Women's Basketball 1/15/2019 4:30:00 PM Lauren Bryne, Sports Information Graduate Intern

Women's Hoops to Host Northwood and SVSU

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball squad will host Northwood on Thursday (5:30 p.m.) and Saginaw Valley State on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) at the Matthaei in the next two GLIAC contests.

STORYLINES
Wayne State will host Northwood on Thursday, Jan. 17, at 5:30 p.m., followed by Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 1:00 p.m. The Warriors split the two previous road contests 1-1 versus GLIAC opponents Purdue Northwest (W, 76-67) and Parkside (L, 73-68).

THE SERIES
WSU leads 30-27 in the all-time series against the Timberwolves, which began in 1980. The Green and Gold triumphed over NU in the first two matchups of the 2017-18 season, but fell 64-56 to Northwood in the GLIAC Quarterfinal hosted at the Matthaei.

Wayne State trails 38-33 all-time against SVSU, the series beginning in 1976. The Warriors claimed victories in both contests last year, winning 60-52 at Saginaw Valley in the most recent battle in February 2018.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Last year, NU went 17-11 overall with a 12-8 league record. Following a 64-45 win over WSU in the 2018 GLIAC Quarterfinal, Northwood fell 111-75 against Ashland in the Semifinals. The Timberwolves are currently 7-9 overall, with a 4-4 conference record. They had their three-game winning streak snapped at Grand Valley State on Saturday, Jan. 12, with a 67-51 loss.

Sophomore guard Ellie Taylor leads NU in scoring (13.6 PPG), with junior Adrianna Stolicker averaging 10.1 points per game. Senior center Grace German is currently ranked fifth in the GLIAC, grabbing 8.9 boards per contest. Head coach Jeff Curtis is in his 15th year and has won 223 games with Northwood.

Saginaw Valley is 3-12 overall entering Thursday's match at Ashland, with a 3-5 league record.

Senior forward Abby Duffy leads Parkside in scoring (14.7 PPG), placing fifth in the conference. Duffy also holds the top spot in the GLIAC, averaging 12.0 rebounds per game. Senior guard Hannah Settingsgaard also tallies double digits (10.9 PPG), while freshman guard Maddie Barrie averages 10.7 points per contest. Interim head coach Ryan Trevithick was previously an assistant coach for the Cardinals for two seasons.

LAST TIME OUT
WSU fell 73-68 at Parkside on Saturday, Jan. 12. After falling behind 61-35 at the end of the third quarter, the Warriors outscored UWP 33-12 in the final period. Their change in momentum was not enough, however, leaving Wayne State with a 3-4 mark in the league. Senior guard Ja'Nae Williams led the Warriors, scoring a game-high (and season-best) 19 points. Freshman forward Grace George snagged a team-high seven rebounds. Wayne State shot 40 percent (24-of-60) from the floor, compared to 50 percent (27-of-54) for the Rangers. WSU had a 31-11 edge in fast break points, while also leading 36-32 in points in the paint.

NATIONAL AND LEAGUE RANKINGS
Senior guard Ja'Nae Williams is currently first in the conference and tied-for-13th in the nation with 46 steals. Williams is also fifth in the GLIAC and tied-for-64th in the country with 132 rebounds in the first 16 contests. Junior guard Alex Matus is third in the GLIAC and tied-for-69th nationally with 38 three-pointers made, while freshman guard Alexis Miller is ranked sixth in the league with a 0.436 (17-of-39) three-point field-goal percentage. Freshman forward Sam Cherney is third in the league, recording 52 offensive boards.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
Ja'Nae Williams leads the squad in rebounds, grabbing double-digit boards in nine of the 16 games. She has accumulated 132 rebounds (8.3 RPG) this season. In addition, Williams has four double-doubles: against Findlay (10 points & 12 rebounds), at Tiffin (14 points & 10 rebounds), vs. Lake Superior State (18 points & 10 rebounds), and versus Fairmont State (16 points & 11 rebounds).

CONNECTING FROM LONG DISTANCE
Alex Matus can be found beyond the arc, shooting a triple. Last season, she connected on 37-of-106 three-pointers in 26 games. Matus has drained 35-of-94 triples in the first 16 games this year, for a three-point field goal percentage of .372 (compared to last year's .349).

