Women's Basketball | 11/17/2016 9:41:00 AM

STORYLINES
Wayne State began its 2016-17 regular-season campaign with a pair of close setbacks to two ranked opponents at the Ferris State Bulldog Classic.  The Warriors fell 78-73 to 31st-ranked Ursuline College, the top ranked squad in the GMAC, and 79-76 to No. 9-Bellarmine, the top team in the GLVC.  WSU will begin a five-game home stand with a 7 p.m. contest on Thursday against Southern Indiana.

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails 2-8 in the all-time series against the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles, however the Warriors have won the last two match-ups (77-58 in Detroit on Dec. 30, 2011, and 82-74 at the Bellarmine Tournament on Dec. 21, 2013).  WSU is 1-2 at the Matthaei vs. USI losing both contests by a combined four points (72-69 on Dec. 19, 2006, and 69-68 on Nov. 15, 2009).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Southern Indiana posted a 108-55 victory over NAIA foe Roosevelt University in its regular-season opener last Friday.  The Screaming Eagles out-scored RU 25-6 in the second quarter for a 53-30 halftime advantage.

Kaydie Grooms led five USI players in double figures with a game-high 21 points.  Hannah Wascher nearly had a double-double with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Tanner Marcum contributed 10 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds.

Southern Indiana made 10 triples in 25 attempts (40 percent), while shooting 62 percent (29-47) from inside the arc.  The Screaming Eagles totaled 46 points in the paint and garnered 31 second-chance points.

LAST WEEK RECAP
Last Friday, Wayne State began its 2016-17 regular season with a 78-73 loss to Ursuline College who was ranked 31st nationally in the pre-season WBCA Poll, in the opening game of the Bulldog Classic being hosted by Ferris State.
After falling behind early at 3-0 and 5-2, the Warriors went on a 7-2 run to take a 9-7 lead.  Payton Birchmeier knotted the game at 5-5 with a triple, then Nastassja Chambers scored her first collegiate points with a jumper.  Christina Green concluded the spurt with a jumper.  The Arrows ended the first stanza on a 15-9 run to lead 22-18 after 10 minutes.

WSU pulled within one in the opening seconds of the second period on a triple by Shannon Wilson.  A 7-3 run by WSU just before the mid-point of the quarter gave the Warriors a 30-27 lead.  Wilson totaled five points during the spurt with Sara Ruhstorfer scoring on a lay-up.  After taking a 32-30 advantage on a Birchmeier lay-up, Ursuline out-scored Wayne State 13-5 until intermission giving the Arrows a 43-37 edge at halftime.

A 4-0 run by the Warriors on back-to-back buckets by Green and Wilson put WSU ahead 44-43 at the 8:09 mark of the third quarter.  Ursuline jump started a 15-3 spurt with back-to-back triples and extended its margin to 11 (58-47) with 2:41 left in the third period.

Despite trailing 62-51 heading into the final quarter, Wayne State tried to battle back from a 14-point fourth period deficit (71-57) by limiting the Arrows to two made field goals over the final 5:16.  Green and Chambers each had two points and India Hawkins drained a triple as part of 7-0 run.  WSU pulled within four (75-71) with just over a minute remaining on a three-pointer by Hawkins, but UC's Erica Huber connected from long-range just before the end of the shot clock pushing the Ursuline lead to seven at 78-71.

Green had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Wilson added a team-high 16 points off the bench.  Hawkins contributed 12 points, including three triples.

Camryn Hill and Laney Lewis tied for game-high scoring honors with 17 points apiece for Ursuline, while Natalie Koenig chipped in with 15 points and a game-best five assists.  Lewis led UC with 10 rebounds.

Last Sunday, Wayne State played its second consecutive game against a ranked opponent to begin the 2016-17 campaign.  The Warriors trailed by 14 early in the third quarter, rallied to take a two-point lead with 3:30 left in the contest, but the ninth-ranked Bellarmine Knights scored 10 of the game's final 15 points to edge out WSU 79-76 on the second day of the Bulldog Classic.

Bellarmine scored the first six points of the contest until Ja'Nae Williams scored off a feed from Nastassja Chambers at the 8:35 mark.  BU held a 10-6 lead before outscoring the Warriors 10-2 in a 100-second span to open a 20-8 advantage.  Back-to-back buckets by Shannon Wilson and India Hawkins preceded a triple by Paige Villemure which pulled WSU within seven (22-15) with just under three minutes remaining in the opening stanza.  Wayne State trailed 32-21 after the first period.

The Warrior defense held Bellarmine without a point for the first 2:30 of the second quarter, while Hawkins drained a three-pointer and Chambers scored from down low to make it a six-point game (32-26).  BU's Raven Merriweather tallied the next five points to push the lead to double digits and WSU was not closer than nine the rest of the first half.  After a torrid first quarter that saw 53 points scored, the teams combined for just 18 points in the second stanza.

After a lay-up by Christina Green to start the third quarter, the Knights scored the next five points for a 46-32 advantage and their largest lead of the game.  Two free throws by Green and a Williams basket came before Merriweather's triple which extended the Bellarmine margin to 13 (49-36).  A 9-2 run by the Warriors cut their deficit to six (51-45) with 3:49 remaining in the third period.  Wilson hit a shot from beyond the arc just before the quarter concluded pulling Wayne State within four at 59-55.

BU's Sarah Galvin made a lay-up to give the Knights a 67-61 lead just before the mid-point of the fourth quarter.  WSU responded with a 7-0 spurt which included back-to-back triples by Wilson and Hawkins giving the Warriors a 68-67 lead with 4:02 left.  Following a Bellarmine bucket, Chambers made 3-of-4 free throw attempts in WSU's next two possessions giving the Warriors a 71-69 lead.  Galvin made two foul shots to knot the game at 71, then the Wayne State offense went scoreless from the floor (just one made free throw) with two turnovers and two missed field goal attempts in its next four offensive series.  With Bellarmine leading 76-72, Chambers had a steal and bucket to make it a two-point game with 61 seconds left.  BU's Beth Bowers split a pair from the charity stripe, and Williams sank two free throws to make it a one-point contest (77-76) with 16 seconds left.  Destony Curry sealed the win for Bellarmine with a pair of free throws in the final four seconds.

Bellarmine shot 46 percent (26-of-56) from the floor compared to 44 percent for WSU (27-of-61).  Both teams made six triples with BU taking 17 shots (35 percent) and the Warriors 18 triple tries (33 percent).  The Knights were 21-of-26 (81 percent) from the foul line, with Wayne State making 67 percent (16-of-24).

Chambers and Wilson each had 17 points as five Warriors scored in double figures.  Green nearly had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Galvin totaled a game-best 19 points and was one of four Knights with five rebounds.  Merriweather contributed 18 points, including three triples.

IN THE POLLS
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced its women's basketball preseason poll 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.

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.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
All  Wayne  State  home  women's  basketball  games  can  be  watched  via  Warrior All-Access for a $5.95 per game fee.  All 14 home contests during the 2016-17 season will be available on All-Access.