2018-19 WBB Non-Conference Games

[flyingMoose]

Missouri State 60-63(OT) Shockers

A long-range three by Carla Bremaud with 3.7 seconds left sent the game to overtime where the Shocks prevailed. This was 300th D-I win for HCKA.

Both teams shot well to begin the first quarter. The Shocks opened in a 2-3 zone, had problems rebounding, changed to a man and then changed back to the zone. Shockers led 17-15 at the quarter.

Some of the back part of the rotation played much of the first half of the second quarter. Their zone was much more active, and the Bears first score of the quarter came about the 3:30 mark. The Shockers did not score much themselves, but led 27-21 at the half.

In the second half, the Bears began using a 2-3 zone with the top of the zone picking up the Shocker point guard pretty high. The Shocker lead became 40-30 with about 2:30 to play in the quarter, but Missouri State managed to close the gap to 42-38 by the end of the quarter.

The free throw line was open for someone to fill against the Bear zone, but the Shocks did not try that. Rather Seraphin or Ashley would penetrate to that spot and then kick the ball out. Missouri State took their first lead at 47-46 with a bit less than three minutes to play. At 52-50 and twenty seconds to play, the Bears made one of two free throws, setting the stage for Carla's long range bomb.

The Bears led early in the OT but the Shocks pulled ahead with about two or so minutes to play - 3 of 6 free throws by Ashley and a nice pull-up by Seraphine at the free-throw line when she penetrated were a big part of that - and held on for the win.


The Shocks were 4 of 16 on three-balls for .250, but the Bears were worse at 4 of 26. The Shocks were 47.7% for the game and the Bears were 29.0%. The Shocker rebounding improved and closed the gap to 36 and 38.

Carla with 15, Sabrina with 13 and Raven with 12 despite being 4 of 9 from the line. She was the leading rebounder with 12. Seraphine had 8 and it seemed could look for her shot a little more when she penetrates rather than mostly looking to pass.

Clearly still a work in progress, but a nice win.

[flyingMoose]

I failed to mention that the Shockers used a 1-2-2 zone press with good effect in spots in the fourth quarter and the overtime.

[1972Shocker]

I did make it to the MSU game this afternoon but had to leave at the end of the 3rd quarter. I was able to listen to the audio stream of the game until Sabrina fouled out with 44 seconds left and, after the player she fouled completed the and-1 MSU had a 52-48 lead. I wasn't able to check the score again until about an hour later and I was totally surprised when I saw the Shocks had somehow pulled out a 63-60 win. I figured that OT was involved but had no idea as to how that happened. The Shocks had no players on the floor with any D-1 experience other than the UAPB game which is bottom of the barrel D-1 experience. I now know although I have not watched the replay yet.

I think you would be hard pressed to find another D-1 game where the winning team gave up 25 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 27 times, Those numbers resulted inNes MSU taking 69 shot plus 30 free throws to 44 shots and 27 free throws for the Shocks. I think at least part of the credit has to go to the defense played by the Shocker puppies and perhaps part to a poor performance by MSU. How good will this team be when they learn how to rebound and learn who to value the ball?

A couple more weak opponents next week than the Lady Shocks will have to get serious. Hopefully, they use the opportunity to fine tune their rebounding and taking care of the ball.

We have a few wild fillies that need some taming but there is a lot of upside with this team if they all buy-in and work hard.

RH: Freshman Backcourt Comes Up Big in Win

[1972Shocker]

Shockers vs Missouri State Play of the Game

https://twitter.com/YurViewKS/status/1061380242537877506

[1972Shocker]

I am happy and a little surprised with the Shocks win over Missouri State. I thought we had a chance in that game but I didn't think we could play as poorly as we did and win that game. I do think the young Shocker played good defense in the game the defensive rebound not withstanding. They certainly had to guard a lot of possessions given the offensive rebounds and the turnovers. Not sure the Lady Bears played their best but Alexa Willard is certainly an tough matchup.

Next up is Sam Houston State at 6:30 on Wednesday. SHS is picked to finish last in the 13 team Southland Conference this year. SHS finished 2-23 last year with an RPI of 336. The Bearkats lost at LSU 66-52 and beat NAIA Jarvis Christian 100-55 although not sure what that indicates. LSU beat Northern Colorado at home 62-57. Jarvis Christian has one player who is 5-11 and one player at 5-9 with the rest between 5-1 and 5-8 so a very small team.

