Jane Asinde produced a player-of-the-game performance as eighth-seeded Wichita State recorded the biggest upset in American Athletic Conference Championship history.
The Shockers upset top seed the University of South Florida, 65-53, on Tuesday in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals of the championship for the first time in school history.
In only its second appearance in the quarterfinals in its brief history as a member of the American, Wichita State put up a solid defensive effort right from the opening quarter of the game. The Shockers held USF to 19-of-60 from the field (32%) and just 4-of-22 from beyond the arc.
The Shockers came out firing on all cylinders to open the game as they started 7-of-8 from the field to build a 14-4 lead, while South Florida missed its first seven field goal attempts.
Seven first-quarter points from Asinde and a stingy defense saw Wichita State lead 15-8 after the opening quarter and never looked back.
Asinde scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go with eight rebounds. Curtessia Dean scored 11 of her 14 points in the second half most of which came at a time when South Florida started to threaten a comeback attempt.
Samaryah Duncan (9 points), DJ McCarty (8 points) and Daniela Abies (6 points) came in handy on the day.
The Shockers will face No. 4 Houston today for a spot in the championship game.