Game Notes (PDF) | NCAA Tournament Bracket | Midwest Regional Tournament Page
DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball program (23-7) will meet top-seeded Drury (26-3) on Monday night in a Sweet Sixteen matchup. This will be WSU's second straight appearance in the regional final, falling last season to eventual National Champion Ashland at their place.
With a win, the Warriors would set the record for the most wins ever in program history.
GAME STORYLINES
For the second straight season, the Warriors (23-7) have reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. WSU, the No. 6 seed in the Midwest region plays in an NCAA Tournament Regional Championship game tonight at 8 p.m. against top-seeded Drury.
Wayne State faces Drury on its home court for the title game, where the Panthers are 14-1 this season. The game marks the first time the two programs have met in a regular season or postseason contest.
With their NCAA Tournament Second-Round victory over second-seeded Lewis on Sunday, the Warriors matched the 1980-81 team for the most victories in a season with 23. The 1980-81 squad went 23-5.
The Warriors' starting lineups in victories over Indianapolis and Lewis were the first time all season that they had been used.
THREE'S PAVE WAY TO SWEET 16
Wayne State made a season-high 10 three-pointers in its Second Round NCAA Tournament 87-80 win over Lewis. The Warriors shot 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from beyond the arc in the win.
Shareta Brown sank a career-high four triples, while
Brittany Streetman (3-for-3) and
Destiny Lavita-Stephens (2-for-4) also made multiple three-pointers. Streetman's 13 points tied a season high.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The NCAA Tournament appearance is Wayne State's third overall, with the other two coming in 2003 and 2013. The Warriors are 4-2 all-time in the tournament, with all four victories coming during the 2013 and 2014 tournament runs to the Sweet 16.
Wayne State reached the Sweet 16 in the 2013 NCAA Tournament, falling 72-63 to eventual champion Ashland University. WSU's two victories in the 2013 NCAA Tournament came over Findlay (63-58) and Wisconsin-Parkside (70-60).
REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS
Wayne State won its first conference title in 33 years in 2013-14 after having secured the best GLIAC regular season record of 17-5. The last league title for WSU came during the 1980-81 season. The Warriors also earned win No. 500 as a program in their regular-season finale. Wayne State has its first back-to-back 20-win seasons in program history and matched the 2012-13 team for most league wins in a season.
SCOUTING DRURY
The Panthers, ranked No. 6 in the nation in the most recent coaches poll, have won their last eight games at home and their only loss this season at the O'Reilly Center came against Indianapolis on Jan. 5.
Drury won its first tournament game in overtime, beating eighth-seeded Truman State, 74-68. The Panthers beat No. 5 seed Quincy by 20 points, 78-58, on Sunday.
Amber Dvorak, a 6-7 center, leads Drury in scoring at 16.6 points per game, despite coming off the bench in all but four games this season and averaging just 19.1 minutes per game. Dvorak has started both tournament games for Drury and is averaging 20.0 points and 12.0 rebounds in the Panthers' two 2014 NCAA victories. She is second on the Panthers in rebounding this season at 6.0 boards per contest and leads DU with 55 blocks.
Bethanie Funderburk adds 13.3 points per game, while Kylie Williamson averages 12.5 points per contest for Drury. Sanayika Shields leads the squad in rebounding at 7.2 rebounds per game. Annie Armstrong has 119 assists to lead the Panthers.
Drury shoots 34.9 percent from the outside and averages 5.8 triples per game. Drury is also one of the better-shooting teams in the country, sinking 47.1 percent of its shots and 75.3 percent of its free throw attempts.
Just 10 Drury players have seen playing time this year and the Panthers had just eight play in each of their two NCAA games.
Steve Huber is in his first season as head coach at Drury. He has served as an assistant at Creighton, Louisville, San Diego State and Central Missouri, among other coaching stops.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU
Shareta Brown set single-season scoring and rebounding records in Wayne State's win over Lewis. Brown has 587 points and 341 boards this season to establish the new records. Monice Thomas (1980-81) had held the scoring record with 586 points, while Trena Sanders (1989-90) had the rebounding record with 340 boards.