In the LSU game SHS shot 19-50 (38%) from the field including 3-16 (18.8%) from 3 and 11-22 (50%) from the free throw line. The Bearkats had 4 assists on 19 baskets and turned the ball over 23 times.

SHS has a roster domianted by seniors and juniors so they clearly have the edge in experience but I don't thank that will be enough to overcome the Shockers talent. The main thing I would like to see if for the Shocks to play cleaner and for their freshman to slow down a bit, take care of the ball and work the offense. I don't expect that the Shocks will struggle on the defensive boards like they did against Missouri State. And, so far, the Shocker defense has looked pretty good for a young team.

[1972Shocker]

Missouri State, despite Alexa Willard only scoring 2 points, gave #16 Missouri a battle in Columbia tonight losing 61-65.

[1972Shocker]

Wichita State women’s basketball looking for first 3-0 start since 2002

BY TAYLOR ELDRIDGE

“We did some things well (against Missouri State), but there are a lot of areas where we need to get better at,” Adams said. “We need to take care of the ball and start being go get it gals. We’re all about going and getting it, yet we weren’t going and getting it. The first drill of practice the next day was a rebounding drill. There’s so much room for improvement.”

It is a little hard to believe it has been 15 years since the Shocks started a season 3-0 not that we have great tradition in our WBB program. Perhaps part of that is attributable to the early season schedule. I fully expect the Lady Shocks to start this year 4-0 now that they have the Missouri State game behind them. UAPB, Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist are about aas weak a group of games as you could assemble. So if the Shocks do start 4-0 that needs to be taken with a grain of salt. The MIssouri State win was a good win to get although it remains to be seen just how good. Missouri State shots 29.0% from the field including 4-26 (15.4%) on 3 pointers and 16-30 (53.3%) from the line yet the Shocks still were lucky to win that game. Now some of the credit for the poor shooting from the field goes to the Shocker defense but some is that MSU just had a poor shooting night.

I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing that this extremely young Shocker team has a weak early season schedule. This allows HCKA to do a lot of experimenting and to play a lot of players. Hopefully, it won't lull the team into believing that this D-1 basketall stuff is easier than it really is. The schedule will get substantially tougher thereafter.

South Dakota will be very tough and will probably end the 4-game winning streak (if that happens as expected). La Tech is picked to finish 6th in CUSA, and Oklahoma State follows that. So we will know a lot more about where this team is at after those games.

Based on the schedule I will be disappointed if the Shocks don't finish the non-conference schedule at least 7-6 as I am counting on wins over Sam Houston State, Houston Baptist, Tennesse Tech, Grambling State and Savannah State to go with the wins over UAPB and MSU. The six losses would be South Dakota, La Tech, Oklahoma State, Creighton, Northwestern and Kansas/Washington State. I would not put it past the young group of Shockers to pull off a couple of upsets among these 6 games especially if they buy in to being the Go Get It girls and learn to take better care of the basketball.

Hopefully, the Missouri State game will prove to be an aberration on the defensive boards. As the game slows down for the young Shockers, which it eventually will, I would hope they shoot a little better and turn the ball over quite a bit less.

[1972Shocker]

Sam Houston State Game

At the half Shocker lead Sam Houston State 30-26.

Quite frankly the Shocker worst half of the season. I did not see the 1st quarter but I listened to it. Saw the 2nd quarter and wished I had not. Ugly, ugly, ugly, selfish, one-on-one, wild out-of-control screw trying to run any offense 2nd quarter. Sabrina picked up 2 early fouls and only played 6 minutes. Seraphine picked up 2 fouls in the 1st quarter and only played 9 minutes. Carla only played 11 minutes (not sure why). 15 mostly careless or out-of-control turnovers. Coach better figure out how to slow these kids down. There is some athletic talent on the floor and I think some basketball talent but most of these kids are so out-of-control and and forcing plays that are simply not there nor are they good basketball plays. I guess a lot of this is inexperience but give the Shockers a D-.

If they play anywhere close to this against UConn they will lose by 120.

Hopefully, the Shockers will wake up in the 2nd half and show some self-control, some smarts and some willingness to play some team basketball.

Dawnyel Lair starts the 2nd half along with Sabrina, Raven, Carla and Seraphine. Dawnyel still out of control.

Raven drives to the basket, draws a crowd, has 3 open teammates she could have passed to but instead forces a high degree of difficulty shot that had absolutely not chance. Might as well of just turned it over again like Seraphine did on the next Shocker possession.

