Women's Basketball | 11/30/2016 12:47:00 PM

STORYLINES
Wayne State begins league play this weekend to conclude a five-game home stand.  The Warriors won twice last week against NAIA foes claiming a 71-53 victory over Keiser on Nov. 23 and a 67-43 triumph over Michigan-Dearborn on Nov. 27.  WSU's first five games in December are all against GLIAC South Division rivals with the final two games of the month being in-region contests at Lewis on Dec. 19, and at home vs. Cedarville on Dec. 30.

THE SERIES
Wayne State has a 7-3 lead in the all-time series against Lake Erie.  The Storm snapped WSU's six-game series winning streak with a 58-40 win in Painesville, Ohio, last February.  The Warriors are 4-1 at home vs. LEC with the lone setback coming in the first meeting on Dec. 2, 2010.

WSU trails 35-36 in the all-time series vs. Hillsdale, which began during the 1975-76 season.  The Warriors are 21-14 at the Matthaei against the Chargers, and had won four straight until HC's 78-75 win in Detroit last January.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Lake Erie has lost three straight since starting the year 2-1, although the Nov. 27 setback (65-42) was at Division I Cleveland State.  Juniors Kayla Gabor and Christine Dawson are averaging 20.6 and 15.6 points per game with Gabor making a team-high 12 triples.  Gabor also leads in rebounds with 40 and is tied with Dawson for the team lead in assists with 13.

Hillsdale won its first four games of the season, all against GLVC foes.  The Chargers lost 77-65 to Mercyhurst last Saturday, but rebounded for a five-point win over Slippery Rock on Sunday.  HC visits Saginaw Valley State on Thursday before coming to Motown.  Hillsdale ranks second in the conference in steals (12.3 per game) and third in both offensive rebounds per game (15.0) and rebounding margin (+9.0 per contest).  Junior center Allie Dittmer is lone the Charger averaging in double figures at 12.8 ppg and also has a team-high 56 rebounds.  Makenna Ott has made a team-high 10 triples, while Michele Boykin leads with 19 assists.

LAST WEEK RECAP
Wayne State notched its first win of the campaign with a 71-53 triumph over Keiser University on Nov. 23.

WSU scored the first four points of the game on back-to-back buckets by Christina Green, but the visiting Seahawks rattled off the next eight points to grab an 8-4 advantage.  A lay-up by Nastassja Chambers knotted the game at eight, before KU's Princess Cole scored on a jumper from the paint.  Alex Matus answered with a triple to ignite a 13-point run by the Warriors, which included another three-pointer by Matus and triple by India Hawkins to give WSU a 21-10 lead.

Kesier pulled within seven at 24-17 on three-pointer by Kaylee Patton, but Wayne State answered with a 10-2 spurt which included two triples by Paige Villemure.  A late lay-up by Chambers put the Warriors ahead 40-26 at intermission.

WSU began the second half by scoring 12 of the first 17 points to open a 21-point advantage at 52-31 just past the mid-point of the third quarter.  Wayne State's margin was never fewer than 18 until less than five minutes remained in the contest.  WSU made just one field goal in the final 6:50, but the Seahawks managed just 10 points the rest of the way.

Wayne State shot 40 percent (25-of-62) from the field, compared to 32 percent for KU (18-of-56).  WSU made 70 percent (14-of-20) of its foul shots, while the Seahawks shot 63 percent (12-of-19) from the charity stripe.  The Warriors connected on 33 percent (7-of-21) of its three-point attempts with Keiser shooting 26 percent (5-of-19) from long range.

Chambers led five Warriors in double figures with 12 points, while Alex Matus contributed 11 points and tied for team-high rebounding honors with five.  Green, Hawkins and Villemure each chipped in 10 points with Daejia Hill garnering five assists.

Wayne State won its second consecutive contest with a 67-43 triumph over visiting Michigan-Dearborn on Nov. 27.

The Warriors scored the first five points on a pair of free throws by Ja'Nae Williams and a triple by Sara Ruhstorfer, then led 9-2 after Chambers sank two foul shots.  The Wolverines tallied the next nine points to grab an 11-9 advantage with just over two minutes left in the first quarter.  UMD's Jeorgia Jones made a bucket in the final minute to knot the game at 13-13.  She led all scorers with six points in the opening stanza which saw three ties and two lead changes.  Michigan-Dearborn garnered 10 points off 10 Wayne State miscues.

UMD scored 12 of the first 18 points of the second period for its largest lead of the game (6, 25-19).  Jones had four points, while Megan Swick and Natalie Spala each hit triples in the first 4:10 of the second stanza.  WSU responded with an 11-3 run over the next three minutes keyed by four points from Chambers and another three-pointer by Ruhstorfer.  After UMD's Arryn Dochenetz split a pair from the charity stripe, the Warriors closed out the first half on a 5-0 run which included a three-pointer by Alex Matus in the final minute.

Wayne State shot 37 percent (10-of-27) in the opening 20 minutes compared to 26 percent (10-of-39) for the Wolverines to lead 35-29 at intermission.

WSU led the entire second half en route to the non-conference victory.  Michigan-Dearborn cut its deficit to two (37-35) two minutes into the third quarter on a triple by Kendall Rose, but the Warriors went on a 15-4 spurt to end the frame leading 52-39.  Six different Wayne State players scored in the period with Williams and Chambers each contributing four points.

Hawkins scored the first five points of the fourth quarter on a triple and a fast-break lay-up, both assisted by Matus.  Following Villemure's second triple of the game, Hawkins connected on a jumper and Ajai Meeks scored on a jumper in the paint to complete the 21 consecutive points by WSU as the Wolverines went scoreless for 10:35.

The Warriors made 35 percent (22-of-63) of its field goal attempts, while Michigan-Dearborn shot 23 percent (16-of-69) from the field.  Wayne State made 7-of-17 three-point attempts (41 percent) compared to 15 percent (4-of-27) for UMD.  WSU was 16-of-21 (76 percent) from the foul line, with the Wolverines making 54 percent (7-of-13) from the charity stripe.  The Warriors had a 56-44 edge in rebounds.

Chambers tallied a team-high 12 points, while Williams added 10 points and seven rebounds.  Meeks tied for game-high honors with 11 rebounds, while Green added nine boards.  Eight different Warriors had an assist.

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.

WILSON LEADING SCORING PARADE
Junior Shannon Wilson, who was last year's leading scorer, has picked up this year where she left off last season.  She has twice led WSU in scoring this year, notching double figure totals in all three games she has played.  Dating back to last season, Wilson has scored in double figures in six straight contests.  She had made a three-pointer in eight consecutive contests until going 0-for-3 vs. Southern Indiana from beyond the arc.  Wilson missed both games last week with an injury.

HAWKINS SCORING FROM LONG RANGE
After scoring in double figures three times a year ago, sophomore India Hawkins recorded double figure scoring totals in three of the first four games.  She tallied eight points in 18 minutes against Southern Indiana and contributed nine points in 15 minutes vs. Michigan-Dearborn.

CHAMBERS CONTRIBUTING ALL-AROUND THE COURT
Freshman Nastassja Chambers has totaled 63 points through the first five games shooting at least 50 percent from the field in four contests.  She has also recorded 15 steals, 11 assists and 15 rebounds.

GREEN MAKING HER MARK
Senior Christina Green recorded her first career double-double in the season opener with 10 points and 11 rebounds vs. Ursuline, and followed that performance with 10 points and nine rebounds against Bellarmine.

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.