Brown became just the sixth player in program history to record 500 points in a season, after scoring 22 points against Grand Valley on Feb. 22. Brown also became the second player in program history to record 500 points and 300 rebounds in a season (along with Monice Thomas). In addition, she was named to the Daktronics All-Midwest Region First Team.
Brown has also set the WSU single-season record for free throws made (155) and has the top field goal percentage to date in a single season (63.6 percent). She is fourth in field goals made for a season (206) and tied-for-15th in steals (72).
Brown has 1,912 points during her three-year college career (including two seasons at Detroit Mercy), making her just 88 points shy of the 2,000 mark for her collegiate career. She has 19 double-doubles in 2013-14 and 47 for her career.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Warriors received 12 votes in the most recent USA Today Sports' Coaches Poll, released on March 4, putting them in a tie for 33rd in the national rankings. WSU had been in the top 25 for six straight weeks earlier this season. Drury is the No. 6-ranked team in the nation. Wayne State's second tournament victory came over Lewis, which was ranked No. 11 in the country.
GLIAC/NATIONAL LEADERS
Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Wayne State has been at or near the top in field goal percentage all season. The Warriors were fourth in the country in field goal percentage (47.2 percent). WSU was 25th in the country in scoring offense (77.8 points per game). Wayne State was also 18th in Division II in rebounding margin (+6.9).
Junior center
Shareta Brown ranked first in the nation in field goal percentage (63.5 percent). Brown won the GLIAC regular-season scoring title, leading the conference with her 20.5 points per game average. She ranked sixth in the nation in double-doubles (17), ninth in rebounds per game (11.5) and 20th in scoring average (currently at 20.2 points per game).
Junior guard
Jackie Jones was also 10th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.22) and 15th in assists per game (5.1).
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
The Warriors are taking aim at a few team records this season. Wayne State is averaging 77.6 points per game, above the old mark of 77.3 set by the 2002-03 squad. WSU has a better field goal percentage (46.8) to this point than the current team record of 45.3 percent set during the 1994-95 campaign.
2012-13 RECAP
The Warriors won a share of the GLIAC North Division title, advanced to the GLIAC tournament semifinals for the second time in school history and secured an NCAA tournament berth for the second time in program history. WSU won its first two ever NCAA tournament contests and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before falling at eventual national champion Ashland, 72-63, in a game which WSU led 61-60 with 4:34 remaining.
Last season, the Warriors went 22-9 overall and 17-5 in GLIAC play while winning a share of the GLIAC North Division title. The 22 wins were one shy of the program record achieved in 1980-81 while the 17 conference wins were the most all-time.
COACH LOHR
Carrie Lohr, who was named the 12th head coach in the history of women's basketball at WSU on May 11, 2011, is in her third season guiding the Warrior program. She was voted the 2012-13 GLIAC Coach of the Year by her peers after leading Wayne State to a share of the GLIAC North Division regular-season title, the first for the WSU women's basketball program since the 1980-81 season. Lohr also guided the Warriors to their first NCAA tournament victory (63-58 over Findlay) as well as the school's inaugural appearance in the NCAA Regional Championship game.
She recorded her 200th collegiate coaching victory on March 16, 2013, with WSU's 70-60 triumph over Wisconsin-Parkside in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. BCAM selected Lohr as the 2012-13 Women's College Coach of the Year.
WDTK RADIO
Former WSU women's basketball standout Shay Lewis and play-by-play broadcaster Russ McNamara will call of WSU's postseason games on WDTK Radio. The radio broadcast is available at 1400 AM and 92.7 FM in Detroit. Fans may also listen online at wdtkam.com.
PANTHER ALL-ACCESS
Fans of Warrior basketball may also watch all of the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament games at DruryPanthers.com/showcase via a live video feed. The video service is free.