Absolutely no offense being run by the Shockers.

SHS ties it up at 30-all. If things don't change big time for the Shocks they will lose this game.

Sabrina who has not shot attempts in this game just picked up her 3rd foul.

Sabrina finally gets to the line late in the 3rd quarter and misses them both.

Shocks finally starting to move the ball a little bit and share it with teammates at the end of the 3rd quarter. The Shocks were down 37-38 with about 2:45 left in the quarter and once they started working more as a team they closed out the quarter on a 9-1 run to lead 46-39 heading into the 4th quarter. Jaida Hampton having her best game as Shocker. Hopefully, they can keep this up.

Sabrina picks up foul #4 with 8 minutes to go. It wasn't much of a foul but it was inexcusable for a Senior leader to make. Sabrina is going to have to do a better job staying out of foul trouble.

Shockers hang on for a 63-55 win.

HCKA not very happy with her team. The looked like a bunch of cats on a hot tin roof. Didn't think they were listening very good tonight. Got to get the turnovers under control. 24 turnovers to 2 assists for the Lady Shockers. Seraphine had her worst game of her young career with 7 turnovers and 0 assists.

Carla Bremaud was good again and is probably the best basketball player the Shockers have. Jaida Hampton had her best night as a Shocker.

HCKA really shortened her bench in the 2nd half going with Sabrina, Alyssia, Raven, Jaida, Carla, Jada and Seraphine. Dawnyel saw about a minute or so to open the half but quickly played herself onto the bench.

I know they really want the fans to come and and support them but that won't happen until they put a much more polished team product on the floor. Tonight was definitely a step backward for this team IMHO.

Hopefully, they will get the message and make a big step forward before they start playing some opponents that will make them pay big if they pay like they did tonight.

[1972Shocker]

[1972Shocker]

La Tech who will visit the Shockers on the Saturday afternoon after thanksgiving was one of my projected losses I thought the Shocks might be able to win. Not s sure now. La Tech beat Houston at home last night 100-88 despite have only 2 players in double figures. 5-9 Sr. Guard Kierra Anthony broke a 28-year old single game school record by pouring in 50 points. Anthony was 17-29 from the field (2-4 on treys) and 14-14 from the line. 5-7 Sr. guard Taylor Stahly out of Newton, Kansas chipped in 20 points as those two accounted for 70% of La Tech's scoring. OTOH HCKA want have any problem figuring out who they will need to focus on stopping.

Houston won each of the 1st quarters and led 70-59 heading into the final quarter. La Tech won the final quarter 21-10 to tie at 80 than outscored Houston 20-8 in the overtime period.

BTW, Anthony only had 6 points iin the 1st half. She scored 14 in the 3rd quarter, 17 in the 4th quarter and 13 in OT.

[1972Shocker]

In her post-game show HCKA said she has a challenger with these young little fillies The team hasn't shot the ball too bad from the field at 45.4% overall and 34.3% on 3-pointers (better than the 27.3% last year) and that should improve with better shot selection and running the offense better which should improve over time (I think). The free throw shooting certainly needs to improve over the 61.8% efficiency so far. However, that seems concentrated in just a few playes as Raven, Alyssia and Dawnyel are a combined 7-21 fron the line with the rest of the team shooting a solid 35-47 (74.5%),

Clearly the high rate of turnovers is causing the team to lose too many possessions and every now and then gives the opponents an atomic bomb. Inclduing the Missouri Southern exhibition games the Shocks have 93 turnovers against 33 assists. That's a 0.35 assist to turnover ratio. Last year's team had a 0.89 assist to turnover ratio.

We have some fillies that can really run but too often it is running without a purpose or running into trouble. It is not just the freshmen either, The Juco kids still have way too much Juco in their games.

Our 3 Juco players (Raven, Maya and Ashley have combined for 1 assist and 20 turnovers in the 3 regular season games. However, Ashley was quite good in the exhibition game agaisnt Missouri Southern with 5 assists and 1 turnover. Not sure what happened to that Ashley but we need her back.

The freshmen have combined for 22 assists and 46 turnovers in the 3 regular season games. Carla has 3 assists and 6 turnovers which is not too bad considering the minutes has played although I think she would have more assists if the Shocks would get into their offense and run their offense more. She seems liek she is a good passer and a willing passeer. Seraphine actually had a 1.33 assist to turnover ratio going into the Sam Houston State game at 12 assists to 9 turnovers but had no assists and 7 turnovers against SHS. Hopefully, that will prove to be the rare exception for Seraphine.

