Women's Basketball | 11/11/2016 3:12:00 PM

STORYLINES
Wayne State began its 2016-17 campaign with a 93-41 exhibition setback at the University of Michigan on Nov. 3.  The Warriors officially begin this season this afternoon with a 4 p.m. tip-off against Ursuline College in the opening game of the Bulldog Classic hosted by Ferris State.  WSU will battle Bellarmine on Sunday in a 1 p.m. contest.

THE SERIES
Wayne State has never played Ursuline, a member of the G-MAC, in women's basketball.  The Arrows, an all-female institution in Pepper Pike, Ohio, has been an affiliate member of the GLIAC in women's swimming and diving.

The Warriors have a 2-1 lead in the all-time series against Bellarmine with both wins coming in the coach Carrie Lohr era.  WSU claimed a 70-60 victory in Louisville on Dec. 20, 2013, as part of the Bellarmine Tournament, then Wayne State garnered a 72-61 in Detroit on Dec. 20, 2014.  The Knights won the inaugural meeting, 77-29, on Nov. 18, 1995.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Ursuline was the unanimous number one selection in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Preseason Coaches Poll.  The Arrows return nine players from a team that won a school-record 25 games last season along with both the regular season and tournament championships in the G-MAC. UC also made the program's inaugural appearance in the NCAA Tournament.  The Arrows return three First-Team All-Conference selections in senior Erica Huber and juniors Camryn Hill and Laney Lewis. Lewis also won the G-MAC's Player of the Year after averaging a double-double last season.

Bellarmine, a year after going 24-4 and capturing the GLVC Tournament title en route to a DII NCAA Tournament appearance, is the highest-ranked team from the GLVC in the national poll (9th) and was chosen by the league's coaches as the favorite to win the East Division.  After tying the best win percentage in program history, the Knights return much of their roster intact.  Senior forward Sarah Galvin (team bests of 17.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 46 steals), a DII Bulletin preseason All-American, senior guard Destony Curry (8.9, 2.6, 35 3-pointers) and junior guard Raven Merriweather (9.5, 3.0, 41 steals) were each All-GLVC selections last season.

EXHIBITION RECAP
Wayne State played its lone exhibition contest of the 2016-17 season at the University of Michigan on Nov. 3 and fell 93-41 to the Wolverines.

After falling behind 5-0 in the first 45 seconds, Christina Green put the Warriors on the scoreboard with a shot from the paint.  After Green's second bucket at the 6:09 mark, WSU went over three minutes without making a field goal as the lone points came on a pair of free throws by Ja'Nae Williams.  UM had an 8-2 run to open a 12-point advantage at 19-7.  Wayne State trailed 26-11 after the first stanza due to shooting just 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) from the floor, including 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.

For the first six minutes of the second period, the Warriors were outscored 7-4, but the Wolverines went on a 13-5 scoring spree to end the opening half.  WSU shot 50 percent (4-of-8) on field goals in the second quarter, but nine turnovers led to 12 Michigan points.  Paige Villemure led Wayne State with five second stanza points, while Payton Birchmeier contributed three defensive rebounds.  The Warriors trailed 46-20 at intermission.

Twenty-four points were scored in the first five minutes of the third quarter with Michigan having a 15-9 margin in points to open a 61-29 lead at the media timeout.  WSU shot just 27.3 percent (3-of-11) in the third period compared to 55.6 percent (10-of-18) for the Wolverines.  Green had a team-best four points in the stanza.

The fourth quarter saw Wayne State record its highest point total of the contest with 12 points on two two-point field goals, two triples and two free throws.  Daejia Hill totaled four points, while Jessica Murphy drained a triple.

Michigan shot 46.4 percent (32-of-69) from the floor compared to 27.8 percent (15-of-54) for the Warriors.  The Wolverines were 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) from behind the arc, with WSU making just 3-of-17 (17.6 percent) triple tries.  Wayne State was solid from the charity stripe making 8-of-9 (88.9 percent), while UM was 20-of-36 (55.6 percent).  The Warriors had 20 turnovers and were out-rebounded 53-28.  Michigan had a 16-0 edge in fast-break points, along with a 27-3 advantage in points off turnovers.

Green had a team-high nine points, while Villemure chipped in with seven.  Birchmeier grabbed a team-best five rebounds, while also recording half of the squad's assists with three.

IN THE POLLS
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced its women's basketball preseason poll on Oct. 27th and Wayne State was predicted to finish sixth in the GLIAC North Division with 17 points.  Grand Valley State was selected as the top team in the North Division, while Ashland was named the preseason favorite in the South Division.

OUTLOOK
Wayne State will look to return to GLIAC prominence during the 2016-17 season. The Warriors lost fiveletterwinners from last year's squad which went 12-16 overall, but welcome back eight returnees to the 2016-17 roster. Head coach Carrie Lohr, who is entering her sixth season at the helm of the program, is relying on the upperclassmen to aid in Wayne State's rebuild.

WSU will be led by Shannon Wilson, India Hawkins and Christina Green.  Wilson played a vital role in all 28 contests last season averaging 13.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and ranked first on the team in both points (382) and minutes per contest (32.0). Hawkins gave Wayne State depth at the guard position a year ago, and averaged 6.1 points and 1.5 assists per game. Green will look to continue her development after averaging 5.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game last season.

Also returning are senior Ajai Meeks, juniors Payton Birchmeier and Sara Ruhstorfer and sophomores Jessica Murphy and Paige Villemure. WSU added transfers Daejia Hill and Ja'Nae Williams to this year's roster. Hill led the Cougars to a 29-2 overall record in 2015-16 along with a 16-0 MCCAA mark and averaged 10.3 points per game. Williams appeared in 11 games for the Jaguars a year ago, and will aid the Warriors effort at the guard position.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Every women's basketball home game beginning in 2017 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN 900.  Sean Baligian, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will call the action.