Print edition: 
Isn’t that how it goes sometimes?
You have a big, brand new high-def flat-screen television with the crystal-clear picture, you invite your friends over to watch a game and the darn thing goes on the fritz.
That’s how the Wichita State women’s basketball team must have felt Friday night. Riding a 10-game winning streak, equaling the longest in the sordid history of WSU women’s hoops, the Shockers drew an enthusiastic crowd of 3,573, eager to see what all the buzz was about.
But instead of tearing the house down, the big crowd watched Illinois State play a near-flawless game and whip the Shockers 68-59.
Thud.
The Shockers were flat and frustrated, unable to get anything going offensively against Illinois State’s lock-down zone. The Redbirds shot better, rebounded better, defended better and for most of the game competed better. To its credit, Wichita State never relented. There was a spark of hope late, but it did not ignite.
What a night to lay an egg. But at least the Shockers didn’t forfeit their lead in the Missouri Valley Conference. They’re 7-1 in the Valley and a game up on Illinois State.
And the fire produced by the long winning streak hasn’t been extinguished. In her fourth season, WSU coach Jody Adams has building something with steady improvement. These Shockers are getting better with time, especially when you look at where they have come from.
Consider: While Wichita State had one previous 10-game winning streak, the Shockers had never had another win streak longer than seven games. And that happened only once, during the 1997-98 season There have been a pair of six-game winning streaks, in 1993-94 and last season, when WSU was 17-15.
Consider: Only one previous WSU women’s basketball coach, Darryl Smith (1998-2003) had a career winning record . And Smith’s record was an inauspicious 60-54.
Consider: Most of the biggest home crowds in WSU history were on hand to either watch Kansas high school icon Jackie Stiles play for Missouri State; or consisted mostly of bused-in school children who were squirming in their seats by the 10-minute mark of the first half.
Consider: Despite the Shockers’ overall lack of success, there have been only seven coaches in the program’s 38-year history. And at one time almost all of those coaches appeared on the verge of reaching a consistent level of success, only to watch it slip away.
Consider: The Shocker women are pursuing a third straight winning season. Doesn’t seem like such a big deal, except that it’s been done only one other time, from 1992-93 through 1994-95, when the Shockers were a not-so-robust 48-34 (15-12, 17-10, 16-12) under Linda Hargrove.
Consider: The Shockers need seven more wins to get to 20 victories in a season for only the third time. The best record in WSU history is 20-10 in Darryl Smith’s second season as coach in 1999-2000.
Consider: Wichita State’s all-time record is now 448-565. Since joining the Gateway Conference in 1982, the Shockers are 218-293 in conference play, having played in the Missouri Valley since the 1992-93 season. The Shockers have had 13 winning seasons, 22 losing seasons and two .500 seasons.
You get an idea, after all of that consideration, where WSU women’s basketball has been for nearly four decades.
Adams, though, appears to be a difference-maker. She could tell early Friday that something was missing with her team and sometimes there’s just not much a coach can do. Especially when an opponent is playing as well as the Redbirds were playing. Illinois State had an answer for every Shocker threat, and there weren’t that many.
Adams graciously did her post-game radio interview on a live microphone. When it was over, the smattering of fans who stayed around applauded as she walked to the locker room. She said later she has seen something like this coming for a while now because of some lackluster practice sessions before a recent road swing.
Friday night’s loss, she promised, won’t become a setback.
There is hope for a program that has never been able to crash through the gates. Even this team, with its 13-6 record, walks a fine line between being pretty good and not very good at all. Before the winning streak started, for instance, the Shockers scored only 34 points in a 26-point loss to Kansas State.
Wichita State’s talent level has improved, but there’s still a ways to go.
But to those who believe Shocker women’s basketball is cursed to forever wallow in mediocrity, or worse, Adams and her fourth Shocker team have refused to wallow. Even in defeat, WSU fought hard.
It just wasn’t to be Friday night. The Shockers, so finely-tuned for a month, were on the fritz.
