Women's Basketball | 2/21/2017 4:29:00 PM

STORYLINES
Wayne State will conclude its 2016-17 campaign at home this Thursday with a 5:37 p.m. tip-off against Saginaw Valley State.  WSU's two seniors (Christina Green and Ajai Meeks) will be honored prior to the contest.

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails 31-37 in the all-time series against Saginaw Valley State in a series that began in 1976.  The Warriors won eight of nine from 2009 to early 2014, but since then the Cardinals have been victorious in three of the last four meetings, inlcuding twice at the Matthaei.  WSU is 16-17 all-time at home vs. SVSU.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Saginaw Valley State has lost two of its last three games after producing a six-game winning streak.  Senior forward Emily Wendling leads the Cardinals in scoring (18.8 ppg), rebounding (7.6 rpg) and blocks (17).  Her scoring average is second in the conference as is her free throw percentage (88.8%).  Senior guard Katelyn Carriere is averaging 15.5 points per contest, and leads the squad with 44 triples and 46 steals.  Sophomore guard Anna Hall hads a team-best 71 assists.

LAST WEEK'S RECAP
After letting a 16-point advantage slip away in a 66-61 setback at Northwood on Feb. 16, the Warriors responded at both ends of the court in a 75-53 triumph at Lake Superior State on Saturday giving head coach Carrie Lohr her 100th victory at WSU.

In Midland, Wayne State started strong jumping out to a 7-0 lead in the first 4:30 of the contest as Christina Green had a conventional three-point play, before Payton Birchmeier and Ja'Nae Williams made baskets.  The Timberwolves went on an 11-8 run to end the first quarter and pull within four (15-11) points after 10 minutes.

After Northwood cut its deficit to four (22-18) on a triple by Lindsay Orwat, WSU went on a 13-1 spurt over the next 3:20 to grab a 16-point advantage (35-19), its largest of the match, with 2:21 remaining before intermission.  NU's Maddy Seeley and Taylor Cramer connected from beyond the arc to end the first half scoring.  Wayne State led 35-25 at intermission after shooting 54 percent (14-of-26) from the field.

The Timberwolves made the first hoop of the second half, but a lay-up by Shannon Wilson and another old-fashioned three-point play by Green gave the Warriors a 40-27 lead.

Wayne State led 45-33 after Williams split a pair from the charity stripe with 5:01 remaining in the third quarter, but Northwood concluded the frame on a 9-3 run to pull within six (48-42).

Williams made two foul shots 66 seconds into the final stanza to push Wayne State's lead to eight (50-42).  A 7-0 run by the Timberwolves made it a one-point game (50-49) as Jordyn Nurenberg tallied four of NU's seven points during the spurt.  Nastassja Chambers had a conventional three-point play to increase the Warrior lead to four (53-49) with 5:37 left.  With just under 3:50 remaining, Chambers connected from three-point range giving WSU a six point lead (58-52).  A lay-up by Chambers with 1:56 left gave Wayne State a 60-57 advantage with 1:56 left.

Williams split a pair of free throws with 1:08 remaining extending the lead to two (61-59).  Northwood's last seven points came from the foul line despite repeated drives by the WSU players did not result in any free throw attempts until Nurenberg intentionally fouled Williams with Northwood leading 64-61 with 5.3 seconds left.

Wayne State shot 51 percent (23-of-45) from the floor, compared to 31 percent (18-of-58) for NU.  WSU was 4-of-6 (67 percent) from three-point range, while the Timberwolves shot 35 percent (9-of-26) from behind the arc.  The Warriors were just 11-of-19 (58 percent) from the charity stripe, with Northwood shooting 88 percent (21-of-24).

Green led four Warriors in double figures with 13 points.  Williams, Wilson and Chambers each contributed 11 points with Williams tying Green for the team-high in rebounds with six.

Wayne State notched its first road win of the season with a convincing 75-53 triumph at Lake Superior.  The win was head coach Carrie Lohr's 100th at WSU and she became the fastest to reach the century mark in the 43-year history of the program.

After the Lakers took their only lead of the contest at 2-0, the Warriors rattled off 12 consecutive points with all five starters getting in the scoring parade, led by five points from Shannon Wilson.  Twice LSSU was able to cut the Wayne State advantage to six, but Sara Ruhstorfer scored at the end of the shot clock the first time, and Ja'Nae Williams sank all three foul shots the second time giving WSU a 21-12 lead after 10 minutes.

The Warriors scored the first nine points of the second quarter with four different players notching points.  Christina Green led Wayne State with six points in the stanza, while Wilson chipped in five to reach double digits by halftime.

WSU was solid at both ends of the court in the first half, recording seven assists to three turnovers and shooting 57 percent (4-of-7) from beyond the arc.  Defensively, the Warriors held the Lakers to 2-of-10 from three-point range (20 percent) and forced LSSU into seven miscues.

Lake Superior began the second half outscoring Wayne State 11-6 to cut the WSU margin to eight (45-37) with just under six minutes remaining in the period.  The Warriors responded with a 7-3 spurt over the next 2:30 to re-establish a double-digit advantage.  Wilson had five points during the run.  LSSU tallied four consecutive points before a Green bucket ended the frame and put WSU ahead by 12 (56-44).

In the first six minutes of the fourth period, the Wayne State defense limited Lake Superior to 1-of-6 from the field, plus forced three turnovers to push the lead to 18 (65-47).  Williams had four of WSU's first nine points of the period.  Over the final four minutes, the Warriors had a 10-6 scoring advantage.

Wayne State shot over 50 percent for the second consecutive contest going 29-of-57 (51 percent) from the floor, compared to 40 percent (19-of-47) for LSSU.  WSU was 5-of-12 (42 percent) from three-point range, while the Lakers shot 24 percent (5-of-21) from behind the arc.  The Warriors were a stellar 12-of-13 (92 percent) from the charity stripe, with Lake Superior shooting 91 percent (10-of-11).  Wayne State held a 46-14 edge in points in the paint, along with a 12-2 margin in second-chance points.

Green and Wilson tied for game-high scoring honors with 21 points each.  Payton Birchmeier chipped in with 12 points and a game-best nine rebounds, with Wilson contributing a team-best five assists.  Both Wilson and Williams had three steals.

PLAYING THE BEST -- STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
When considering games through Feb. 20, Wayne State had played the fifth toughest schedule out of 316 Division II teams with an opponent winning percentage of .589.  WSU's remaining opponent has a .760 winning percentage with a projected .598 opponents winning percentage for the season.

CHAMBERS CONTRIBUTING ALL-AROUND THE COURT
Nastassja Chambers has made an impact in her first 27 collegiate contests.  She is leading the squad in points (336), free throw percentage (.833 / 80-of-96), assists (53), steals (53) and minutes played per game (30.4 per game).  Chambers also leads the team in field goals made (124) and free throws made (80).

WILSON CONNECTING FROM LONG DISTANCE
Shannon Wilson, who was last year's leading scorer, has led WSU in scoring six times this year, notching double figure totals in 18 of the 25 games she has played (and nine points in two other games).  Dating back to last season, Wilson has scored in double figures in 21 of 28 contests.  She has made a three-pointer in 25 of her last 31 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.  

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.