Women's Basketball | 11/9/2017 4:01:00 PM

DETROIT -- Wayne State will start the 2017-18 campaign with a two-game trip to Painesville, Ohio for the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge.  The Warriors will take on the University of Findlay for the 42nd meeting in program history in a neutral site game on Saturday before facing host Lake Erie on Sunday.  

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails Findlay 20-21 in the all-time series, which began in 1991.  The two teams have met every season since 1998.  The Warriors had their four-game winning streak against the Oilers snapped in 2016.  Findlay has won two of the last three meetings.  

Wayne State is 8-3 all-time against Lake Erie, including wins in seven of its last eight contests.  The series began in 2010, and the two programs have faced off in six of the previous seven seasons. 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Findlay finished the 2016-17 season with a 13-15 record, losing three of its final four contests.  The former GLIAC opponent, which will enter its first season in the G-MAC, returns its top four leading scorers from last year.  Senior guard Haley Hortsman (9.6 PPG), junior center Christa Puthoff (9.4 PPG), senior guard Lynsey Englebrecht (9.1 PPG), and junior forward Anna Hintz (8.4 PPG) all return to the Oiler lineup in 2017-18.  Hortsman led the Oilers with 29 steals and was second on the squad with 53 assists, bested only by junior guard Allie Thobe (61), who will also return to the lineup this season.  Hintz led Findlay on the boards, grabbing 7.3 per contest. 

Lake Erie lost seven of its final eight games in 2016-17, concluding the season with an 8-16 overall record.  The Storm will join the G-MAC in 2017-18 after competing in the GLIAC last season.  Senior guard Kayla Gabor will return to the fray after leading Lake Erie and the GLIAC at 19.1 PPG. She eclipsed the 20-point mark in 11 games last season, scoring at least 30 points in two different contests. Gabor also added 48 steals and 76 assists, while averaging 6.5 rebounds per contest.  Also returning is senior forward Christine Dawson, who contributed 13.0 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per contest.

NEW FACES
The 2017-18 campaign will feature 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 28 collegiate contests.  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 leads the team in field goals made (132) and free throws made (85).

FAMILIAR FOES 
The Warriors will begin the 2017-18 season in the GLIAC/G-MAC Challenge with experience against both opponents.  Findlay and Lake Erie are debuting in the G-MAC this season after joining the conference from the GLIAC. Wayne State defeated host Lake Erie, 69-67, on Dec. 1, 2016, before losing 76-67 to Findlay on Jan. 7, 2017.

MOVING UP IN THE BOOKS
Senior Shannon Wilson will have plenty of opportunities to cement her legacy in the 2017-18 season. She enters the season ranked 29th in career scoring at Wayne State (801 points) and 32nd in career scoring average (10.4 PPG).  Wilson is also 11th in career 3-point field goal percentage (.337 / 93-of-276, minimum 75 made), 13th in field goal percentage (.423 / 290-of-686, minimum 250 made), tied-for-16th in 3-pointers made (93), 24th in assists (159), 32nd in field goals made (290) and assists average (2.1), 36th in minutes played (1,908) and 40th in steals. 

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. 

WILLIAMS MAKING MOST OF HER OPPORTUNITY
After playing just 68 minutes in 2015-16 at IUPUI, sophomore Ja'Nae Williams started 18 times last season and averaged over 24 minutes a contest.  She scored in double figures 10 times with another two games of nine points each. 

TRANSFERRING TALENT
Sophomore transfer Sadia Johnson will join 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 with the team lead with 25 3-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 regular season in 2016-17. 

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
All  Wayne  State  home  women's  basketball  games  can  be  watched  via  Warrior All-Access for a per game fee.  All 12 home contests during the 2017-18 season will be available on All-Access.

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.

SEASON PREVIEW
The 2017-18 Wayne State women's basketball team will look for a much-improved campaign after an 8-20 overall record (5-16 in the GLIAC) a year ago.  This year's young squad consists of 10 players who are either in their first or second year in the program.

Leading the returnees will be sophomore guard Nastassja Chambers, who started 24 games last season and contributed 12.8 points per game and a .842 free throw percentage (85-101).

Veteran leadership will come from the three seniors who will guide the roster, including guard Shannon Wilson, who served as a captain last season and averaged 12.3 points per game.  Joining her in the backcourt is Sara Ruhstorfer, who was also a captain and racked up 49 rebounds, 42 assists and 33 steals during her junior campaign.

Fellow senior Payton Birchmeier will help anchor the frontcourt, as the forward led the team in blocked shots in 10 games and averaged 5.1 rebounds per contest. The Warriors will also look for frontcourt contributions from juniors Jessica Murphy (30 rebounds, seven assists and two blocks through 21 games in 2016-17) and Paige Villemure (14 rebounds and three steals in 21 contests), as well as newcomers Chavon Tiggs, Cydney Williams and Tori Perez.

Providing depth in the backcourt will be juniors India Hawkins and Ja'Nae Williams, along with sophomores Sadia Johnson (transfer from Adrian) and twins Alex and Lyndsey Matus.  Amber Stephens looks to rebound from a medical redshirt last year, while Anna Ruhstofer, Sara's younger sister, is a freshman this season.