Women's Basketball | 2/14/2017 4:01:00 PM

STORYLINES
Wayne State will play its final two road games this week visiting Northwood for a 6 p.m. tip-off on Thursday before making the trek to Sault Ste. Marie for a 1 p.m. match-up on Saturday vs. Lake Superior State.  The Warriors are 2-11 in 2017 and will conclude the season at home on Feb. 23 against Saginaw Valley State.

THE SERIES
Wayne State has a 28-25 advantage in the all-time series with Northwood that began in 1980.  The Warriors had won four of the previous five games, before the Timberwolves current two-game winning streak.  WSU is 10-16 all-time in Midland against Northwood.

The Warriors trail 33-39 in the all-time series against Lake Superior State.  After having its nine-game series winning streak end in Dec. 2015 in the Soo, WSU rebounded for a 78-61 home court victory last month.  Wayne State has a 12-22 record at the Norris Center Arena and has won four of the last five meetings at Cooper Gymnasium.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Northwood has won four of its last five contests to secure a spot in the GLIAC Tournament.  Senior forward Jordyn Nurenberg (15.9 points per game), and junior guards Maddy Seeley (12.9 ppg) and Lindsay Orwat (11.9) are all averaging in double figures.   Nurenberg leads the squad in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and blocks (25), while classmate Delaney Kenny has the lead in steals (28).  Kenny has a team-best 60 assists, while Seeley leads the team with 42 triples.

Lake Superior State ended an eight-game losing skein with a 58-54 triumph at Ferris State on Feb. 9.  Senior guard Mackenzie Edwards leads the Lakers in scoring (13.7 ppg), while junior forward Tamara Novic is averaging 10.6 ppg and is shooting a GLIAC-best .632 from the floor.  Edwards has team-high totals of 63 triples and 25 steals, while sophomore guard Valerie Meissner has a team-best 114 assists.  Sophomore center Rachel Novotny has 29 blocks and a team-leading 123 rebounds (4.9 rpg).

LAST WEEK'S RECAP
Wayne State lost twice in the Upper Peninsula last, allowing 79 points in each contest.

Wayne State began a four-game road swing with a 79-61 setback at Michigan Tech.

After both teams failed to score on their opening two possessions each, the Warriors took a 2-0 lead on a pair of free throws by Shannon Wilson.  The Huskies rattled off seven consecutive points before Ajai Meeks had an offensive put back.  MTU went on another 7-0 run for a 14-4 lead.  Wayne State responded with a 9-4 run that preceded a late triple by Michigan Tech's Kelli Guy, which gave the hosts a 21-13 advantage after 10 minutes.

The Warriors were within five points on four occasions in the second quarter, the last being at 28-23 on a Meeks bucket.  The Huskies ended the first half on an 11-4 run over the final 4:10 to lead 39-27 at intermission.

WSU had a 22-21 scoring edge in the third period as both Nastassja Chambers and Payton Birchmeier scored eight points apiece with Birchmeier connecting on both of her triple tries.  Wayne State cut its deficit to seven (52-45) with just under 2:30 remaining in the stanza, but MTU finished the period by scoring eight of the final 12 points for a 60-49 lead heading into the final quarter.

Michigan Tech scored the first six points of the final period.  The closest WSU would get was 14 points (68-54) just past the mid-point of the quarter.

Chambers was the lone Wayne State player in double figures with 15 points and tied Meeks for the team-high in rebounds with six boards each.  Chambers also contributed two steals and an assist in 35 minutes.

Wayne State suffered its fifth consecutive setback with a 79-60 loss at Northern Michigan.

The game was close early with WSU holding a pair of two-point leads (2-0 and 4-2) along with the contest being tied at 2-2, 4-4 and 6-6 before the Wildcats went on a 6-0 run.  Jessica Murphy connected on a jumper to make it 12-8.  The teams split the final 10 points of the opening period with NMU holding a 17-13 advantage after 10 minutes.

Northern Michigan tallied the first nine points of the second quarter on three consecutive triples, the first by Bre Gaspervich and the final two by Emily Schramek.  Murphy drained a triple and Meeks made a pair of foul shots to pull the Warriors within seven (26-19).

Following a 12-6 run by the Wildcats, WSU responded with a 5-0 spurt that started with two free throws by Wilson and concluded with a conventional three-point play by Sara Ruhstorfer.  After a NMU basket, Birchmeier drained a triple just before halftime to pull the Warriors within seven (40-33) at intermission.

Another three pointer by Birchmeier cut the deficit to six (42-36) in the first 80 seconds of the third quarter.  Later, a 4-0 spurt by the Warriors made it a four-point game (44-40) with just over seven minutes remaining in the stanza.  WSU stayed within striking distance over the next three minutes and trailed 52-46 after a lay-up by Ja'Nae Williams.  NMU ended the frame on a 12-1 run to increase its advantage to 17 (64-47).

All told the Warriors went 11 minutes between made field goals (4:19 left in the third to 3:19 left in the game).  During that stretch, WSU went 0-for-10 from the floor (0-for-5 on two-point shots and 0-for-5 on triple tries).  Wayne State did make 5-of-8 free throws, but could never get closer than 17.

Williams recorded a team-high 14 points off the bench, while Birchmeier contributed 10 points and a team-best six rebounds.  Wilson also chipped in with 10 points.

PLAYING THE BEST -- STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
When considering games through Feb. 13, Wayne State had played the fifth toughest schedule out of 316 Division II teams with an opponent winning percentage of .589.  WSU's remaining opponents have a .500 winning percentage with a projected .577 opponents winning percentage for the season.

CHAMBERS CONTRIBUTING ALL-AROUND THE COURT
Nastassja Chambers has made an impact in her first 25 collegiate contests.  She is leading the squad in points (321), free throw percentage (.826 / 76-of-92), assists (51), steals (52) and minutes played per game (31.0 per game).  Chambers also leads the team in field goals made (119) and free throws made (76).

WILSON CONNECTING FROM LONG DISTANCE
Shannon Wilson, who was last year's leading scorer, has led WSU in scoring five times this year, notching double figure totals in 16 of the 23 games she has played (and nine points in two other games).  Dating back to last season, Wilson has scored in double figures in 19 of 26 contests.  She has made a three-pointer in 24 of her last 29 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 HAS ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
India Hawkins went 11-for-11 at the foul line vs. GVSU.  The 100 percent on foul shots marks the fifth time in program history that a WSU player went at least 11-for-11 on free throws.  Liz O'Brien (Jan. 12, 1984, vs. GVSU) and Shareta Brown (Feb. 21, 2015, at Walsh) were both 12-of-12, while Jodi Young (Dec. 29, 2003, vs. Northern Kentucky) and Kristen Rogers (Dec. 29, 2004, at Florida Southern) were each 11-of-11.

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.