ST. LOUIS – Wichita State held off a furious Saint Louis rally in the fourth quarter to record its seventh straight win, defeating the Billikens, 77-74, Thursday night.
Wichita State moved to 8-1 on the season, making it the best start in school history and will put its win streak on the line this weekend in Lawrence against the unbeaten Jayhawks. Wichita State almost squandered a 27-point lead in the second half, but was able to make just enough stops to hang on.
Curtessia Dean had her best game of the season, posting her first double-double as a Shocker. Her 18 points and 10 rebounds were both season highs, along with an efficient night from the field, going 8-for-13.
Jane Asinde registered her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while dishing out a career-high five assists.
DJ McCarty recorded her fourth straight game in double figures with 16 points. Shamaryah Duncan returned to the lineup after missing the last three games and added 10 points.
Wichita State was shooting better than 50 percent from the field for much of the game, but finished at 48 percent. Free throws nearly cost Wichita State as well, finishing 19-of-30 at the line.
The story of the second half was turnovers. Sixteen of Wichita State's 21 turnovers came after halftime. Saint Louis finished the game outscoring Wichita State in points off turnovers, 25-20.
Wichita State came out firing on all cylinders, as they raced out to an 11-4 lead behind seven points from Dean. Following a Nhug Bosch Duran triple from the top of the key and a Jane Asinde layup, that lead grew to 16-4 with 3:46 to go in the opening quarter.
Asinde nearly had a double-double in the first quarter, as she posted seven points and seven rebounds. The duo of Asinde and Dean combined for 14 of Wichita State's 21 points, and they led the Billikens by 10.
The second quarter would be much of the same for the visitors. Wichita State outscored Saint Louis, 21-9, in the period and scoreless for the final 2:05 of the half. The Shockers carried a 42-20 lead into the locker room behind 27 combined points for Dean (14) and Asinde (13).
Wichita State converted on 50 percent of its field goal attempts and outrebounded the Billikens by 11. Defensively, the Shockers held Saint Louis to 9-of-31 from the floor and 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.
Eight first half turnovers for Saint Louis aren't a large amount by any stretch, but they were costly. Those eight miscues turned into 14 points on the other end for Wichita State.
After Wichita State grabbed its largest lead of 27, Saint Louis clawed back within 16 behind an 11-0 run. With the Shockers in a cold spell on the offensive end, Dean put an end to the drought with a tough bucket inside. Her score led to six straight points for Wichita State to stretch the lead back to 22.
Saint Louis would not quit as they scored five consecutive points to end the quarter to make it 62-45.
Things got interesting real quick in the fourth quarter. At the 5:00 mark, Saint Louis cut the margin to single digits. Behind a 13-1 run, the Billikens made it 72-69 and still 2:06 remaining. A pair of Asinde free throws stopped the bleeding briefly.
With less than 30 seconds on the clock, Wichita State held a 76-69 lead only to see Saint Louis connect on a triple to make it 76-72. Asinde then missed both free throws on the ensuing possession, which turned into a SLU layup. Ornella Niankan split two free throws with 9.7 seconds to go, giving the Billikens one last shot at a tie, but they failed to get a shot off.
Wichita State exhaled as the final buzzer sounded and a three-point win.
Up Next
Wichita State hits the road for the final time in 2022 with an in-state showdown at Kansas on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 2 p.m.