Women's Basketball | 5/18/2015 2:47:00 PM

DETROIT -- Wayne State University women's basketball head coach Carrie Lohr has announced the addition of Payton Birchmeier (Corunna, Mich.) to the roster for the 2015-16 campaign.

"Payton has the ability to score inside and out," commented Lohr.  "She is the type of player that can cause mismatch problems for opponents.  We look forward to Payton joining the WSU women's basketball program and we are happy she will be with us for the next three years."

Last season (2014-15), Birchmeier was one of five players to appear in all 33 games for Division I Marist.  She helped the Red Foxes to a 21-12 overall record.  Birchmeier made three starts and was third on the team in three-point field goal percentage (.289 / 22-76).  She earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Week honors on Dec. 15 after averaging nine points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while adding a block and a steal in two games.  Birchmeier made her collegiate debut at Delaware (11/16) and recorded first career points, triple and rebounds.  She grabbed a season-best eight rebounds at Northeastern (11/22), then tallied six points and six rebounds (four offensive) at Baylor (11/30).  Birchmeier recorded five points, four rebounds and three assists against Albany (12/10) then scored a season-high 14 points versus Boston University (12/13), while making a career-best four triples.  She also grabbed seven boards vs. the Terriers.  Birchmeier notched five boards, two assists and two steals at Siena (1/2).  She drained two triples against Canisius (1/16) and garnered nine points on 2-of-5 triples and 3-of-4 free throws in 19 minutes against Siena (1/18).  Birchmeier played a season-high 29 minutes at Quinnipiac (1/22).  She totaled 10 points, four rebounds and an assist in 19 minutes vs. Iona (2/20).

A 2014 graduate of Corunna High School, she was a three-year letterwinner for coach Ron Birchmeier, her father.  Payton earned All-Area Player of the Year honors all three seasons and was a three-time Lansing State Journal Dream Team member.  She averaged 18.6 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game as a senior after averaging 18.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game in 2012-13 while being selected Honorable Mention All-State.  Birchmeier missed all but one game of her freshman basketball season due to injury.  She served as a team captain in both basketball and softball.  Birchmeier earned three letters in softball and one in golf and was a Capital Area Activities Conference (CAAC) and all-district recipient in softball.  She was also a member of the National Honor Society.

Payton plans to major in communication science and disorders at WSU would like to become a speech pathologist.