TOUGH COMPETITION
As of Jan. 15, two GLIAC teams were ranked in the top nine of the WBCA D2 Coaches Poll. Ashland (14-1) moved up to the No. 6 spot after notching victories at Parkside and Purdue Northwest on Jan. 10 and Jan. 12. Grand Valley State (15-1) remained ranked No. 9 after tallying wins vs. Saginaw Valley State on Jan. 10 and Northwood on Jan. 12.

MAKING STRIDES
Following the 2017-18 season record of 19-8, Wayne State was tied-for-eighth among the 2018 Most Improved Teams, along with Union (TN). WSU enhanced its record by 11.5 games, after an 8-20 record during the 2016-17 season.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Wayne State's home women's basketball games in 2019 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN 900. Sean Baligian, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will call the action.

LOHR REWRITES HISTORY
Following a 76-67 triumph at Purdue Northwest on Thursday, Jan. 10, head coach Carrie Lohr became the winningest coach in WSU women's basketball history, tallying 127 victories since 2011. In her eight seasons with the Warriors, Lohr averages 15.88 wins per season with a 0.588 winning percentage. She surpassed head coach Gloria Bradley (2000-11) who had a total of 126 wins (11.45 wins per season) and a winning percentage of 0.423.

WEAR PINK, GO GREEN AND GOLD
On Saturday, Jan. 19, WSU is hosting a Pink Out Day for the doubleheader vs. Saginaw Valley State (1:00 p.m. & 3:00 p.m.). Fans are encouraged to sport shades of pink at the game to raise breast cancer awareness. Special Wayne State socks can be purchased for $3.00 on game day, with proceeds going to a local charity that supports women receiving treatment. Those impacted by breast cancer will be recognized during both contests.

FROM WNBA TO COACHING
Plenette Pierson was named an assistant coach at WSU this past August, following a 15-year WNBA career. Pierson won three WNBA Championships while playing for the Phoenix Mercury (2003-05), Detroit Shock/Tulsa Shock (2006-10), New York Liberty (2010-14), Tulsa Shock/Dallas Wings (2015-16) and the Minnesota Lynx (2017).

She was selected as the inaugural Sixth Woman of the Year in 2007 and a WNBA West All-Star in 2015. Pierson ranks 29th all-time in career points (4,258), 24th in rebounds (1,834), 24th in blocks (242), and 15th in field goal percentage (.439).

Pierson also played in 49 career playoff games. She ranks 27th all-time in playoff rebounds (208) and 19th in playoff blocks (31).

WARRIOR COACHES
Assistant coach Karen Lafata has been by head coach Carrie Lohr's side since about day one of Lohr's tenure. In Lafata's second year (2012-13), she helped guide WSU to the second-most wins in a season (22) as well as the first two NCAA Tournament wins in program history. The next year, Wayne State won the GLIAC regular-season title with a 17-5 record and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. In 2014-15, Lafata assisted the Warriors in tying the school record for wins in a season (23), claiming the GLIAC South Division title with a school record of 18 league victories, and advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

Graduate assistant coach Juanita Cochran is returning for her second season at WSU. Prior to the start of her coaching career, Cochran played for the University of New Orleans (2009-10), Stony Brook (2010-11), and Wayne State (2011-13). She started 51 games for the Warriors and ranks 46th in scoring, despite playing only two seasons for the Green and Gold. In 2013, Cochran helped WSU reach the NCAA Midwest Regional final (Sweet Sixteen), where she scored 15 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds in the loss at Ashland.

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Players Mentioned

#32 Grace George: F; 6' 0"; Freshman

#11 Alex Matus: G; 5' 7"; Junior

#10 Alexis Miller: G; 5' 7"; Freshman

#4 Ja'Nae Williams: G; 5' 8"; Senior

#13 Sam Cherney: F; 6' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#32 Grace George
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: F

#11 Alex Matus
: 5' 7"; Junior
: G

#10 Alexis Miller
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: G

#4 Ja'Nae Williams
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

#13 Sam Cherney
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: F