5 0-0 4, Henderson 2-7 2-2 7, O’Brien 0-0 0-0 0, Jacobs 0-0 0-0 0, Harden 1-2 2-3 4. Totals 21-54 13-16 59.
Halftime—Illinois State 29, Wichita State 23. 3 pt. shooting — ISU 4-14 (Sykes 2-5, Jenkins 1-1, Broadway 1-6, Russell 0-1, Seberger 0-1); WSU 4-14 (Lankster 2-3, Diamond 1-3, Henderson 1-6, Sanchez 0-2). Rebounds — ISU 40 (Sykes 13); WSU 31 (Turner, Gordon 6). Fouls — ISU 16; WSU 16. Assists — ISU 12 (Russell, Jenkins 5); WSU 9 (Sanchez 4). A — 3,573.
