With a GLIAC Tournament berth locked up, Wayne State will look to secure home court in the opening round this week with a pair of contests at Saginaw Valley State on Thurday and against Northwood on Saturda. The Feb. 17 contest is Senior Day, as well as the annual Hall of Fame induction.

THE SERIES
WSU trails the all-time series 32-38 vs. the Cardinals, with a 15-20 mark at SVSU.  The Warriors snapped a three-game losing streak against the Cardinals on Jan. 11.

The Warriors lead NU 29-26 and hold an 18-9 advantage at the Matthaei.  Wayne State won its first game in four tries against the Timberwolves on Jan. 13.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Three Cardinals are averaging double figures, led by redshirt freshman Laurel Jacqmain (11.3 PPG).  Junior Abby Duffy is scoring 10.3 PPG, and junior Hannah Settingsgaard is contributing 10.1 PPG.  Duffy also leads the team with a .431 field goal percentage and 6.3 rebounds per contest.  Junior Anna Hall is averaging 3.9 assists per contest and 2.0 steals each time out. 

Northwood enters Saturday's tilt with one of the better offenses in the conference, boasting a .423 field goal percentage that ranks fourth in the league.  The Timberwolves average 70.7 points per contest, which is tied for fourth in the GLIAC with Wayne State.  Northwood also averages a fourth-best 14.8 APG.

Senior Lindsay Orwat is NU's leading scorer and third in the GLIAC with 17.8 PPG.  Orwat is shooting .443 from the field, which is third best on the team behind senior Karli Herrington (.534) and junior Grace German (.530).  Herrington and German lead the team in rebounds, posing numbers of 6.5 and 6.1 per game, respectively.  Junior Zakiya Wells dishes out 3.5 APG, followed by senior Maddy Seeley with 3.2.  Seeley is the GLIAC's fifth-best free throw shooter (.836). 

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State never trailed in Sunday's contest vs. Purdue Northwest, opening up a 9-1 lead in the first 3:15 that led to a 22-10 advantage after the first quarter.  The Warriors outscored the Pride 41-20 combined in the first and fourth quarters.  

Sophomore Alex Matus scored 14 points, and senior Shannon Wilson contributed 10 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. 

SWEET SIX
Last week, the Warriors clinched a spot in the GLIAC Tournament and are guaranteed to finish no worse than sixth.  WSU needs just one win to clinch the fifth seed, and its magic number to clinch the No. 4 seed and home court in the opening round is four.

MATUS MATTERS
Sophomore Alex Matus continues to stand out with Wayne State this season.  Matus led the Warriors in successful three-pointers in both games last week, bringing her team-leading total to eight games.  She made eight total triples during the 2016-17 season.  In games against #1-Ashland and Tiffin earlier this month, she hit eight combined three-balls.

GATOR-ADE
Sophomore Nastassja Chambers and freshman Cydney Williams will once again face off against former high school teammates this week.  Chambers and Williams, graduates of Ypsilanti's Arbor Prep, will face off against SVSU freshman guard Rozhane Wells on Thursday and NU junior guard Zakiya Wells on Saturday.   The two Warrior opponents are sisters and the daughters of Arbor Prep coach Rod Wells, who guided the Gator program when Chambers and Williams were with the team.

QUITE THE TURNAROUND
With 16 wins on the year, Wayne State has doubled its eight-game win total from the 2016-17 season.  The Warriors have more than doubled last season's GLIAC win total of five, and have protected home court this year with a 9-2 mark at the Matthaei.  Last year, WSU was 7-7 at home. 

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TIMES EIGHT
Wayne State tallied its seventh and eighth double-doubles of the season at Tiffin on Feb. 3 thanks to the efforts of junior Ja'Nae Williams (11 points, 10 rebounds) and senior Shannon Wilson (10 points, 10 rebounds).  

It's the second time WSU has had two double-doubles in one contest, as Williams (13 points, 10 rebounds) and sophomore Nastassja Chambers (26 points, 13 rebounds) accomplished the feat at Ferris State on Jan. 4.  It was the first career double-double for Chambers.  Williams has five career double-doubles and four total this year. Previously, Williams met the criteria on Dec. 2 (15 points, 10 assists) at Purdue Northwest;  in the season opener, she tallied 24 points and 11 rebounds in a win against Findlay.   Wilson has four career double-doubles, including three this season.  Previously, she tallied  22 points and 11 rebounds against 12th-ranked Michigan Tech on Jan.18, and 17 points and 10 rebounds at Oakland City on Nov. 16. 

GARNERING GLIAC AWARDS
Sophomore guard Nastassja Chambers became the second Warrior this season to earn GLIAC South Division Player of the Week honors after receiving the award on Jan. 8.  Chambers had her first career double-double (26 points, 13 rebounds) at Ferris State, and then had a game-high 17 points against LSSU. She averaged 21.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game in the two games on Jan. 4 and Jan. 6.  Chambers joins senior guard Shannon Wilson, who was named the GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on Nov. 13.  Wilson tallied 35 points in the overtime win against Findlay on Nov. 11 and followed that with a 16-point performance in the triumph over Lake Erie on Nov. 13 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.

WARRIOR ADVANTAGE
Wayne State has had the lead at least once in all 22 contests played this season.  The Warriors led by as much as four in the first half against Southern Indiana, held a two-point advantage in the final nine seconds against GVSU, and led by as many as five in the first period at top-ranked Ashland.  In the rematch against the Eagles, Wayne State led by as many as 13 in the second quarter.  The Green & Gold has never trailed in six games this season (at Oakland City, vs. Wright State Lake, vs. Michigan-Dearborn, at Purdue Northwest, vs. Lake Superior State and vs. Purdue Northwest), and held leads against Lake Erie, Tiffin, Ferris State, #12-Michigan Tech and Davenport for the entire second half.  

A GRAND EFFORT
Senior Shannon Wilson became the 17th player in program history to reach 1,000 points on. Jan. 6 contest vs. LSSU.  Wilson enters this week's play with 1,148 points.

600 & 50
Sophomore Nastassja Chambers and senior Payton Birchmeier both reached career milestones against Davenport on Jan. 27.  Chambers became the 50th Warrior to suprass 600 career points, while Birchmeier moved into the top-10 in blocks after earning her 50th.  Chambers has scored 672 points and is 41st all-time in program history.  Birchmeier now has 54 blocks, putting her eighth.

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.

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 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN 900.  Sean Baligian, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will call the action.