Women's Basketball | 1/24/2017 2:38:00 PM
STORYLINES
Wayne State will play four of its next five games at the Matthaei beginning with this Thursday's contest against Northwood (5:30 p.m.) followed by Saturday's game vs. Lake Superior State (1 p.m.). The Warriors are 1-5 in their last six games and will conclude the first half of the double round-robin against the GLIAC North Division on Monday (Jan. 30) at Saginaw Valley State (6 p.m.).
THE SERIES
Wayne State has a 28-24 advantage in the all-time series with Northwood that began in 1980. The Warriors have won four of the last six games, including the last three meetings at the Matthaei. WSU is 18-8 at home against the Timberwolves.
The Warriors trail 32-39 in the all-time series against Lake Superior State. WSU had won nine straight in the series until last year's 55-40 setback in Sault Ste. Marie. The Warriors have won five straight at the Matthaei since a 79-55 loss in January of 2010.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Northwood had won four of five until a pair of losses in the U.P. last week. Senior forward Jordyn Nurenberg (16.3 points per game), and junior guards Maddy Seeley (13.7 ppg) and Lindsay Orwat (12.4) are all averaging in double figures. Nurenberg leads the squad in rebounding (7.8 rpg) and blocks (20), and is tied with classmate Delaney Kenny for the lead in steals (20 each). Kenny has a team-best 43 assists, while Seeley leads the team with 30 triples.
Lake Superior State has lost five of six in 2017 with the lone victory being a 73-59 triumph over Ferris State. Senior guard Mackenzie Edwards leads the Lakers in scoring (14.1 ppg), while junior forward Tamara Novic is averaging 9.9 ppg and is shooting a GLIAC-best .629 from the floor. Edwards has team-high totals of 47 triples and 21 steals, while sophomore guard Valerie Meissner has a team-best 87 assists. Sophomore center Rachel Novotny has 22 blocks and is tied with freshman forward Lexie Khon for the team lead in rebounding with 5.1 boards per contest.
LAST WEEK'S RECAP
Wayne State lost both road games last week falling 66-37 at Grand Valley State and 83-80 at Ferris State.
WSU never recovered from a slow start in falling at GVSU.
In the opening stanza, the Warriors were out-scored 18-3 as WSU missed its first 11 field goal attempts (0-5 on two pointers and 0-6 from beyond the arc) and had four turnovers before
Shannon Wilson banked in a triple to end GVSU's 11-0 run to start the game. The Warriors ended the quarter shooting 1-of-15 from the floor.
Trailing 24-9 nearing the mid-point of the second period,
Jessica Murphy and
India Hawkins connected on back-to-back triples to make it a nine-point contest (24-15). The Lakers ended the first half on an 8-2 run giving the hosts a 32-17 lead at intermission.
Grand Valley State scored seven of the first nine points of the third quarter to increase its lead to 20 points (39-19). Trailing 46-22 late in the stanza,
Ja'Nae Williams and Hawkins both drained three pointers to complete the third period scoring.
After playing nearly even during the two middle quarters (GVSU had a 28-25 scoring advantage), the Warriors were out-scored 20-9 in the final period.
Daejia Hill had a team-high seven points off the bench, while Williams garnered a team-best six rebounds.
The Warriors suffered another tough loss at Ferris State. It was WSU's ffith setback of the season by three points or less.
Despite falling behind 9-0 in the first 2:45 of the contest, the Warriors won the opening stanza 20-16. Wayne State had a 7-0 edge in points off turnovers and a 10-0 margin in bench points.
Nastassja Chambers started the WSU offense with a traditional three-point play, then added a fast-break lay-up 35 seconds later. A triple by Hawkins knotted the game at 14-14 with 1:38 left in the period. Hawkins had a steal and lay-up 15 seconds later to give the Warriors their first lead of the game. After a pair of Bulldog foul shots, Chambers scored from inside and Williams made two free throws putting WSU in front 20-16.
The second quarter was not kind to Wayne State, as WSU made just 6-of-21 (29 percent) from the floor and were 0-of-4 from the charity stripe in being out-scored 28-13. Meanwhile, FSU was 8-of-13 from the field (62 percent) along with 11-of-13 (85 percent) from the foul line. Ferris State led by 11 (44-33), its largest lead of the game, at intermission.
The Bulldogs led 52-42 with 6:15 remaining in the third period, before the Warriors went on a 7-0 run keyed by buckets from
Christina Green and
Sara Ruhstorfer, and concluding with a triple by Wilson. FSU answered with seven consecutive points and had a 63-54 advantage after 30 minutes.
Wayne State began the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run to take a one-point lead (64-63). Chambers scored the first six points of the frame, before
Payton Birchmeier had an offensive put-back and Williams added two free throws. A conventional three-point play by Wilson just before the mid-point of the period snapped a 68-68 draw and put the Warriors ahead by three (71-68). Over the next three minutes, Ferris State went on an 11-3 run as WSU was 1-of-6 from the field and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. Wilson made two foul shots with 71 seconds remaining to cut WSU's deficit to two (80-78), but neither team could score until FSU's Alexis Bush made two free throws with seven seconds left. Williams made a lay-up prior to Bulldog Rachael McInerney splitting a pair with four seconds remaining giving Wayne State one last chance but Hawkins triple was off the mark.
The 80 points scored by the Warriors were a season-high. Chambers led three WSU players in double figures with 17 points. She also had a game-high four steals. Wilson chipped in with 15 points and a season-best five rebounds, while Williams contributed 14 points off the bench along with team-high totals of six rebounds and five assists. HIll tallied a season-high nine points, including 5-of-5 from the foul line.
PLAYING THE BEST -- STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
When considering games through Jan. 22, Wayne State had played the sixth toughest schedule out of 316 Division II teams with an opponent percentage of .615. WSU's remaining opponents have a .541 winning percentage with a projected .594 opponents winning percentage for the season, which would rank eighth nationally.
CHAMBERS CONTRIBUTING ALL-AROUND THE COURT
Nastassja Chambers has made an impact in her first 18 collegiate contests. She is leading the squad in points (244), free throw percentage (.800 / 56-of-70), assists (38), steals (35) and minutes played per game (30.7 per game). Chambers also leads the team in field goals made (91) and free throws made (56).
WILSON LEADING THE SCORING PARADE
Shannon Wilson, who was last year's leading scorer, has led WSU in scoring four times this year, notching double figure totals in 12 of the 16 games she has played (and nine points in one other game). Dating back to last season, Wilson has scored in double figures in 15 of 19 contests. She has made a three-pointer in 19 of her last 22 contests. In addition, Wilson was selected the GLIAC North Division Player of the Week for her performance in the non-conference victory over Cedarville on Dec. 30.
HAWKINS HEATING UP FROM LONG DISTANCE
India Hawkins made 16 triples as a freshman and shot 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. She has made 27 three-pointers this season and is shooting 40.9 percent from long-range. After beginning the year 9-of-27 from three-point range, Hawkins has connected on 18-of-39 over the last nine games.
MURPHY GETTING IN THE ACT
After playing just 26 minutes in her freshman campaign,
Jessica Murphy totaled 30 minutes in the Jan. 12 game against Michigan Tech and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. In the Jan. 14 win over Northern Michigan, Murphy had a career-best seven points.
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.
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.
