WAYNE STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES #13

2011-12 RECORDS:

Wayne State (11-12, 6-10 GLIAC)
#26-Ferris State (16-5, 13-2 GLIAC)
Grand Valley (9-14, 6-10 GLIAC)

SERIES:

WSU trails Ferris State 33-26 (first met: 1976)
WSU trails Grand Valley 38-23 (first met: 1975)

LAST MEETINGS: 

Wayne St. 83, at Ferris State 74, Feb. 17, 2011
at Grand Valley 62, WSU 58 (OT), Feb. 19, 2011

VIDEO:

http://www.wsuathletics.com/showcase/#liveevents

LIVE STATS:

http://livestats.prestosports.com/waynestate/

GAMES 24 and 25 STORYLINES

Wayne State enters its final two home games of the 2011-12 campaign looking for the eighth seed in the GLIAC playoffs. In order to qualify, the Warriors must finish ahead of Findlay and the team that finishes fourth in the North Division.

Three of Wayne State's conference losses have been decided by a total of eight points.

ALL-TIME SERIES

WSU trails Ferris State 33-26 all time, but has won two of the last three meetings including last year's 83-74 win over the Bulldogs in Big Rapids.

WSU trails Grand Valley 38-23 all time and has lost five straight to the Lakers. The last Warrior victory was a 71-55 decision at the Matthaei on Feb. 16, 2008.

NORTHWOOD RECAP

Wayne State dropped its third straight game, falling 62-59 to visiting Northwood Saturday afternoon at the Matthaei.

Despite a late rally for the Warriors in the second half, it wasn't enough to quiet the hot hands of Northwood's Rachel Church (29 points, 9-of-17 3-FG).

Wayne State kept pace with Northwood in the first half. The Warriors had their largest lead of the game (11-6) at the 15:00 mark in the first half, and led by one at 15-14 with 9:25 left. The game would be tied at 18 before NU's Savannah Steadman stepped to the line and made a pair of free throws, putting the Timberwolves on top 20-18 with 6:28 left. Church would sink two huge triples as part of a 13-6 Northwood spurt and the Timberwolves went into the break ahead 31-24.

In the second half, Northwood jumped out to a 45-32 lead with 13:42 left in the game. Wayne State went on a 18-7 tear, aided by seven points from Phaebre Colbert, to cut the defict to two (52-50) with 6:45 remaining on a fast-break lay-up by Amelia Davis.

Church made three-point field goals on back-to-back Northwood possessions, but Deanna Crumpton hit a jumper and then a triple at the 4:58 mark making it a three-point contest (58-55).

A three-pointer from Northwood's Gabrielle Rivette gave the visitors a six-point lead (61-55) with 3:29 left in the game.  A late lay-up from Davis cut the Warrior deficit to 62-59 with 22 seconds left.

The final Warriors chance to tie came with seven seconds left when Crumpton launched a late three-point attempt that went wide.

Colbert played a season-high 40 minutes and paced the Warriors with 24 points and 11 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the season. Crumpton finished with 11 points. Davis matched a season-high four rebounds. Imari Redfield posted a career-best (and team-leading) three assists.

Church lead all scorers with 29 points and set the Northwood record in made three-pointers (nine).

The Warriors out-rebounded Northwood 36-28, and out-shot the Timberwolves 44 percent (22-50) to 41 percent (20-49). Northwood out-shot Wayne State from beyond the arc, 42 percent (10-24) to 29 percent (2-7).

Stefani Munro saw her first minutes since being sidelined by an injury during the Findlay game on January 14.

ON THE BENCH

Carrie Lohr is 11-12 as the head coach of the women's basketball program. She was named the 12th head coach in program history on May 11 after serving as the head coach at St. Clair County Community College (SC4) in Port Huron for nine seasons (2002-11).  Lohr had a record of 166-106 (.610) in her nine years with the Skippers.

Tracey Dorow is in her 14th season at the helm for Ferris State. She is the program's all-time winningest coach with a record of 225-161.

Janel Burgess is in her fifth year as head coach of Grand Valley. She has an 83-54 record in her coaching career. Burgess previously worked as an assistant at Missouri State and Michigan State.

SCOUTING FERRIS STATE

Ferris State had its 10-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Ashland Eagles last Saturday.  The Bulldogs remain atop the GLIAC North as the end of the regular season approaches.

They are led by sophomore guard Sarah DeShone, who is seventh in the GLIAC in scoring (15.0 ppg) and ranks third in assists (4.2 apg). She also is seventh in steals (2.0 spg). 

Senior F/C Tricia Principe is the GLIAC's second-best free-throw shooter (70-85, 90.6 percent), while DeShone is fifth (59-69, 85.5 percent).

Freshman Christina Branch is seventh in the league in rebounding (8.1 rpg).

SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY

Grand Valley has lost six straight, including a tight 75-73 loss to Lake Erie in Allendale last Saturday. Grand Valley enters the week tied with Northern Michigan for third in the GLIAC North.  The Lakers are among the teams Wayne State is competing against for a playoff berth.

Grand Valley is led by the GLIAC's ninth-best scorer, junior Briauna Taylor (14.5 ppg).  She is also 14th in the league in rebounding (6.4 rpg).

Her twin sister, Brittany, ranks fourth among GLIAC shooters (67-128, 52.3 percent), while senior forward Kara Crawford is 14th (65-139, 46.8 percent).