Getting Sr Cesaria back might help some but I think she has been dealing with a back injury for about 3 months now so not sure when or if she will be available this year. Ces was a bit of a wild child herself at times as a Juco transfer last year but she preferred to pass over looking to score and I think she did improve as the year progressed and she ended with 92 assists to 78 turnovers (a 1.2 ATO ratio).

I think what needs to be done is pretty clear. HCKA will have to figure out how to tame these young fillies without breaking their spirit. Hopefully, we will see some improvement against Houston Bapitist on Saturday, November 17th at 2:00 pm. HBU was 6-18 last year with all 6 wins in the Southland Conference. They had an RPI of 310 last year and are picked to finish 10th in the Southalnd this year (3 spots ahead of Sam Houston State).

Hard to evaluate HBU so far this year as the Shockers will be their first D-1 game. So far they have 2 easy victories over D-III McMurry (92-41) and over D-II Texas A&M International (81-48). In fact, 4 of HBU's first 6 games include 1 D-II, 2 D-III and 1-NAIA in addition to games with the Shocks and with Texas Tech. I guess since they are picked 3 spots ahead of Sam Houston State we should expect a team that is perhaps a bit better than Sam Houston State.

[flyingMoose]

La Tech who will visit the Shockers on the Saturday afternoon after Thanksgiving ...

[1972Shocker]

Thank you. Corrected OP.

[1972Shocker]

Just finished watching a replay of the Houston Baptist game that I was unable to attend. The Shocks went to 4-0 on the season with a 68-50 win over a pretty poor Houston Baptist team. The Shocks did turn the ball over less today (14 turnovers) which was badly needed and they did a better job of trying to organize and run their offense. The Shocks led 33-16 at the half but only added one-point to that advantage in the 2nd half. I will say that this looked very much like an exhibition game with 10 players playing double figure minutes and 3 others playing 8-9 minutes each.

Trajata Colbert had her best statistical game as a Shocker with 12 points and 13 rebounds in only 13 minutes of playing time. However, I would say about half of Trajata's rebounds came from rebounding her own close in misses. But today's game was the first sign from her that she might be able to fill in at the 5 now and then. Asia Henderson also recorded her first points as a Shocker with 6 points and 5 rebounds in 8 minutes of playing time.

Overall the Shockers did not shoot the ball great. They were 25-66 (37.9%) although those numbers gradually declined at the game progressed and more playing time went to the reserves. Jaida Hampton, however, did start and struggled shooting at 1-8 after her best game against Sam Houston State. The Shocks were 3-11 (27.3%) and continued to shoot poorly from the free throw line at 15-25 (60.0%) including back-to-back air balls by Raven Prince on a 2-shot trip to the line.

I thought Seraphine bounced back from her poor game against Sam Houston State. She had 3 turnovers which isn't too bad and I think all 3 were travels from shuffling her feet as she started to make a move. I think she will fix that as the game slows down for her. Sabrina and Carla also had there usual steady, solid games.

I am not exactly sure what we know about this team yet. They seem to play pretty good defense both individually and as a team but it is a little hard to tell against what so far has been a pretty weak schedule with the exception of Missouri State (I think). Sabrina, Seraphine and Carla would appear to be the core of the team and the players we will need on the floor the greatest amount of time. Cesaria might be able to help the team although I don't know how long it will take her to get in game shape. She did dress out for today's game although she did not play and Steve Strain though she might be back by the beginning of December.

I like Raven's motor and her athleticism on defense but she is a real liability from the foul line so far. Jaida Hampton has to be in the mix and hopefully will develop some consistency. Maya Brewer will be a very good player for the Shocks if she can overcome her juco-itis. Shyia Smith, Alyssia Faye and perhaps Jada Peacock would round out a 10-player primary rotation once Cesaria returns. Ashley Reid will continue to get some minutes behind Seraphine, at least until Cesaria returns.

Dawnyel Lair, Trajata Colbert and Asia Henderson probably will remain in the break glass in case of emergency cabinet although Trajata and Asia might be able to help here and there and probably needs some minutes when she can get them to continue to develop. Dawnyel looks like she needs a lot of refining and a lot of work on her shooting. A redshirt year for her may have been warranted. Looks like Natalia Ryng is redshirting.

