Women's Basketball | 11/21/2017 10:53:00 AM

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (3-1 overall) will host Wright State Lake (1-6) overall for its first home game of 2017-18.

STORYLINES
Wayne State set a single-game program record with 16 three-pointers in a 105-36 win at Oakland City last Thursday.  The win was one for the history books, as the Warriors attempted 35 triples (fifth most in program history), while scoring the sixth-most points in a single game and grabbing the third most rebounds (61).  Junior Jessica Murphy led all scorers with 19 points and accounted for five of those triples, while senior Shannon Wilson (17 points) and junior India Hawkins (11 points) each connected on three field goals from beyond the arc.

On Saturday, the Warriors suffered their first loss of the season, dropping a 77-54 decision at Southern Indiana in Evansville.  Sophomore Nastassja Chambers led the team with 18 points, while adding five rebounds and an assist.  Wilson scored 15 points in the effort, with three steals, two rebounds and an assist, while senior Payton Birchmeier grabbed 10 rebounds. The Warriors fell behind by as much as 17 in the second quarter but managed to cut the lead to 10 by the half and got as close as six just past the midway point of the third frame. 

After four consecutive road games in back-to-back weekends to start the season, Wayne State will open up its home slate with a contest against Wright State Lake. It will be the first of a three-game home stand for WSU.

THE SERIES
This will be the first meeting between Wayne State and Wright State Lake.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
After losing their first six games, the Lakers defeated Lincoln Christian 55-53 this past Saturday.  Second-year head coach Logan Lanier also serves as the Interim Director of Athletics for Wright State Lake.  The Lakers are a member of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.

GARNERING GLIAC AWARDS
Senior guard Shannon Wilson was named the GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on Nov. 13.  Wilson tallied 35 points in the overtime win over Findlay on Saturday and followed that with a 16-point performance in Sunday's triumph over the host Storm to average 25.5 points on the weekend.  She shot 55 percent (17-of-31) from the field, and 88 percent (14-of-16) from the foul line, while contributing 11 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and one block.

RAISING THE BAR
Several players matched or exceeded career-highs in Thursday's win against Oakland City.  Junior Jessica Murphy hit a personal best with 19 points, with sophomores Lyndsey Matus (eight points) and Sadia Johnson (five points) reaching career marks in points.  Matus also reached personal bests in rebounds (five) and minutes (14), while freshmen Tori Perez (eight points) and Cydney Williams (four points) registered their first career points. 

LEADING THE WAY
After two weeks of competition, Wayne State finds itself among  the top performers in many statistical categories in the GLIAC.  The Warriors are averaging 81.8 points per game to sit third in the conference, while allowing a fourth-best 63.8 PPG.   The team is grabbing 46.8 rebounds per game (second), and shooting .806 from the three throw line (third). Wayne State is also third in steals (10.3 per game), and fourth in blocks (3.0) and opponents' three-point percentage (.268).

WARM WELCOME
Freshmen Cydney Williams and Tori Perez made their collegiate debuts during the season's opening weekend.  Williams logged six minutes against Findlay and played four minutes against Lake Erie, scoring two points, while grabbing three rebounds against the Storm. Perez played three minutes against Lake Erie.

NEW FACES
The 2017-18 campaign features four new faces on this season's 16-player roster.  Freshmen Tori Perez, Anna Ruhstorfer and Cydney Williams will join redshirt freshman transfer Chavon Tiggs on the Warrior roster this season.  Additionally, redshirt freshman Amber Stephens will join the lineup after missing all of 2016-17 with a pre-season injury.

DON'T I KNOW YOU?
This season's roster includes two pairings of sisters, as twins Alex and Lyndsey Matus will be joined by Sara Ruhstorfer and her sister Anna.  Freshman Cydney Williams will team up with former high school teammate Nastassja Chambers, as the two won a state championship at Arbor Prep in 2016.

CHAMBERS CONTRIBUTING ALL-AROUND THE COURT
Nastassja Chambers made an impact in her first collegiate season.  She led the squad in points (358), free throw percentage (.842 / 85-of-101), assists (54), steals (53) and minutes played per game (30.4 per game) last season.  Chambers also led the team in field goals made (132) and free throws made (85).

MOVING UP IN THE BOOKS
Senior Shannon Wilson will have plenty of opportunities to cement her legacy during the 2017-18 season.  She recently moved into 23rd in career scoring at Wayne State (884 points) and 27th in career scoring average (10.9 PPG).  Wilson is also 11th in career three-point field goal percentage (.336 / 96-of-286, minimum 75 made), 12th in three-pointers made (100), 21st in free throw percentage (.719 / 146-of-203, minimum 75 made), 26th in field goal percentage (.430 / 319-of-742, minimum 150 made), 24th in assists (172), 26th in field goals made (319), 31st in assists average (2.1), 32nd in minutes played (2,032), 35th in free throws made (142) and 39th in steals (101).

PRE-SEASON ACCOLADES
Senior Shannon Wilson was named to the Preseason All-GLIAC South Division Team before the start of the season.  It's the first time Wilson has received the honor. 

RUHSTORFER SETTING CAREER HIGHS
Junior Sara Ruhstorfer took advantage of increased playing time last season and made more triples in 2016-17 (21) than she did in her first two seasons combined (9).  She surpassed her first two-year totals in rebounds (28) and steals (14) with  49 and 33, respectively, last season. 

TRANSFERRING TALENT
Sophomore transfer Sadia Johnson joined the Warriors after spending 2016-17 as a major contributor at Adrian College.  Johnson was the only Bulldog to start all 24 games and led the team in points (16.0 PPG), free throws made (92) and attempted (123), and minutes played (26.2 per game). She was also third in the MIAA in field goal percentage (42.4) and was tied for the team lead with 25 three-pointers.

TOUGH COMPETITION
Two GLIAC teams were ranked in the top 25 of the WBCA D2 Preseason Coaches Poll.  Defending national champion Ashland received 23 of the 24 first-place votes and was ranked No. 1 once again, with Michigan Tech ranked 20th after a 20-8 season in 2016-17. 

NATIONAL RANKINGS
After two weeks of competition, Wayne State is 25th in free throw percentage (80.6), 29th in the country in scoring offense (81.8 PPG), 42nd in scoring margin (18.0) and 44th in rebound margin (8.8).
 
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 12 home contests during the 2017-18 season will be available on All-Access.  Monthly passes are available for $9.95, and year-long access is offered for $69.95.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Every women's basketball home game beginning in 2018 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN 900.  Sean Baligian, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will call the action.