The Shocker post duo of Jennifer Kaczka and Angela Buckner combined fro 28 points and 29 rebounds to lead Wichita State past Illinois State 71-58. Kaczka finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds while Buckner scored 13 and grabbed 17 boards for WSU.
Wichita State, 4-8 overall, 2-1 in the Missouri Valley, used a 15-0 run mid-way through the first half and held Illinois State, 3-9, 1-2, without a field goal in the final 12:30 of the first half on the way to its second-straight Missouri Valley Conference win, taking a 39-16 halftime lead in the process. Raeven King, who led all players with 16 points, scored six of those in the first tive minutes for WSU.
Jaci McCormack scored nine of her team-high 13 points in the second half as the Redbirds out-scored WSU 42-32 in the second half. Steph Reichle had 12 points and a team-high 8 rebounds, but the Shockers still had a 49-35 rebounding edge.
The game featured 51 fouls and 69 foul shots, with ISU hitting 28-of 38 from the free throw line and WSU 24 of 31.
Redbird coach Jenny Yopp thought the game was plenty physical and WSU had the edge.
"It was a very physical game," said Yopp. "Our young players didn't react well to the physical play. They were bumping us, and our response was to foul them on defense and that's not what we need to do."
When Sharon Blade hit a short jump shot to cut the WSU lead to 15-8, it was ISU's last field goal of the first half. Moreover, Wichita State scored 13 of its last 15 points of the half from the free throw line as Illinois State was whistled for 15 fouls in the first 20 minutes. The Redbirds, just 3 of 23 from the field, were out-rebounded 27-17 in the first 20 minutes.
The Shockers made 15 of 18 free throws in the first half. Buckner had 8 points--all free throws--and 9 rebounds in the first half. Kaczka had 11 points and 7 rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
"At halftime, I told our team 'welcome to the Missouri Valley Conference,'" said Yopp. "We're going to see tough, physical play and we need to learn how to respond to it."
Yopp also switched to a zone defense for most of the second half, containing WSU better and earning some fast-break opportunities. ISU also shot better in the second half, hitting 11 of 25 for 44 percent and sinking 18 of 24 free throws.
"Our match up zone was better down the stretch," said Yopp. "I appreciate the fact that we were able to step up and score from the free throw line."
It was the 200th career coaching victory for Wichita State's Darryl Smith in his 11th season as a head college coach.
The Redbirds conclude the two-game road swing with a 2 p.m. Saturday game at No. 14 Southwest Missouri State, a winner over Indiana State on Thursday.