It will be interesting to see how the youngsters will respond to their first road game at South Dakota next Wednesday. South Dakota returns 3 starters and 9 letter winners from last years undefeated (in league play) Summit League championship team. It would be a huge positive if the Lady Shocks can hang with the Lady Coyotes, especially on the road. But this will be a big challenge for the Shockers and a blowout ls a possibility.

[1972Shocker]

Been studying up on this South Dakota team. I think they will be well coached and disciplined but I also think the Lady Shocks are capable of beating them if they play strong defense, rebound, take care of the ball and run their offense.

South Dakota is 3-1 but their last win was a 112-52 win over College of St. Mary a NAIA school out of Omaha so that game tells us little to nothing.

South Dakota's other wins are a 77-65 win at Creighton who is picked to finish 4th in the Big East although hard to get a read on them at this point and 96-43 home win over what appears to be a bad Incarnate Word team. The Lady Coyotes lost 76-64 to Valley favorite Drake in Des Moines.

South Dakota is not overly big and won't have an advantage in either size or athleticism over the Shocks but, as most teams will this year, they will have a substantial advantage in experience. While the game is not being played on South Dakota's home court they will have the home crowd advantage at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls where the Shocker men beat Memphis a few years back. Hard to say how his young Shocker group will respond to their first game away from Koch Arena.

I would probably put South Dakota at the same level as Missouri State who the Shocks beat in overtime in Koch Arena although quite frankly I don't think MSU played very well in that game although the Shocker defense deserves a good amount of credit for that. In fact, perhaps the level of defense this young team is playing so far this year may be the biggest positive for this team. Although admittedly UAPB, Sam Houston State and Houston Baptist were not real good measuring sticks. I suspect South Dakota will run much better offensive schemes than any of these teams have and will be much better shooters.

The Shocks need Sabrina to stay out of foul trouble and I would expect HCKA will shorten her bench a bit although both Trajata Colbert and Asia Henderson showed some progress against HBU and I think they would have a size advantage against South Dakota.

At this point my depth chart and ten player rotation would be:

1. Seraphine Bastin, Jada Peacock
2. Carla Bemaud, Maya Brewer
3. Shyia Smith, Jaida Hampton
4. Raven Prince, Alyssia Faye
5. Sabrina L-C, Trajata Colbert

Ashley Reid can fill in if and as needed at the 1. Jada Peacock is probably more a combo guard and HCKA has seemed to prefer Ashley at the point over Jada so far. Ashley did not play well, especially on defense against HBU.

Not sure what to do with Dawnyel Lair. Very athletic but needs a lot of refining and her shooting stroke appears to need a lot of work.

I think Asia could be serviceable at the 5 if really needed but not sure about her lack of speed and quickness against better competition.

It will be interesting to see how HCKA would work Cesaria Ambrosio into the mix if and when she gets healthy enough and in good enough shape to contribute.

The 3 players that have consistently stood out and appear to be the key cogs are Sabrina, Seraphine and Carla. Raven has shown a really good motor but is pretty much close to the basket scorer has really struggled from the line this year shooting only 6-17 (35.3%) which is compounded by the fact she has gotten to the line more than any other Shocker player so far this year.
As a team the Shockers are only shooting 61.3% as a team. Hasn't been a problem so far because their 4 opponents have shot 54.3%. With South Dakota shooting 74.5% as a team this year the free throw could well prove to be key factor in the outcome of this game.

We'll see how it goes.

Shocker Game Notes and Links

[1972Shocker]

Shocks off to a poor start in South Dakota trailing 7-18 at the end of quarter 1. Neither team shooting very well. The Shocks have 8 turnovers to 2 for SD. Shockers 1-2 from the free throw line. SD is 7-8 from the line.

Shocks with much better shooting in the 2nd quarter, only 3 turnovers and a 3-pointer with 4 seconds in the quarter pull to within 4 at 27-31. We'll take 2 more quarters like that.

Sabrina picked up 2 fouls in the 1st half, only played 10 minutes and did not take a shot. Seraphine and Raven leading the way for the Shocks.

Sabrina picks up 2 more more fouls quickly in the 3Q and goes to the bench with 4 fouls. SD extended their lead to 10 before the baby Shockers rallied to keep the deficit at 4 at the end of the 3rd quarter at 47-51. Dawnyel Lair having by far her best game as a Shocker.

