WSU women give No. 16 Tennessee a fight before falling 58-51 (+video)

Rangie Bessard had grown tired of hearing about the youth of the Wichita State women’s basketball team.

Bessard didn’t care WSU was playing Tennessee, the No. 16-ranked team in the nation, Friday night at Koch Arena. She didn’t care WSU was playing with seven players and was missing leading scorer Jyar Francis, out with a concussion. And she didn’t care Tennessee’s center was 6-foot-6.

Wichita State, winners of the last three Missouri Valley championships but only one game so far this season, appears ready to win again.

And although the Shockers were unable to do so Friday, eventually bowing out 58-51 to Tennessee, they finally showed the ability that coach Jody Adams has been promising was there in a 1-6 start to the season.

“That’s what is going to shock people the most is the heart and the grit that we have,” said Bessard. “People say we’re young, but youth doesn’t matter. It’s about heart. Heart will beat youth any time of the day.”

What WSU was lacking in height and talent when matching up with Tennessee, it found the equalizer in its heart.

Adams had one true post player to her disposal and played a 6-foot small forward at center through stretches of the game. Still, Wichita State remained competitive on the boards and made Tennessee earn its 37-29 rebounding advantage.

Wichita State shot a tick under 40 percent and turned the ball over 23 times, yet trailed Tennessee 52-51 with 1:45 remaining.

“Jody’s team takes on her personality,” said Tennessee coach Holly Warlick, who was an assistant coach when Adams was a guard on the 1991 national championship team. “They play hard and she expects a lot out of them, and I thought that they delivered tonight.”

A week after losing at home to Southeast Missouri State, a team picked to finish last in the Ohio Valley, Wichita State was on the brink of knocking off the winningest program in women’s college basketball history.

No matter how unfathomable that may seem, WSU’s players say this performance was not a surprise.

“We proved we have the talent to do what we need to do to win,” junior TaQuandra Mike said. “We have this. We can shock the world, I know we can.”

It seemed possible Friday when Bessard, a transfer who played her first game after her first semester ended with her grades being posted, drew a foul and made both free throws to cut Tennessee’s lead to 52-51 with 1:45 remaining.

Tennessee missed its next shot, but grabbed the offensive rebound and made all six of its free throws down the stretch where Wichita State missed all three of its shots and turned the ball over once.

Bessard finished with nine points and five steals, while Diamond Lockhart and Mike each scored 11 points to lead WSU.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” Tennessee’s Andraya Carter said. “Most teams that are coached by anyone out of the Lady Vols’ program, they have a huge sense of pride and Wichita State showed that tonight.”

Adams beamed afterward. Her players, all but three playing their first season at WSU, had carried out her vision of a game plan nearly flawlessly. Especially on defense, where a short-handed and out-matched team forced Tennessee into 39-percent shooting and 20 turnovers.

There were plenty of mental obstacles overcome and moral victories to take away, none of which Adams was particularly interested in. The fact is that WSU is off to its worst start to a season since the 1995-96 team began the season 1-9.

“We were right there and we just weren’t able to capitalize,” Adams said. “We’re right there ready to turn that corner and when we turn it, we’re not coming back.”

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 10:48 PM with the headline "WSU women give No. 16 Tennessee a fight before falling 58-51 (+video)."