Wichita State women’s basketball off to best start in program history ahead of KU game
The Wichita State women’s basketball team is off to the best start to a season in program history following a 77-74 road win at Saint Louis on Thursday.
It marked the seventh straight win for the Shockers, which improved to 8-1 following its third road win of the non-conference slate. Saint Louis, projected to be a bottom-tier Atlantic-10 team, fell to 3-10 this season.
Curtessia Dean, a Seton Hall transfer, notched her first double-double of her WSU career with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, while senior forward Jane Asinde continued her early-season tear with 16 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
WSU (8-1) will have plenty of momentum entering an in-state rivalry showdown against an undefeated Kansas (8-0) team that is on the cusp of the top-25 rankings. Tip-off from Lawrence is slated for 2 p.m. Sunday with the game available for streaming on ESPN+.
While the final score might suggest a tight, back-and-forth battle, the Shockers actually led wire-to-wire and extended their lead to as many as 27 points in the third quarter.
So how did the final score end up so close? Turnovers.
WSU committed 16 of its 21 turnovers in the second half, which opened the door for the Billikens to make what seemed like an improbable rally. WSU led 69-52 with less than seven minutes remaining, but committed turnovers on five of its next eight possessions and couldn’t stop Saint Louis, which pulled off a 17-3 run to close to within 72-69 with 2:06 remaining.
Even when WSU scored the next four points to extend its lead to seven, Saint Louis charged with a three-pointer from Kyla McMakin and then a layup from Mia Nicastro following two missed free throws by Asinde to cut the deficit to 76-74 with 11.5 seconds remaining.
Saint Louis had an opportunity to force overtime when WSU sophomore Ornella Niankan split a pair of free throws with 9.4 seconds left, but the Billikens, left without a timeout to organize a final play, failed to even attempt a shot against WSU’s swarming defense in the closing seconds.
D.J. McCarty registered her fourth straight game in double-digits with 16 points, while sharpshooter Shamaryah Duncan returned from a three-game absence and chipped in with 10 points.
Saint Louis was led by a game-high 25 points from Peyton Kennedy, while Julia Martinez finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and seven steals.
This story was originally published December 9, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
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