Shockers chasing consistency in lineup

Changes are coming to the Wichita State women’s basketball team, starting with Tuesday night’s home game against NCAA Division II Oklahoma Christian.

It may seem strange to host an exhibition game to conclude the non-conference slate, but the game comes at the perfect time for coach Jody Adams. Her team is as healthy as its been all season with 10 of the 11 players available and Adams plans on trying to establish a rotation that will stick.

“We wanted to have a game before we enter conference with a young team coming off of Christmas break for the first time,” Adams said. “There’s a lot of teaching that is going on. We’re finally getting healthier, so we’ve been talking about the changes we want to make heading into the first round of conference play.”

Eleven games into the season, Wichita State (3-8) still hasn’t played a game with its full complement of players. Brittany Martin (knee) remains out with an injury, but Adams said transfer Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage has been released to play and will make her debut on Tuesday.

Jyar Francis (concussion) returned after a 3-week absence last game, while Marija Pacar also missed three games due to a concussion earlier in the season. Rangie Bessard, a transfer, missed the season’s first six games but has played in the last five.

The result has left Adams just trying to survive, instead of establishing rhythm with her rotation. For three straight games, Wichita State played with just six players.

“It is frustrating because they get used to a certain rotation, and then all of a sudden you’re changing it again,” Adams said. “But we do want to go in and tweak some things because we’ve been putting a band-aid on things.”

Although the Shockers are headed into the new year with just three wins against Division I opponents, Adams still believes the adversity her team has faced will pay dividends.

“You want this to be something that they continue to carry with them in their journey here,” Adams said. “We all know they’re talented, but they just haven’t paid that price yet with some things and they haven’t been through certain situations. But you look at our record and I’m still as optimistic as I’ve ever been.”

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Shockers chasing consistency in lineup."