Wichita State Athletics

WICHITA – Three Shockers finished in double figures as Wichita State took down Oklahoma Christian, 66-52, in its season opener Monday morning in Charles Koch Arena.

"It's always great to start the season 1-0," head coach Terry Nooner said. "That was a tough team we played today.

The Shockers have now won their last five-consecutive home openers.

Redshirt-junior Jayla Murray recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds and dished out a game-high four assists.

"I'm pleased, but I expect more from myself and my teammates," Murray said. "I know we can play way better than we did today, so we're looking forward to how we get better from here."

Graduate transfer Taylor Jameson led all scoring with 13 points, and senior transfer Aicha Ndour tallied 10 points and eight rebounds.

Wichita State (1-0) dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Eagles 57-38 as senior Ornella Niankan and junior Bre'Yon White grabbed eight and seven rebounds, respectively.

White also recorded four steals in a strong defensive showing.

"We have to deny. That's our main key to our defense," Murray said.

Wichita State outscored the Eagles, 46-20, in the paint and 23 Shocker offensive rebounds led to 17 second-chance points.

13 Shockers entered the game, and 10 played at least 10 minutes, giving the Shockers the ability to maintain a fast pace of play.

"We've got a lot of people to play, so we've got to figure out our rotations," Nooner said.

Free throw shooting continued to be an issue for Wichita State as they shot just 9-for-22 (.409) from the line.

The Shockers started the game on a 10-2 run, all points courtesy of Ndour and sophomore Salese Blow, before Oklahoma Christian brought it within two. Freshman KP Parr hit a three and followed it up with a fastbreak layup, scoring her first official collegiate points, to stretch the lead back to seven. Parr ended the game with seven points.

The Eagles went on a 9-1 run to take a one-point lead with 23 seconds left in the first quarter, but a Niankan free throw squared it up at 18-all going into the second.

An Eagle free throw early in the second quarter gave Oklahoma Christian its last lead of the game, as the Shockers went on to score 10-straight and give themselves a more comfortable lead.

Junior Princess Anderson hit a buzzer-beater three in front of over 2,000 USD 259 students as time expired in the second quarter, turning the volume up in Charles Koch Arena and giving the Shockers a 10-point lead going into halftime.

Murray scored eight of her 10 points in the second half, and the Shockers took their biggest lead of 14 in the third quarter.

Senior Ornella Niankan also got rolling in the second half, scoring six of her seven points after halftime.

Wichita State plays again this Saturday, Nov. 9 against Belmont at 6 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.

🏀 Shockers open season with win