Wichita Standard

Tulsa Clips Wichita State, 70-63

Behind a fourth quarter rally, Tulsa handed Wichita State its first conference loss of the season, 70-63, Wednesday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Center.

Wichita State (11-4, 1-1) was outscored by 14 in the fourth quarter, 28-14, and has now dropped its last four meetings against the Golden Hurricane.

Trajata Colbert recorded her fifth straight game in double figures with 11 points and nine rebounds. DJ McCarty added 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. Jane Asinde came up just shy of a double-double with nine points and 14 rebounds, while also dishing three assists and swiping three steals.

Wichita State had no answer for Tulsa's Temira Poindexter and Maddie Bittle who both finished with 20 points apiece.

The game was decided behind the three-point line where Tulsa hit 12 to just four for Wichita State. Wichita State shot just 37 percent overall, including a 4-of-16 mark from three-point range. A good free throw shooting team, the Shockers had an off night there too, going 7-for-14.

Despite grabbing 24 offensive rebounds – a season high – Wichita State was outscored 16-15 in second chance points.

Known as one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country, Tulsa came out firing. The Golden Hurricane attempted nine from beyond the arc, converting three in the opening 10 minutes to take a 15-14 lead.

Wichita State missed 15 of its first 20 field goal attempts, but eight offensive rebounds led to seven second chance points in the first quarter.

Five straight points from Tulsa's Maddie Bittle to open the second quarter pushed Tulsa's lead to six, but Wichita State answered with an 11-2 run capped by a Nhug Bosch Duran three-pointer and an Ornella Niankan jumper to make it 25-22.

Tulsa had a response of its own in the final 5:29. The Hurricane would close the half on an 11-3 run and take a 33-28 lead into the half. A Jeniah Thompson three-pointer with 1:30 remaining would be the only points in the final 5:29 for Wichita State.

Wichita State finished the half at 31 percent and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, while Tulsa hit 6-of-19 from long range and shot 41 percent overall. Bittle scored all 13 of her first half game-high 13 points in the second quarter. Asinde was the Shockers' high scorer at six points.

Coming out of the locker room after halftime, Wichita State scored the first two baskets and then dominated the rest of the period. The Shockers outscored Tulsa 21-9 and seized a 49-42 lead heading to the final quarter.

Wichita State held Tulsa to 4-of-15 from the field in the third and shot 50 percent on the offensive end.

That seven-point lead was trimmed to just one at the 5:15 mark after Tulsa's ninth three-pointer of the night swished through the net. Following a Wichita State timeout, Tulsa then regained the lead off a Wichita State turnover and a Tulsa triple.

Another empty possession for Wichita State followed by a score on the other end made it a Tulsa 10-0 run covering just 1:54 of playing time. The Hurricane's run finally topped out at 13-0 and in front, 62-55.

Wichita State made a push with 1:29 to go when they cut it to 65-61 on a McCarty transition layup, but a Poindexter three-point play on the ensuing possession pushed the margin right back to seven. A Colbert layup with 35 seconds on the clock would be the final basket for Wichita State.

Original source can be found here.