After SMU win, Wichita State women remain unbeaten in AAC rematch games
The Wichita State women’s basketball team’s 4-7 record in the American Athletic Conference may be unremarkable, but their record when they play a team a second time certainly is.
After beating SMU 53-42 at Koch Arena on Sunday, the Shockers improved to 3-0 in rematch games in conference play. WSU also lost to East Carolina and Memphis before beating those teams.
What makes this turnaround even more impressive is the fact that WSU wasn’t losing close games, it was being blown out. ECU, Memphis and SMU beat the Shockers by a combined 71 points in the first matchup. The second time around, WSU has won by a combined 30 points against those three teams.
“I think really all of our players have been adjusting to the American in terms of how athletic the conference is,” WSU coach Keitha Adams said. “You’ve really got to be ready to play. There’s a lot of good teams and a lot of good players. When you have a young team like we do, it’s good to have those successes after you lost to the team the first time. We’ve been learning from those games and making adjustments and doing things better.”
After an 0-5 start to AAC play, WSU has now won four of its last six games. But the Shockers (11-13, 4-7) will have a tall task when second-place UCF (20-5, 9-3) comes to Koch Arena for a 6:30 p.m. game Wednesday.
The play of point guard Seraphine Bastin has been a bright spot for WSU lately. The 5-foot-8 freshman from Belgium nearly posted a triple-double against SMU, as she finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and nine assists in a victory.
“She’s doing a really good job of taking care of the ball and penetrating and getting people good open looks,” Adams said. “Great guards draw two defenders and that’s what she did. We’ve had to get on her about being more selfish when she attacks because sometimes she’ll pass up lay-ups and open shots because she’s always looking to make the pass. But I think that (SMU) game she really stepped up her game and her decision-making when we needed her to.”
Despite being a point guard and 5-8, Bastin has been WSU’s best rebounder in conference play. She’s averaging 6.3 rebounds in AAC play, which ranks 17th overall and tops for player 5-8 and under.
That’s something Adams hopes Bastin can exploit against a good team like UCF.
“It’s something we actually changed midway through the year,” Adams said. “Usually you want your point guard back as your safety, but we let her go chase rebounds and send others back because she has such a nose for the ball. She does a great job of getting us extra possessions.”
UCF at Wichita State
Records: UCF 20-5, 9-3 AAC; WSU 11-13, 4-7
When: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
Where: Koch Arena, Wichita, Kan.
TV: Cox YurView
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