WICHITA – Wichita State's offensive slump led to its worst loss of the season, falling 64-36 to Southeastern Louisiana Tuesday evening in Charles Koch Arena.
"They're a tough team," head coach Terry Nooner said. "We just hope that we can try to build off this and learn the tough lessons of what we need to do when we're in tough matchups like that."
The Shockers (3-4) shot just 12-for-55 (.218) from the field and 1-for-18 (.056) from three in their first home loss of the season, while the Lions (4-3) went 27-for-53 (.509) from the field and 5-for-10 (.500) from behind the arc.
Tre'Zure Jobe scored 8 of her team-high 10 points in the first half, and Wichita State's lone three-pointer of the game came courtesy of Raissa Nsabua in the second quarter before SLU went on an 8-0 run to end the half with a 26-18 lead.
"We started off well in the first quarter and the first half of the second quarter," Nooner said. "I felt like we played with some tenacity and toughness. We didn't have a good offensive night even in those quarters but in those quarters, we still played tough."
Rebounding and free throws continued to be an issue for the Shockers as the Lions won the rebound battle 39-33 and Wichita State shot just 57.9% from the charity stripe.
The Shockers only committed nine turnovers, but could not get shots to drop, going 5-for-30 in the second half.
The Lions outscored Wichita State by 20 points in the second half, shooting 66.7% from three and 57.7% from the field.
"They made some tough shots early on us and at some point, we just started struggling offensively, and it bled into the way we played defense," Nooner said.
The Shockers only tallied five assists, their lowest total of the season.
Wichita State returns to Charles Koch Arena Friday to take on Saint Louis at 6 p.m.