WICHITA, Kan. (12/2/16) – The Arkansas State women's basketball team lost Wichita State 69-51 in a non-conference matchup Friday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena.
The Red Wolves (0-6) trailed 46-40 at the end of the third quarter, but the Shockers outscored A-State 23-11 in the final period to secure the victory. The turning point of period came when Wichita State (2-3) went on a 7-0 run in a span of 35 seconds coming out of the under-5 minute media timeout to extend their 61-45 with 4:27 to go. The lead grew to a 20-point margin with 1:19 remaining at 69-49, before Tahlon Hopkins made a layup with under a minute to go to set the final.
“I loved the way we competed and especially on the defensively end I thought we competed as well as we have in any game this season,” A-State head coach Brian Boyer said. “We just couldn't sustain it for a full game, but we certainly showed improvement and we continue to get better.”
Akasha Westbrook led Arkansas State with 17 points, and nearly helped Arkansas State erase a nine point third quarter deficit when she helped spark an 8-0 run to get within 39-38. The junior from Malvern, Ark., scored six points during the run, but Arkansas State could get no closer. Lauren Bradshaw, who scored nine points and had eight rebounds, hit a layup with 1:52 to go in the quarter to close the gap to 41-40, but that would be as close the Red Wolves would get.
The game with an 8-0 run sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Brittany Fowler, but the Shockers responded with an 8-0 spurt of their own to squash the early momentum of the Red Wolves.
Westbrook put Arkansas State in front 13-10 with a 3-pointer and the Red Wolves held the first quarter lead until Wichita State closed the period on an 8-0 run after the Red Wolves went the final 2:09 of the frame without a point to trail 20-15 after the first 10 minutes.
A-State went on a 9-0 run to start the second quarter to go up 24-20. The pivotal point of the stretch came when Dominique Oliver drew and offensive foul on the Shockers' Aundra Stovall, and after an official review, it was determined that Stovall had used her elbow meaning Oliver got two free throws and A-State got the ball back.
Wichita State rallied, however, and used the momentum from a desperation 3-pointer that went in as the shot clock expired to take a 31-29 edge into the halftime break.
Wichita State shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field, while A-State made 31.0 percent (18-of-58) of its shot attempts. Defensively, Arkansas State forced the Shockers into 24 turnovers, while the Red Wolves had 20 turnovers, seven of which came in the game's final seven minutes.
A-State returns home for a two-game home stand starting Tuesday, Dec. 6 against Tulsa at the Convocation Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
For the latest on the A-State women's basketball log onto the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/RedWolvesWBB, or follow them on Twitter @AStateWB and on Instagram at “AStateWBB.”
