Wayne State University Athletics

Women's Basketball 3/4/2019 1:31:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Basketball Begins Post-Season At GVSU On Tuesday

Warriors are playing at top-seeded Lakers.

Wayne State will begin post-season play with a GLIAC Quarterfinal game at Grand Valley State on Tuesday. WSU heads into the "second" season having lost three in a row, while the Lakers won their final 10 regular-season contests.

THE SERIES
WSU trails 26-49 in the all-time series against Grand Valley State. The Green and Gold have lost seven consecutive games in the series since an 89-63 triumph against the 17th-ranked Lakers in Detroit on Jan. 2, 2015. Earlier this season, Wayne State fell 73-42 in Allendale and 78-50 in Motown. This will be the first post-season meeting between the schools since Feb. 28, 1974, when Grand Valley State posted a 61-44 victory in the SMAIAW Tournament.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Grand Valley State has won 10 in a row since a 56-43 loss at Northern Michigan on Jan. 19. The Lakers, under fourth-year head coach Mike Williams, won their first GLIAC title since the 2006-07 squad won the GLIAC North Division (Gannon won the GLIAC overall title).

Junior center Cassidy Boensch leads the GLIAC in scoring (20.3 PPG), rebounding (12.2 RPG) and blocks (92), while ranking third in field goal percentage (58.7). Junior guard Jenn DeBoer is among the league leaders in assists (101) and scoring (14.6 PPG), and would rank second in free throw percentage (88.1) if she had more attempts. DeBoer leads GVSU with 50 made triples, while junior guard Victoria Hedemark has a team-high 64 steals.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State was upended, 94-53, at seventh-ranked Ashland in the regular-season finale last Thursday.

In the first 3:15 of the contest, the Warriors outscored Ashland, 6-3, including a triple by Alexis Miller. Over the next 1:41, the Eagles would take the lead for good after tallying seven consecutive points for a 10-6 advantage.

Nastassja Chambers scored a team-high 14 points, while Ja'Nae Williams also scored in double figures with 11 points. Williams and Sam Cherney tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven boards each.

NCAA TEAM RANKINGS
Wayne State is 50th in offensive rebounds per game (14.2).

NATIONAL AND LEAGUE RANKINGS
Senior guard Ja'Nae Williams is third in the conference and tied-for-51st nationally with 65 steals. She is also third in the GLIAC and 53rd in the country with 6.7 defensive rebounds per game. Williams leads the GLIAC in minutes played per game (34.0), while ranking second in the conference in free throws attempted (138) and third in the league in field goals attempted (326).

Junior guard Alex Matus is sixth in the league with 51 made triples, while freshman forward Sam Cherney is third in the GLIAC with 81 offensive rebounds.

QUALIFYING FOR THE POST-SEASON
Wayne State qualified for the GLIAC Tournament for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.

The GLIAC Quarterfinal game will be the first time the Warriors have been on the road for the opening round since a 67-64 triumph at 18th-ranked Hillsdale on March 1, 2008. WSU was the No. 8 seed for the league tournament in 2008.

Wayne State has a 4-14 all-time record in the GLIAC Tournament and has advanced to the league semifinals on four occasions (2003, 2008, 2013 and 2014).

CRASHING THE BOARDS
Ja'Nae Williams, a 5-8 guard, leads the squad in rebounds, grabbing double-digit boards in nine games, and another seven contests with nine rebounds. She has accumulated 237 rebounds (8.5 RPG) this season. In addition, Williams has five double-doubles: against Findlay (10 points & 12 rebounds), at Tiffin (14 points & 10 rebounds), vs. Lake Superior State (18 points & 10 rebounds), versus Fairmont State (16 points & 11 rebounds), and at Ferris State (18 points & 11 rebounds).

CONNECTING FROM LONG DISTANCE
Alex Matus can be found beyond the arc, shooting a triple as she has already surpassed last season's total. Matus has drained 51-of-143 triple attempts in 28 contests this year, for a .357 three-point field goal percentage.

Last year, she connected on 37-of-106 three-pointers in 26 games for a .349 shooting percentage.

Matus needs four triples to become the 13th player in school history with 100 made three-pointers (96-for-286 / .336).

TOUGH COMPETITION
As of March 2, two GLIAC teams were ranked in the top eight of the WBCA D2 Coaches Poll. Ashland (26-2) and Grand Valley State (26-2) each climbed three spots a week ago for the Feb. 26 poll, to seventh and eighth, respectively.

LOHR REWRITES HISTORY
Following a 76-67 triumph at Purdue Northwest on Jan. 10, head coach Carrie Lohr became the winningest coach in WSU women's basketball history, with her 127th victory. In her eight seasons with the Warriors, Lohr is averaging 16.38 wins per season (132 victories) with a .581 winning percentage. She surpassed Gloria Bradley (2000-11) who had 126 wins (11.45 wins per season) and a winning percentage of .423.

Lohr has 298 collegiate coaching victories, including her nine seasons at St. Clair County Community College where she went 166-106.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Nastassja Chambers: G; 5' 9"; Junior

#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

#3 Nastassja Chambers
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G

#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