Defense helps Wichita State women halt seven-game skid

Jody Adams, on her way to the locker room dance floor, raised both hands over her head and smiled at halfcourt. Diamond Lockhart jumped into the arms of Ellie Lehne.

That started the public celebration after Wichita State’s 57-48 win over Southern Illinois on Friday at Koch Arena. The Shockers slapped hands with fans and posed for pictures, then headed to the locker room for more.

“Even better,” WSU’s TaQuandra Mike said.

“They made an old lady dance,” Adams said.

The Shockers deserved some fun after snapping a seven-game losing streak with superb defensive display. WSU (4-14, 1-6 Missouri Valley Conference) shut down the Salukis, who entered the game percentage points out of first place and owning road wins over leaders Drake and Northern Iowa.

“It feels great to get the chip off our shoulder,” Mike said. “We always knew we could do it. We just had to put our minds to it and finish.”

The Shockers held SIU (11-7, 4-2) to its lowest points total and worst shooting game (30.9 percent) of the season. SIU, which averaged 70.4 points, had 18 at halftime. It missed 19 of 20 threes after making 36.8 percent in its previous five games.

Diamond Lockhart led WSU with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Mike added 14 and Rangie Bessard grabbed 11 rebounds. Dyana Pierre led SIU with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

WSU shot 48.4 percent in the first half, making 4 of 5 threes and showing composure to score late in the shot clock. Lockhart scored 15 in the first half, making 6 of 7 shots.

WSU emptied its book of defenses to slow the Salukis, employing man-to-man, a triangle-and-two, a 3-2 zone and a few presses. Adams didn’t want an experienced team to get comfortable against any defense, so the Shockers switched often. Sometimes the defenses gave up rebounds or shots in the lane. That didn’t bother Adams too much.

“I thought we stalled them with our changing defenses,” Adams said. “We were not going to give them a three. We were going to give them a two, but we were not going to give them a three.”

The Shockers paid special attention to guards Cartaesha Macklin and Rishonda Napier, who combined to make 2 of 26 shots, none from behind the arc. Stovall played 38 minutes, usually guarding Napier, who averages 15.3 points and scored two on Friday.

“We took away their personnel, took away their strengths,” Mike said.

WSU led 37-18 at halftime. SIU cut the deficit under 10 quickly and trailed 43-35 entering the fourth quarter. WSU led 47-45 with 5:17 to play and had to make the big plays that eluded it much of the season.

Two offensive rebounds led to Mike’s jumper for a 49-45 lead. She scored in the lane off an inbound play for a 51-45 lead. Lockhart grabbed a rebound after Macklin’s miss, leading to Mike’s spinning layup and a 53-45 lead.

“We talk about all the time turning the corner and making a change,” Stovall said. “We really put some things together.”

So did Adams, who fulfilled her obligation to dance after a victory. She did The Dab. Hit Dem Folks followed.

“There’s video,” Mike said. “All the time.”

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 10:29 PM with the headline "Defense helps Wichita State women halt seven-game skid."