It wasn’t coach Jody Adams-Birch’s plan for the Wichita State women’s basketball team to start four guards in Friday’s Missouri Valley Conference opener, and in the immediate aftermath of an 83-78 loss to Drake, the lineup was difficult to evaluate.
The Shockers had their third-highest scoring night of the season and got 32 points from forward Rangie Bessard, who often took advantage of the spacing while playing with four perimeter players.
But the addition of Jeliah Preston and Aundra Stovall with regular starters TaQuandra Mike and Keke Thompson created some defensive mismatches and didn’t always provide the offensive spark Adams-Birch was looking for.