South Wichita News

Shockers, Wildcats Tangle in First Round of WNIT

Wichita State (18-14, 6-10 AAC) at Kansas State (17-16, 5-13 Big 12)

Thursday, March 16, 2023 | 6:00 PM CT | Bramlage Coliseum

ESPN+ | KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM | KStateSports.com

ON THE AIR

Thursday's game can be heard on the radio at KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM with Steve Strain calling the action. Strain is in his ninth season as the radio voice for Wichita State women's basketball. The game will also be televised on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

LAST TIME OUT

Wichita State saw its run in the American Athletic Conference Championship come to an end in the semifinals vs. fourth-seeded Houston, 72-64, last Wednesday in Fort Worth. Wichita State reached the semifinal game for the first time in school history as a member of the American. Much like the regular season meeting with Houston, turnovers were the key to the game. Wichita State committed 22 in the first meeting and 21 in the semifinals. Houston scored 19 points off those miscues. Curtessia Dean scored a team-high 15 points and Trajata Colbert added 14 and seven rebounds. Shamaryah Duncan finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Before fouling out, Jane Asinde racked up seven points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

Led by ninth year head coach Jeff Mittie, Kansas State finished the regular season 17-16 and 5-13 in the Big 12. The Wildcats are making their seventh Postseason WNIT appearance, and first since 2018. K-State won the 2006 WNIT. Led by All-Big 12 First Team selection, Gabby Gregory, the Wildcats average just over 70 points a game on 40.2 percent shooting. Gregory averages 18.6 points and 5.4 rebounds, while shooting 40.3 percent from the floor and 31.1 percent from three. Serena Sundell scores 13.8 points to go with 5.1 assists per game. The duo of Gregory and Sundell have combined to shoot 367 free throws this season. As a team, K-State shoots 76.4 percent from the line.

THE SERIES VS. KANSAS STATE

Sunflower State foes, Wichita State and Kansas State will meet for the 42nd time. This will be the first meeting between the two progams since 2014. Kansas State holds a 33-8 lead in the series, but the Shockers have won the last two. Wichita State and Kansas State have never met in postseason play. The Shockers are 4-15 all-time in Manhattan.

LAST MEETING

Wichita State defeated Kansas State, 51-48, on Dec. 12, 2014 in Charles Koch Arena. Wichita State forced 16 Kansas State turnovers and held the Wildcats to just 44 field goal attempts. A low-possession game, Wichita State led by as many as 13 in the second half before a rally made it close down the stretch. All-American Alex Harden scored a game-high 22 points to go with four rebounds and four assists. Michaela Dapprich added 14.

TOURNAMENT TIME

Wichita State is set to make its fifth postseason appearance in the WNIT, and first since 2012. The Shockers are 1-4 all-time in the WNIT. This will be the first postseason berth since Wichita State earned three straight automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament from 2013-15. Wichita State appeared in the 1999, 2000, 2011 and 2012 WNIT's. Wichita State's lone WNIT win came in 2012 when the Shockers defeated Oral Roberts, 79-57, in Charles Koch Arena.

HISTORY IN FORT WORTH

Wichita State's upset of top seed South Florida in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship was significant in multiple ways. The Shockers had never advanced past the quarterfinal round in six years as a member of the league. They were 0-2 entering the matchup with the Bulls. Wichita State also became the first team to defeat the No. 1 seed in the history of the American Athletic Conference Championship. The top seed had been 27-0 in the first nine years of the event. Wichita State is just one win away from an appearance in the title game.

PAINT POWER

Over Wichita State's last 13 games the duo of Jane Asinde and Trajata Colbert have taken their game to another level. Asinde has five double-doubles and is averaging 15.5 points and 9.3 rebounds, while Colbert is playing the best basketball of her career. During that span Colbert has six double-doubles and is posting 14.5 points and 8.4 rebounds. Combined they are responsible for 30.0 points and 17.7 rebounds over the last 10 outings.

TALENTED TRIO

Jane Asinde, DJ McCarty and Trajata Colbert are forming a potent trio for the Shockers. All three are averaging double figures on the season and combine for 53.5 percent of Wichita State's points on the offensive end. On the glass, they combine to pull down 21.1 rebounds a game. On the defensive end, the trio makes up 62.7 percent (151 steals) of the team's steals this season and 59.4 percent (57 blocks) of the team's blocks.

RARE AIR ASINDE

Jane Asinde is one of only three players in the country averaging at least 10.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. DePaul's Annesah Morrow and Texas A&M Corpus Christi's Alecia Westbrook are the only other players putting up those stats in 2022-23.

SEEING DOUBLE

Wichita State senior Jane Asinde is averaging a double-double through 32 games this season at 13.2 points and 10.0 rebounds. The Uganda native is on pace to finish the season with a top 10 single season rebounding mark. Her current 10.0 boards per game would rank as the 9th most in school history. Asinde's 300 rebounds are the 5th most in school history, becoming just the fifth Shocker to finish a season with 300 or more rebounds. She is also trying to become the first Shocker to average a double-double over the course of a season since Antionette Wells during the 2006-07 season when she posted 13.0 points and 10.4 rebounds.

WANTED FOR THEFT

Junior guard DJ McCarty and senior forward Jane Asinde have been a pest on defense for opposing offenses through 32 games. McCarty has recorded at least one steal in all but seven games, and has multiple in 18 of the 32 games. Her 63 steals are the most on the team. Asinde is second on the team with 59 steals and averages 1.96 steals a game and has multiple steals in 17 games this season. They rank 6th and 7th in the American in steals.

COLBERT CASHING IN      

Trajata Colbert has improved dramatically the last two years at the free throw line. The Georgia native began her career shooting 42.1 percent as a freshman, 61.1 percent as a sophomore and 50.9 percent as a COVID sophomore. In 2021-22 she shot a career-high 76.0 percent and in 2022-23, she is 106-for-130 (81.5 percent). Colbert ranks fifth in the American in free throw percentage.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...

... make them 19-14 on the season

... make them 4-1 on a neutral court this season

... be just their second-ever win in the WNIT

... move them to 9-33 all-time vs. K-State

... be their third straight win over the Wildcats

... bring Keitha Adams' record to 81-92 at Wichita State

... make Adams 365-301 at the Division I level

... run Adams' career coaching record to 492-338

... make Wichita State 651-740 all-time

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...

... end their season at 18-15

... lower their WNIT record to 1-5 all time

... make them 8-34 all-time vs. K-State

... bring Keitha Adams' record to 80-93 at Wichita State

... make Adams 364-302 at the Division I level

... lower Adams' career coaching record to 491-339

... make Wichita State 650-741 all-time

Original source can be found here.