WICHITA, Kan. – HCU fell behind for the first time all game with just 6:11 left to play in the fourth quarter but responded by out-scoring host Wichita State, 12-6, the rest of the way en route to a 49-44 road victory at Charles Koch Arena on Monday evening.
In a slow start for both teams, the Huskies (4-5) took an early advantage and led 4-0 after
Enya Maguire hit a short jumper with 3:54 remaining in the first quarter and kept the Shockers (4-5) off the board until the 3:09 mark. After Wichita State tied the game at 4-4 the two teams traded scores with an
Amy Cotton bucket marking the last of the period and giving HCU a 10-7 lead.
Things remained close in the second quarter and after
N'Denasija Collins made a layup to put HCU ahead by four, 14-10, WSU got a pair of free throws and a jumper by Jeniah Thompson to pull back even. Collins netted the game's next five points but the Shockers, again, had an answer to bring it right back square, 19-19. The two teams headed to the locker rooms at the half knotted, 21-21.
Just over two minutes into the second half, Tre'Zure Jobe completed a three-point play to bring the score to 28-26, in HCU's favor, before the Huskies went on a 6-0 run thanks to a pair of layups by
Jo Oly and one by
Amy Cotton for an eight-point advantage. That lead grew as high as 10, 37-27, less than two minutes later when Maguire knocked down her second three of the quarter. WSU responded, however, and went on an 11-0 run that ran into the fourth quarter and left the Shockers leading, 38-37, with their first lead of the night and just 6:11 left in the game.
On the next possession, Collins put the Huskies back ahead with a layup. After a defensive stop, and just 28 seconds after checking into the game for the first time, freshman
Tove Caesar buried a three for a 42-38 lead with 5:10 left.
Wichita State wasn't going away, however, and at the 4:05 mark Daniela Abies made a layup to again make it a one-point game, 42-41.
Kennedy Wilson came up with the answer for the Huskies on the other end, dropping in an off-balance driving layup. Following a WSU turnover and with the shot clock nearing zero, Caesar again came up with a big three for HCU to make it a 47-41 ballgame with just 2:33 to play.
The game's next three points were all scored by Abies and all of them were second-chance points coming off offensive rebounds, cutting it to 47-44 with 1:27 on the clock. An HCU turnover put the ball in WSU's hands with less than a minute left but the Huskies forced a turnover of their own with 39 seconds showing. The Huskies turned the ball over again and the Shocker's three-point attempt by Ambah Kowcun was off target but a contested rebound rolled out of bounds off an HCU player. With just eight seconds remaining, HCU regained possession on a turnover and following a foul,
Amy Cotton connected on two free throws to put the game away.
Three different HCU players played a full 40 minutes in the win, led by Collins who scored a game-high 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor. The senior also had six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Wilson added 10 points and four assists while Cotton ended the evening with eight points and 10 rebounds.
The Huskies forced the Shockers into 18 turnovers while committing 14 and overcame being out-rebounded by a 52-31 margin. HCU shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field while limiting WSU to just 27.9 percent (17-of-61), the Shockers' second-worst shooting percentage of the season.
The Huskies make the trip over to Lawrence, Kan. to face the Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6, for the team's final non-conference road game of the season.
