Box Score

WICHITA – The Sam Houston State Bearkats could not hold on to a third-quarter lead, falling 63-55 to Wichita State on Wednesday night at Charles Koch Arena.

The Bearkats (1-2) trailed by just four at the half, but twice took the lead in the third quarter but Wichita State (3-0) closed the period strong and carried that momentum into the fourth quarter where they built a double-digit lead and held on to move to 3-0 for the first time since the 2002-03 season.

Jaylonn Walker led all scorers with 14 points and had six steals, while Dominique Maxwell finished with 10 points for the third straight game. Kiera McKinney added eight points and five boards off the bench, and La'Sha Haynes had eight boards and three assists; however, the Kats turned the ball over 23 times on the night and hit just 2-of-16 from beyond the 3-point arc.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Kats forced seven turnovers in the first quarter, but trailed 9-2 in the game's first five minutes. A 3-point basket from Jenniffer Oramas and a quick five points from Walker would draw Sam Houston within a point with less than 90 seconds to play in the quarter; however, WSU would reel off three straight buckets to close out the period and take an 18-11 advantage into the second quarter.

The Shockers would push that lead to as much as seven early in the second quarter, but the Kats would not go away. Haynes found Kiera McKinney on consecutive possessions for scores to get the Kats back within a 20-18 margin. She would finish with six points in the half, but the Kats would hit just 28.1 percent from the field.

Still, the Kats forced 15 Shocker turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, including Walker's third steal just before the halftime horn that gave her an easy bucket and 10 points for the game, bringing the Kats to within 30-26.

Both teams were slow to get started in the second half, but the Kats were the first to get going with a 6-0 spurt fueled by consecutive scores from Lydia Baxter, the second giving the Kats their first lead of the game at 32-30. From there the lead would go back and forth with things still tied at 39-39 until the final minute of the quarter when the Shockers went on a 7-0 run to close out third.

WSU would carry that momentum over, scoring eight of the first 10 points of the quarter to swell its lead to as much as 13 before Walker got a score to end the run and make it a 54-43 Shocker lead. But the Kats would not get any closer until the game's final minute when Oramas hit just the second SHSU 3-point bucket of the game to draw them within 63-55.

UP NEXT

The Bearkats will return home for a Monday night meeting with Wiley College at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN+.