Women's Basketball | 12/13/2016 3:40:00 PM
STORYLINES
Wayne State will conclude its pre-holiday schedule with two games in the upcoming week. The Warriors complete GLIAC play for 2016 with a home contest against Ohio Dominican on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. WSU then travels to Romeoville, Ill., to face the 23rd-ranked Lewis Flyers in a Monday matinee with tip-off slated for 2 p.m. Eastern.
THE SERIES
Wayne State has an 8-2 lead in the all-time series against the Panthers. Ohio Dominican won both meetings last season to snap WSU's eight-game series winning streak. In ODU's 111-106 double overtime win in Columbus on Jan. 16, 2016, the teams combined for an NCAA Division 2 record of 70 made free throws as WSU shot 23-of-35 compared to 47-of-58 for the Panthers.
WSU trails 2-8 in the all-time series vs. Lewis, which began in 1984. The Warriors are 0-3 all-time at Neil Carey Arena. The Flyers have won the last two meetings since WSU's 87-80 triumph over the 11th-ranked LU squad in the Second Round of the 2014 NCAA Tournament in Springfield, Mo.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
ODU has split each of the first two weekends of GLIAC play winning on Thursday and falling on Saturday. The only common opponent is Bellarmine - ODU lost 82-81 in OT in Louisville, Ky., while WSU fell 79-76 in Big Rapids. The Panthers are led by senior guard Lauren Bates, who is averaging 12.5 points per contest, and senior forward Madi Rittinger, who is at 10.7 ppg, along with a team-best 14 blocked shots. Senior forward Lindsey Blanford is tops on the squad with 6.0 rebounds per game. Bates has a team-high 34 assists, with freshman guard Jessica Boerger recording a team-high 23 steals.
Lewis won for the eighth time in the last nine contests with a 74-62 victory over Wisconsin-Parkside on Dec. 11. Jessica Kelliher is averaging team-best totals of 20.4 ppg and 8.5 rebounds per contest. She is shooting 67 percent (91-of-136) from the floor. Gabby Green leads the squad with 36 assists, while Alyssa Siwek has a team-high 17 steals. Jamie Johnson is averaging 19.0 ppg and has made a team-best 31 triples.
LAST WEEK RECAP
Wayne State lost its first two road conference games falling 79-76 in overtime at Tiffin before losing 103-55 at second-ranked Ashland on Dec. 10.
WSU had its four-game winning streak end with the loss at Tiffin on Dec. 8.
The Warriors started strong scoring nine of the first 11 points for their largest lead of the game (7 / 9-2) as
Payton Birchmeier had five points. WSU maintained its advantage until a 5-0 run by the Dragons put the hosts in front 16-14 with just under two minutes remaining in the opening stanza.
Shannon Wilson drained a triple and
Jessica Murphy followed with a long-range shot for her first collegiate points.
TU had a 5-0 spurt to start the second quarter and take a 21-20 lead before a steal and fast-break lay-up by
Christina Green regained the lead for Wayne State. There were eight lead changes in the second period alone and 19 for the contest.
The third quarter featured five ties and three lead changes with WSU holding a five-point margin twice (45-40 and 47-42). A jumper in the lane by
Nastassja Chambers in the final second of the stanza knotted the game at 59 after 30 minutes.
Four more ties and three additional lead changes highlighted the fourth quarter. The Warriors snapped a 66-66 draw as Chambers made a pair of foul shots with 3:14 remaining and
Ja'Nae Williams followed with a steal and fast-break lay-up to put WSU ahead four (70-66) with 2:58 left. Wayne State would score just two more points in regulation, both coming as Wilson hit two foul shots after a technical was called on Tiffin. Meanwhile, the Dragons earned points on a lay-up by Kristen Massey, a triple by Kiley May and Deidre McKay split a pair at the foul line in the final 10 seconds.
Chambers tallied the first bucket of overtime but Dragon Allie Miller connected from beyond the arc for the first of three lead changes in the extra session. Williams had an offensive rebound and basket giving the Warriors a one-point advantage (76-75), but Tiffin scored the final four points, all on free throws.
Wayne State led for 30:46 compared to 7:36 for Tiffin. Tiffin shot 55 percent (28-of-51) from the floor, while WSU shot 41 percent (30-of-74). Both teams attempted 18 three-pointers with TU making seven compared to four for the Warriors. The Dragons connected on 76 percent (16-of-21) of their free throws with Wayne State shooting 67 percent (12-of-18) from the charity stripe. WSU had a 38-36 rebounding edge along with a 29-15 margin in points off turnovers.
Chambers had career-best totals of a game-high 22 points and a team-best four assists. Wilson contributed 19 points off the bench, while Green grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Daejia Hill tied with Green for a game-high honors in steals with four.
In the setback at No. 2-Ashland, the game was tied twice in the early going at 2-2 and 4-4 in the first 90 seconds. The Warriors kept it close with a pair of
Christina Green buckets that made the deficit one at 7-6 and 9-8.
The Eagles had an 8-2 run in a span of 1:33 to open a 17-10 advantage.
Nastassja Chambers made a pair of foul shots to cut the margin to five (17-12) at the 5:28 mark.
Ashland had a 6-0 run before a triple by
Sara Ruhstorfer made it 23-15 with 3:30 remaining in the opening period. AU ended the first stanza on an 11-0 run as WSU had four turnovers and went 0-for-3 on field goals.
Wayne State tallied four of the first nine points in the second quarter and trailed 41-21 with seven minutes left before halftime. The Warriors were outscored 25-15 in the second stanza and trailed 61-32 at intermission.
Ashland shot 50 percent (40-of-80) from the field compared to 32 percent (17-of-54) for WSU. AU was 4-of-10 (40 percent) from three-point range, while the Warriors were 3-of-15 (20 percent). Wayne State made 18 foul shots in 26 attempts (69 percent) with the Eagles shooting 83 percent (19-of-23) from the charity stripe.
Chambers had a team-high 13 points along with a career-best six rebounds.
Shannon Wilson added 10 points and a season-high three assists.
Jessica Murphy drained two triples in scoring a career-best six points.
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.
CHAMBERS CONTRIBUTING ALL-AROUND THE COURT
Freshman
Nastassja Chambers has made an impact in her first nine collegiate contests. She is leading the squad in points (127), field goal percentage (.529 / 45-of-85), free throw percentage (.818 / 36-of-44), assists (22), steals (20) and minutes played per game (30.4). Chambers also leads the team in field goals made (45) and free throws made (36).
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 led WSU in scoring three times this year, notching double figure totals in six of the seven games she has played (and nine points in the other game). Dating back to last season, Wilson has scored in double figures in nine of 10 contests. She has made a three-pointer in 11 of her last 13 contests.
WILLIAMS MAKING MOST OF HER OPPORTUNITY
After playing just 68 minutes a year ago at IUPUI, sophomore
Ja'Nae Williams has started seven times this season and is averaging nearly 25 minutes a contest. She has scored in double figures four times with another two games of nine points each. Williams has had at least one assist and one steal in every game but one this season.
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.
