Wayne State is 2-1 this season.

Women's Basketball 11/21/2022 12:09:00 PM Zachary Manning, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball Set to Host Warrior Holiday Tournament

Wayne State has won two straight games.

STORYLINES
For the second consecutive season, Wayne State will host a Tournament inside the new Wayne State Fieldhouse. The two-day event begins on Tuesday, Nov. 22 with Walsh taking on Saginaw Valley State at 4 PM and Wayne State hosting Carson-Newman at 6 PM.

The following day, SVSU will play Carson-Newman and the Warriors will square off with Walsh in a pair of afternoon contests. After dropping its first game of the season, WSU has bounced back to win its last two games, each coming by double digits.

SERIES HISTORY
Wayne State and Carson-Newman have never shared the floor together, as this will be the first meeting between the two women's basketball programs.

Walsh and Wayne State have played evenly in the series' first 10 meetings, with each team taking five games. Last year's game saw the Green and Gold collect an 82-64 victory. That spearheaded a run to the NCAA Tournament, which was the first appearance for Wayne State since 2015.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Carson-Newman comes in with a 3-1 overall record and averages 77 points per contest. A main reason for that scoring success early on has been the play of Braelyn Wykle. Wykle is averaging 23 points per contest and is shooting a blistering 48 percent from beyond the arc.

The Eagles have three other scorers averaging double figures, including Campbell Penland, who is averaging 15 points per game and hitting 42 percent of her looks from long range. Lindsey Taylor and Skylar Boshears are also scoring 10 points or more per contest.

Wykle, Penland and Tori Rutherford will play big minutes for the Eagles, as they have opened the year averaging better than 27 minutes per contest. Lindsey and Boshears have started alongside that trio for Carson-Newman's first four contests.

Walsh has earned two wins, while suffering only one setback so far this season. Leading the way for the Cavaliers has been Morgan McMillen, who is averaging 20 points and nine rebounds per game.

Aiding the attack are Abby Hickey and Lexie Scarton. That duo has combined to give Walsh 29 points and 12.5 rebounds per contest.

Defensively, McMillen and Scarton will be the one's to watch, as McMillen leads the team in steals (6) and Scarton is the leader in blocked shots (3).

LAST TIME OUT
The Wayne State women's basketball team had no trouble collecting a victory against Central State on Nov. 19, as the Warriors downed the Marauders 96-55.

Due to lighting issues in the Central State gym, Becca Fugate was able to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead on a technical foul shot before the clock even started. From there, WSU would take a 7-0 lead before the Marauders would get on the board. Fugate had three points and Ashley Bower posted four points during the opening run.

A Bower triple would extend the Warriors' advantage to 10-2 with 5:45 to play in the first quarter. The Marauders battled back to make the score to 15-12, but Wayne State would close the quarter with a 9-0 run that was capped off with a Fugate triple in the closing seconds of the period. That gave the Green and Gold a 24-12 lead going into the next frame.

Wayne State picked up right where it left off, as the Warriors opened the second stanza with a 10-2 run that was punctuated by a Kate McArthur thee pointer at the 5:27 mark of the quarter. A Sophia Karasinski triple would help grow the Green and Gold's lead to 21 (37-16) with just over four minutes to play in the first half.

The Warriors continued to pour it on, as back-to-back layups from Taylor Thompson and Shea Tripp made the score 42-16 in favor of the visitors. Mashayla Cecil nailed a triple with under 20 seconds to play in the first half to give the Warriors a 49-20 advantage. In the closing seconds of the half, Dashanti Miller would hit a layup to make the halftime score 49-22 in favor of WSU.

Maxine Moore opened the third period with a pair of free throws to push the Warriors in front by 29 (51-22). From there, a Tripp bucket would help that lead grow to 31 (53-22) early in the third frame. Later in the quarter, Alyssa Leister would score six straight points for WSU to push the Green and Gold's lead to 67-32. A Thaya Luse layup and a pair of free throws from Cecil would help Wayne State close the period with a 72-37 advantage.

The Marauders opened the final 10 minutes on a 6-0 run, but Moore would convert a three-point play to slow that momentum. A Tripp jumper just moments later would make the score 77-43 in favor of the Warriors. Later in the quarter, Moore would convert another three-point play to push the Wayne State lead to 80-45. After the media timeout, Ally Shagena scored her fourth point of the game with a layup at the 4:18 mark of the fourth quarter. After a Marauder bucket, Shagena would hit another shot to make the score 84-50.

With just over two minutes to play in the game, Cecil found Leister for her 10th point of the contest. On the next possession, Leister would nail a triple to give her 13 points for the game. Down the stretch, Bower would push the Warriors' lead to 42 (92-50) with a triple at the 1:23 mark of the quarter. To close the game, Shagena would notch her eighth point of the contest, giving Wayne State a 96-55 victory.

STARTING STRONG
The Warriors have gotten some key performances, which have helped spark a 2-1 start to the 2022-23 campaign.

Through three games, Shea Tripp has been all over the floor. She leads the Green and Gold in scoring, rebounds, steals, assists and is tied for the team lead in blocked shots.

For the season, Tripp is averaging 14 points and eight rebounds per game, while shooting 49 percent from the field.

Alyssa Leister has been the most consistent player off the bench for WSU so far this season. Leister has played a reserve role in all three games this season, but that hasn't stopped her from becoming the team's second leading scorer.

Leister has reached double figures in all three of Wayne State's games this season and is averaging 13 points per contest on 68 percent shooting from the field.

Outside of those sophomores, Becca Fugate and Maxine Moore have provided a steady leadership presence for the Warriors. That duo has combined to give the Warriors 19.3 points and 12.7 rebounds per contest.
Fugate is shooting 44 percent from the field, while Moore has knocked down 39 percent of her shoots from the field.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
Every regular season home game will be streamed via Warrior All-Access at WSUAthletics.com.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Ashley Bower: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

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

#34 Sophia Karasinski: G; 5' 9"; Graduate Student

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

#22 Thaya Luse: F; 5' 10"; Freshman

#30 Kate McArthur: G; 5' 8"; Senior

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

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

#5 Taylor Thompson: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

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

Players Mentioned

#10 Ashley Bower
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G

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

#34 Sophia Karasinski
: 5' 9"; Graduate Student
: G

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

#22 Thaya Luse
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: F

#30 Kate McArthur
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

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

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

#5 Taylor Thompson
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F

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