The Warriors host Purdue Northwest and Parkside.

Women's Basketball 12/7/2022 2:31:00 PM Zachary Manning, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball Readies for GLIAC Home-Opening Weekend

The Warriors have won five of their last six games.

STORYLINES
Wayne State enters the weekend having won five of its last six contests, while Purdue Northwest and Parkside have won just seven contests combined. The Pride have lost four straight games and Parkside is 2-6 in its last eight games.

WSU collected a 78-40 victory at D'Youville on Nov. 28 before falling in overtime in the GLIAC opener at Saginaw Valley State. That loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Green and Gold.

SERIES HISTORY
The Warriors have pretty much had their way with Purdue Northwest, as the all-time series favors the Green and Gold, 9-1. The two squads had a pair of meetings last season, with Wayne State earning a pair of double-digit victories.

Against Parkside, the series is a bit more equal, with WSU leading 8-6. Last season, the two teams had three match-ups, two in the regular season and once in the GLIAC Tournament. The Warriors and Rangers each took the road contest during the regular season before Wayne State was able to grab a hard-fought victory in the opening round of the GLIAC Tournament. WSU won that contest 70-65.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Purdue Northwest is led by a pair of players that are among the GLIAC's top scorers. First, Tadriana Heard has burst onto the scene after transferring from Morton College. She is fourth in the conference in scoring, averaging 18.9 points per contest. She is also adding 4.3 rebounds per game, while nabbing 12 steals.

Additionally, Dash Shaw has provided a spark to the Pride, as she is averaging 16 points, while playing better than 32 minutes per contest. She is also second on the team in rebounds (4.6) and assists (23).

Though it doesn't have a great record, Parkside features one of the best players in the entire conference in Alyssa Nelson. Nelson is the reigning GLIAC Player of the Year and has proven to be a force early this season.

She leads the team in just about every statistical category, including points (19.8) and rebounds (5.8) per game. She is shooting 43 percent from the field and 38 percent from beyond the arc.

Aiding the attack has been Paty Gallasova, who has registered 10.4 points per game and leads the team in assists, handing out 4.3 dimes a game.

LAST TIME OUT
Last week, WSU was able to split a pair of games against D'Youville and Saginaw Valley State. The Warriors upended D'Youville, 78-40, before falling to SVSU, 72-68, in overtime.

Against the Saints, the Warriors tallied the first seven points of the contest and never looked back. Senior guard Becca Fugate drained a triple on WSU's first possession, then sophomore Shea Tripp scored off a feed from Fugate, before a Tripp steal and dish led to a lay-up by freshman Ashley Bower.

WSU extended its lead to 14-2 on a three-pointer by Fugate and lay-up by Tripp less than four minutes into the game.

Wayne State had leads of eight to 13 points until two free throws by graduate student Mashayla Cecil and a Bower lay-up following a steal by freshman Thaya Luse made it 40-24. WSU led 40-26 at halftime.

A Bower triple on WSU's first possession after intermission extended the advantage to 17 (43-26). The Warriors led 48-27 just past the mid-point of the period after holding the Saints to just one point in the first 6:30 of the stanza. Wayne State out-scored the hosts 17-3 in the period to lead 57-29 heading into the final quarter. Wayne State scored 21 of the 32 points over the final 10 minutes for the 78-40 victory.

In the setback at SVSU, the two teams opened the game with a pair of lay-ups, with Ashley Bower scoring the opening bucket for WSU on a pass from Shea Tripp. Bower then collected an assist on a triple by Kate McArthur to put the Warriors in front 5-4 early in the opening frame. Moments after the media timeout, Becca Fugate extended the Green and Gold's lead to 12-8 with her first basket of the contest.

As the quarter began to wind down, Bower continued the Warriors' scoring outburst by hitting a pair of free throws to push WSU's advantage to 16-8 with 1:35 to play in the first quarter. The 11-0 run would eventually be stopped by Kaitlyn Zarycki, who was able to convert a three-point play to bring the Cardinals back within five (16-11). That stopped a field goal drought for the Cardinals that spanned more than seven minutes. WSU took that five-point advantage into the second quarter.

Alyssa Leister would hit a triple to make the score 29-23 in favor of WSU. On the next possession, Sophia Karasinski forced a Saginaw Valley State timeout, as she banked in a lay-up to grow the lead back to eight (31-23). The Cardinals would close the half on a 7-0 run, capped by a triple with four seconds to play before intermission. WSU led 31-30 after 20 minutes.

Neither team could get much going offensively to open the second half, as both clubs went scoreless for the first two minutes of the third period. Eventually Tori DePerry would give the Cardinals a 33-31 lead on a three pointer at the 7:28 mark of the stanza. Maxine Moore would tie the game at 33-33, stopping a WSU scoring drought that spanned more than seven minutes.

Tripp would add another bucket before the end of the period, but SVSU carried a 49-42 advantage into the fourth quarter. After the media timeout, SVSU would hit another triple to extend its lead to 58-52. Following that, Tripp would hit a pair of free throws and a lay-up to bring the Warriors back within two (58-56) with 2:41 to play in the contest. After a steal by McArthur, Fugate would knot the game at 58-58 with 1:43 left in the game. After a Wayne State turnover, SVSU was able to hold for one shot, but Zarycki's jumper was off the mark, and the two squads headed to overtime.

The Warriors and Cardinals would trade buckets, as Zarycki and Moore both hit jumpers to make the score 65-64 in favor of the Warriors with just over two minutes to play. From there, the Cardinals would score four straight points to force a timeout. The Cardinals led 68-65 with 1:03 left in the period. Out of the timeout, Bower cashed in a three-point play to tie the game at 68-68 with 51 seconds left in the game. After a Saginaw Valley State made shot, the Warriors couldn't respond on the other end and were forced to foul to extend the game. The Cardinals would make enough shots down the stretch to collect a 72-68 victory.

STARTING STRONG
The Warriors have received some key performances, which have helped spark a 5-2 start to the season.

Shea Tripp has been all over the floor for WSU in the early going, as she leads the team in scoring (11.6 PPG), rebounding (7.4 RPG) and assists (4.6 APG), while shooting 48 percent from the field (32-of-67).

Veteran leader Becca Fugate has been a great presence for WSU, as she is averaging 10.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, while shooting 43 percent from the field.

Though only a freshman, Ashley Bower has been thrust into a starting role and has proved that she belongs early on. Through the team's first seven games, Bower has tallied 9.1 points, 3.1 assists and 3.0 rebounds per contest, while shooting 51 percent from the field and 32 percent (6-of-19) from beyond the arc.

A name to watch going forward will be Taylor Thompson, as she has been a spark plug off the bench for the Warriors over the last few contests.

On the opening day of the Warrior Holiday Tournament, Thompson tallied a career-high 13 points, while adding four rebounds in just 14 minutes of action. She followed that with six points, five rebounds and three steals in the victory over Walsh the next day.

NEARLY IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Wayne State sophomore Shea Tripp almost became the third player in program history to record a triple-double, with her incredible performance against Walsh on the final day of the Warrior Holiday Tournament.

Tripp finished the contest with an impressive 13 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. She also tallied two steals vs. the Cavaliers.

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

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

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

#11 Mashayla Cecil: G; 5' 4"; Graduate Student

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

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

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

#11 Mashayla Cecil
: 5' 4"; Graduate Student
: G