Wayne State women's basketball will play its first game inside the WSU Fieldhouse.

Women's Basketball 11/11/2021 3:00:00 PM Zachary Manning, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball Gears Up for GLIAC/GMAC Challenge

The Warriors will host Lake Erie College on Nov. 13 and Walsh the following evening.

STORYLINES
After a thrilling overtime exhibition win at Detroit Mercy on November 4th, the Wayne State University women's basketball team will officially kick off the season with a pair of games against Lake Erie and Walsh as part of the GLIAC/GMAC Challenge.

The Warriors will be playing their first game in their new arena (Wayne State Fieldhouse). The Green and Gold will square off with the Storm on Nov. 13 at 7 PM, with the contest against the Cavaliers beginning at 4 PM the following day.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Lake Erie enters the 2021-22 campaign looking to bounce back from a 3-18 season, which saw the Storm lose nine straight games to begin last year.

LEC does return its top four scorers from a season ago, with do-it-all player Sydney Wyngarden leading the way. Wyngarden led the Storm in just about every statistical category. She averaged 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game last year.

Aiding the attack for Lake Erie will be Breanna Bauer, who was also a double digit scorer a season ago (11.2 PPG). Bauer also added just under six rebounds per contest in 2020-21. Lainey Billing and Lauren Flannery return as well. Both averaged more than eight points per contest last year.

Walsh is a team many will be keeping their eyes on after a strong 2020-21 season. The Cavaliers finished with a 17-7 overall record and entered this season receiving votes in the initial WBCA National Coaches Poll.
Walsh brings back a wealth of scoring from last year, with Mayci Sales leading the charge. She averaged a robust 18.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last season.

Helping Sales will be Lexie Scarton and Megan Ball. Scarton and Ball finished the 2020-21 campaign just shy of 10 points per game, but both impacted the game in a variety of ways. Outside of scoring the basketball, the duo combined to average 10.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game.

DEFEATING DETROIT
Wayne State opened the 2021-22 campaign with an exhibition win at Division 1 foe Detroit Mercy. The Warriors took down Detroit Mercy 73-66 in overtime on Nov. 4.

Shea Tripp provided the game-tying bucket to send things into overtime, where the Warriors outclassed the Titans 10-3 in the deciding period.

Leading the way for WSU was Kate Sherwood, who poured in 17 points and added four steals. Aiding Sherwood was Sam Cherney, who posted a double-double. She tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Lead guards Alexis Miller and Becca Fugate combined to score 24 points, while the newcomer Tripp was strong in her debut, dropping 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

2021-22 SEASON OUTLOOK
The Wayne State University women's basketball squad enters the 2021-22 campaign looking to build upon a 12-8 overall record and 11-7 GLIAC mark last season. The Warriors bowed out of the GLIAC Tournament in the quarterfinals with a 69-58 loss to Saginaw Valley State.

WSU will look to pick up where it left off last season, with the squad winning four of its last five contests. All five starters from last year's season finale return for the Green and Gold, as Carrie Lohr enters her 11th year as the Warriors' head coach. She is the school's all-time leader in coaching victories. WSU added five newcomers to the roster, including one transfer and four freshmen.

The Warriors will return their top six leading scorers, with seniors aiming to pave the way. Senior Grace George led the team in scoring last year at 22.3 points per game, adding 8.2 rebounds per contest. She was limited to just the first six games, however due to an injury. Behind her, the Warriors have a pair of double-digit scorers in seniors Kate Sherwood and Sam Cherney. Sherwood scored 11.9 PPG, while Cherney added 11.4 points per contest.

Sherwood was second on the team in assists last season and shot just over 89 percent (49-of-55) from the free-throw line. Cherney was a force down low, leading the GLIAC in rebounds (11.9) and blocks (2.6). Cherney was the only player in the league to average double digits in rebounds and had nearly double the amount of blocks per game than the second highest player.

Becca Fugate led the squad with 34 triples last winter, while senior Alexis Miller dished out a team-best 58 assists.

The five newcomers include freshman guard Alyssa Leister (St. Louis, Mich. / Alma), forward Ally Shagena (Fort Gratiot, Mich. / Port Huron Northern), forward Emma Anderson (Menominee, Mich.), and forward Shea Tripp (Jackson, Mich. / Michigan Center), along with Detroit transfer Maxine Moore (Southfield, Mich. / Detroit Country Day).

The Warriors began their season against Detroit Mercy in an exhibition contest on Nov. 4 at Calihan Hall. From there, the Green and Gold will host the GLIAC/GMAC Challenge, where it will play Lake Erie on Nov. 13 and Walsh on Nov. 14. WSU will also have non-conference games against Cedarville, Central State and Ashland. Conference play will begin on Dec. 2 with a trip to Davenport. The GLIAC Tournament will run from March 2-6.

LEADING THE WAY IN 2020-21
WSU tied-for-19th nationally in blocks per game (4.5), ranked 15th in total blocks (90), and 22nd in rebounding margin (+6.5) a year ago. The Warriors led the GLIAC in all of those categories.

Sam Cherney led the GLIAC in total blocks (53), blocks per game (2.65), defensive rebounds per game (7.5), double-doubles (8), offensive rebounds per game (4.3), total rebounds (238) and rebounds per game (11.9).

Nationally, the bruising forward was fifth in total blocks, ninth in blocks per game, 10th in offensive rebounds per game, 11th in total rebounds, 19th in rebounds per game, 26th in defensive rebounds per game and 27th in double-doubles.

Additionally, Kate Sherwood was 13th nationally with an .891 free-throw percentage (49-of-55).

WARRIOR COACHES
Assistant coach Karen Lafata, who holds three degrees from Wayne State, has been with head coach Carrie Lohr for all 10-plus seasons. Assistant coach Christina Green joined the coaching staff in the summer of 2019 as a graduate assistant coach and was elevated to a full-time assistant coach this past spring. Green played basketball for the Warriors between 2013 and 2017 scoring in double figures 19 times.

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Players Mentioned

#22 Emma Anderson: F; 6' 2"; Freshman

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

#4 Becca Fugate: G; 5' 7"; Junior

#32 Grace George: F; 5' 10"; Senior

#2 Alyssa Leister: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

#10 Alexis Miller: G; 5' 7"; Graduate Student

#42 Maxine Moore: F; 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior

#14 Ally Shagena: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

#21 Kate Sherwood: G; 5' 8"; Senior

#23 Shea Tripp: F; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#22 Emma Anderson
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: F

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

#4 Becca Fugate
: 5' 7"; Junior
: G

#32 Grace George
: 5' 10"; Senior
: F

#2 Alyssa Leister
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G

#10 Alexis Miller
: 5' 7"; Graduate Student
: G

#42 Maxine Moore
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior
: F

#14 Ally Shagena
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F

#21 Kate Sherwood
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

#23 Shea Tripp
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: F