Shocks fall 73-64. Perhaps not to difficult to figure this one out. The Shockers only experience player, Sabrina L-C, fouls out with only 6 points in 22 minutes of play. The Shocks shot 90% from the free throw line, which has been a weakness, to 83.3% for SD. Unfortunately, the Shockers only had 10 attempts while SD had 36 attempts making 30 of them for a 21 point advantage at the line, Game, set, match.

Good balanced scoring for the Shocks despite not getting much from Sabrina. All-in-all a good effort by the young Shocks considering everything.

[1972Shocker]

Watched the replay of the South Dakota game today. Good experience for the Shocks playing in front of an enthusiastic and decent sized road crowd of a couple thousand against an experienced and well-coached team.

Some positives and some negatives. The Shockers played poorly in the 1st quarter and early in the 2nd quarter and it looked like the moment might be a little too much for them falling behind by 15 at 23-8 with 8:00 minutes remaining in the 1st half and their only experienced player Sabrina L-C on the bench for the remainder of the half with 2 fouls. Led by Seraphine Bastin and Raven Prince the Shocks then went on a 14-0 run to pull to within 1 at 22-23 with 2:40 to go in the half. South Dakota pulled back out to a 31-24 lead with 12 seconds to go in the half but Freshman Carla Bremaud hit a guarded three from the deep corner to pull the Shocks to within 4 at 31-27 at the end of the 1st half.

In the 3rd quarter South Dakota started finding the range from behind the arc and extended their lead to 10 at 45-35 with 5:45 to play in the quarter and with Sabrina now on the bench again this time after picking up her 3rd and 4th fouls. The young Shocks rallied again this time led by the energy and defense of Dawnyel Lair off the bench to pull to within 2 at 45-47 with a couple minutes left in the quarter and closed out the 3rd quarter down 51-47.

South Dakota again extended their lead to 58-50 over the first 3 minutes of the final quarter. Again the Shocks rallied to pull within 1 point at 58-59 with 3;45 in the game. Unfortunately, the Shocks weren't able to hit shot down the stretch and South Dakota stretched out the lead hitting 12-14 free throws and a couple of layups to close out the game at 73-64 with the game being closer than the final score indicates.

While the Shocks turned the ball over 8 times in the 1st quarter, which is way too many, they only turned it over 10 times over the final 3 quarter which is where they need to be.

The Shocks still are having difficulty running their offense well and too often are relying on one-on-one. I thought in the 1st half they did not do a good job finding touches for Sabrina, when she wasn't on the bench with foul trouble, and Carla. They did a better job of getting touches for Sabrina and Carla in the 2nd half.

Similar to the Missouri State game the Shocks did a poor job on the defensive boards. The Shocks were out-rebounded 35-24 overall including 17-6 on the offensive boards. South Dakota outscored the Shocks 18-6 on second chance points.

Another similarity to the Missouri State game was Sabrina's foul trouble although she played 6 fewer minutes in the South Dakota game. Sabrina simply need to be smarter about the fouls she picks up. If she has to be little less aggressive and a little less physical on defense and on the boards so ge it.

Seraphine was quite good again and is on her way to being one of the better point guards the Shockers have had. Raven Prince was also solid again and looked good on hitting both of her free throw attempts. Raven has really good length and needs to quit coming down with her hands when defending shots. Dawnyel's energy and defense were very impressive. She is very quick. And she can really slash. Not the greatest finisher and not a very good looking shot but she can be very disruptive on defense and can get to the rim. She is a bit wild at times but I think some of the rough edges will get smoothed out with experience. Carla did not shoot the ball well from the perimeter (1-7 from 3) but had some really nice drives that she finished off quite creatively. Carla continues to impress me with her maturity. She does need work on her footwork on defense but overall I really like her game. Jaida Hampton had a pretty good game. Jaida just needs to learn to be a little more patient and if she picks her spots well I think she will be a very efficient scorer. Shyia Smith was pretty good in this game as well. All these gals seem to be coming along.

Perhaps the most positive aspect of this game was the way Shocks kept responding to South Dakota runs to stay in the game right to the end and this was largely done with Sabrina on the bench.

Found a little bit out about Cesaria's injury. The South Dakota announcers (of all people) reported that Cesaria has a fracture in her back that occurred on the 1at day of practice. I am wondering if this might have been a stress fracture but it is more information than we have gotten from Wichita State (although I think those announcers were told that by the Wichita State SID). I think they are expecting Ces back but no reason to push it. If it drags out too long perhaps a redshirt would be something Ces should think about.