Wichita State women’s season ends in MVC first round
A lesson-filled season came to a lesson-filled conclusion Thursday for a young Wichita State women’s basketball team.
Ninth-seeded Bradley ousted the three-time defending champion in the opening round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament 56-51 in the first game played at the event’s new home, the iWireless Center in the Quad-Cities.
The Braves held the Shockers to 32.1-percent shooting to earn their third win of the season against Wichita State, all by five points or less.
“They never let us play at the tempo we wanted,” Shockers coach Jody Adams said. “Pretty much from start to finish, we were unable to get anything going.”
Bradley, earning its first win in the tourney since 2012, ran off 12 straight points midway through the second quarter to open a 25-13 lead when Kat Yelle completed a three-point play with three minutes remaining in the half.
Wichita State did pull within 26-21 by halftime and trailed 28-25 when Rangie Bessard scored two of her game-high 17 points with 8:59 remaining in the third quarter.
The Shockers mustered just two field goals the rest of the quarter as Bradley opened a 41-30 advantage that stuck until TaQuandra Mike strung together eight of her 16 points in a little over a minute, pulling Wichita State within 54-49 with 2:08 remaining.
A steal by Leti Lerma, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, denied the Shockers a chance to cut deeper into the lead.
“We knew they wouldn’t go away quietly,” Bradley coach Michael Brooks said. “They’ve won the last three tournaments and that’s a prideful team and program.”
Brooks said the Braves (9-21) defended well, but benefited from 46.7-percent shooting that ranks as Bradley’s second-best effort of the season.
“We gave them a chance, going 12-for-24 at the line, but we did enough good things on defense to compensate,” Brooks said.
Adams said the Shockers (8-22) were unable to match the intensity the Braves brought to the floor.
“They played with a lot of energy,” Adams said. “Their physicality in the way they attacked bothered us. They’re a little older than we are and they played that way. It’s something we have to learn from.”
Bessard, named the newcomer of the year in the Missouri Valley during a postgame ceremony, recorded her fifth double-double of the season for Wichita State (8-22). She collected 10 boards to go with her eighth-straight double-digit scoring effort.
Bradley | 11 | 15 | 15 | 15 | — | 56 |
Wichita State | 9 | 12 | 9 | 21 | — | 51 |
BRADLEY (9-21): Tinjum 3-8 1-2 9, Brewer 1-1 0-0 2, Sims 5-8 1-4 11, Markert 1-2 0-0 2, Yelle 2-4 4-5 8, Lerma 4-10 2-4 10, Kendall 2-4 3-7 7, Schlueter 3-6 1-2 7, Eshoo 0-2 0-0 0.
WICHITA STATE (8-22): Lozada-Cabbage 2-2 4-4 8, Francis 1-2 1-2 3, Bessard 6-15 5-5 17, Lehne 0-0 0-0 0, Martin 0-0 0-0 0, Stovall 1-2 0-0 3, Chapel 1-4 2-2 4, Lockhart 0-5 0-0 0, Mike 6-23 1-2 16.
3s — BU 2-8 (Tinjum 2-3, Lerma 0-1, Schlueter 0-3, Eshoo 0-1), WSU 4-12 (Mike 3-10, Stovall 1-1, Lockhart 0-1). Rebounds — BU 34 (Lerma 10), WSU 32 (Bessard 10). Assists — BU 7 (2-Yelle, Lerma, Schlueter), WSU 9 (3-Stovall, Chapel). Fouls – BU 20, WSU 22.
This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 8:15 PM with the headline "Wichita State women’s season ends in MVC first round."