WICHITA, Kan. – Wichita State trailed by as many as 15 in the first half, but controlled the second half in route to a 73-65 win over SMU Wednesday night in Charles Koch Arena.

Wichita State (12-7, 2-4) snapped a season-long four game losing streak with the win.

Shamaryah Duncan led four Shockers in double figures with a career-high 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Curtessia Dean finished two points shy of a season high with 16 points, but added six rebounds a season-high four steals. Jane Asinde scored 15 points and DJ McCarty added 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The quartet of Duncan, Dean, Asinde and McCarty combined for 63 of Wichita State’s 73 points on the night.

Both teams shot 44 percent from the floor, but Wichita State went 15-for-20 at the free throw line compared to just 6-of-8 for SMU. The Shockers also committed only 13 turnovers and turned SMU’s 14 turnovers into 18 points.

The game also turned on the glass. SMU had nine offensive rebounds in the first half but finished with 14.

Wichita State out-shot the Mustangs from beyond the arc 6-for-13 to 3-of-17.

SMU came out running and gunning on the offensive end. The Mustangs finished the opening quarter with 24 points on 52 percent shooting and also scored 10 second chance points off seven offensive rebounds.

SMU built an 11-point lead behind a 7-0 run before a Daniela Abies layup beat the buzzer to make it 24-15 after 10 minutes.

The Mustangs’ continued its hot start offensively in the second quarter as they pushed their lead to as many as 15 with 3:48 to go until half. Following a Wichita State timeout, the Shockers put together a little run going into halftime. Wichita State made its final five field goals of the half to trim the lead to 42-34.

Asinde and Dean led Wichita State with eight points apiece, while SMU had three players in double figures at halftime.

Wichita State carried the momentum into the start of the third quarter behind a 10-4 run, trimming the deficit to two. After SMU grabbed a 38-23 lead with 3:48 left in the second quarter, Wichita State outscored the Mustangs, 24-10.

The Shockers grabbed the lead on a Dean pull-up jumper with 3:24 remaining in the third. After trading the lead on back-to-back possessions, Duncan splashed in a corner three to make it 54-52 at the end of the period.

With 6:56 remaining, SMU’s Savannah Wilkinson converted a three-point play to put the Mustangs back in front by a point, but Wilkinson was called for a technical for taunting. That led to an 8-0 Wichita State run behind back-to-back triples from McCarty, giving Wichita State its largest lead, 64-57.

SMU would come no closer than three the rest of the way. When the Mustangs cut it to 66-63 at the 3:30 mark, Wichita State responded with four straight points from Asinde and then three free throws from Duncan to ice it with less than a minute to go.

Up Next
Wichita State wraps up a brief two-game homestand on Saturday vs. East Carolina at 2 p.m.