Women's Basketball 1/31/2023 2:33:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball Travels To Michigan Tech And Northern Michigan This Weekend

The Warriors kick off a four-game road trip at #32 MTU, before playing NMU.

STORYLINES
Wayne State finished off a three-game home stretch last weekend by dropping the final game, 69-56, to Saginaw Valley State. The Warriors will look to rebound this weekend in the beginning of a season-long four game road trip against a pair of formidable opponents, first at Michigan Tech for a 5:30 p.m. tip on Thursday, before matching up at Northern Michigan on Saturday in a 1 p.m. contest.

SERIES HISTORY
Wayne State trails Michigan Tech 20-45 in the all-time series. Ten of those 20 victories came in the first 11 contests, played between 1981 and 1986. The Warriors have struggled in recent seasons with the Huskies, dropping nine of the last 11 contests. WSU's last victory over MTU was a 71-69 decision on February 22, 2018, in Houghton. Wayne State is 8-24 all-time on the road against Michigan Tech.

WSU has fared slightly better against Northern Michigan, carrying a 26-35 record into Saturday's match-up. Wayne State has won two of the last three games and six of the last 11 vs. the Wildcats. The most recent battle between the two schools was the first overtime game in the series with NMU taking the road victory, 56-52, on January 5, 2023.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Michigan Tech split a pair of road contests last weekend, dropping a narrow 63-60 decision at Ferris State, before handling a struggling Lake Superior State team, 66-58. The loss to the Bulldogs snapped an eight-game conference winning streak that dated back to the GLIAC opener at Parkside (86-80) on December 1, 2022. The Huskies hold the second best record in conference play (9-2), trailing only ranked Grand Valley State.

Only six athletes have started a game for Michigan Tech this season. A trio of Huskies average over 10 points per contest, including sophomore guard Isabella Lenz (14.3 PPG), senior guard Ellie Mackay (13.5 PPG), and senior guard Alex Rondorf (10.7 PPG).

Lenz paces the team and is third in the GLIAC in three-point percentage (.423 / 41-of-97), while also placing fourth in the league in assists per game (3.4). Rondorf and junior forward Sara Dax each shoot a team leading 50 percent from the floor.

Sam Clayton is in her fifth season at the helm of the Huskies program. She has an 87-43 (.669) overall record at Michigan Tech and a 63-25 (.716) mark in conference play.

Northern Michigan won at Lake Superior State last weekend (50-34), then fell at Ferris State (72-55). The Wildcats own a 7-4 GLIAC record, good for fourth best in the conference. NMU has shown to be a better road team than home team this season, as they are below .500 (4-5) from the comforts of home court, while winning seven of 10 road contests.

Junior guard Makaylee Kuhn is the only Wildcats' player to average in double figures (15.4 PPG). Even though she has only made four three-pointers all season, she has more than double the amount of made field goals made (120-of-276 / .435%) compared to anyone else on the roster. Kuhn also paces the squad in rebounding (148 / 7.4 RPG), and in assists (63 / 3.1 APG).

Sophomore guard Kayla Tierney leads the team in triples (26), while sophomore guard Mackenzie Holzwart leads three NMU players who average over a steal per game (1.6 SPG).

The Wildcats are led by first-year head coach Casey Thousand. She spent the past three seasons as head coach at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS). She returned to the Northern Michigan program, previously serving as assistant coach from 2016-18 and associate head coach in 2018-19.

LAST WEEKEND RECAP
Wayne State lost its only game last weekend to Saginaw Valley State, 69-56, dropping to 10-8 overall and 3-7 in the GLIAC.

Becca Fugate was the lone Warrior in double figures vs. the Cardinals, tallying 18 points. She also chipped in with five rebounds, while playing a team-high 38 minutes.

Shea Tripp tied for the game-high in steals with three and went 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Hillary Griffin has continued to be a major contributor over the past three contests, racking up nine points on 4-of-8 shooting, three assists, and three rebounds across nearly 26 minutes against the Cardinals. Alyssa Leister finished with a team best +5 rating, while newcomer Gabi Lutchka was a +3 for the game.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Wayne State ranks 26th nationally in free throw percentage (.767), 33RD in defensive rebounds per game (28.7), 44th in three-point percentage defense (.273) and 45th in assists per game (15.1).

Individually, Shea Tripp ranks 41st in free throw percentage (.859). Becca Fugate would rank 21st in the nation in three-point percentage (.432) if she qualified (min. two made triples per game - has 35 made triples in 18 games).

WARRIOR UPDATE
Senior guard Becca Fugate leads a trio of Warriors averaging in double figures at 14.3 PPG. She also leads the team in triples (35), rebounds (115 / 6.4 RPG), and field goal percentage (.506 / 86-of-170).

Sophomore Shea Tripp follows closely behind Fugate in rebounding (111 / 6.2 RPG), while scoring 11.2 points per contest. She leads WSU in assists (57), steals (36) and blocks (10).

Senior forward Maxine Moore has scored 197 points (10.9 PPG) and is the third Warrior shooting over 80 percent from the foul line (36-of-42 / .857) joining Tripp (.859 / 55-of-64) and Fugate (.820 / 50-of-61).

WORKING OVERTIME
With their overtime defeat at Davenport on January 14th, the Warriors have lost three OT games in a season for the first time in program history. They previously lost games in the extra session at Saginaw Valley State and vs. Northern Michigan. The third defeat eclipses seven other years where WSU lost two overtime games in a season.

The three losses in the extra period is a change from the past two seasons, where the Warriors went 2-1 and 3-0 in OT. If WSU plays in a fourth overtime contest, it will tie the record set by the teams of 1990-1991 and 1999-2000.

Of historical note, the program once lost two overtime games on the same day back on January 24, 1976, at the Windsor Tournament. WSU was defeated by Central Michigan 69-67 and by Eastern Michigan 77-74.

BEING OFFENSIVE IN 2023
Senior guard Becca Fugate followed up a 45-point weekend vs. Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech by scoring in double-figures in both games at Grand Valley State and Davenport. Fugate had eight straight contests of 10 or more points, until the Jan. 19th contest against Lake Superior, but followed that with 13 points vs. Ferris State and 18 vs. Saginaw Valley. She has scored in double figures in 15 of WSU's 18 games this season. She is averaging 14.9 PPG and 6.7 rebounds per contest across seven games played in the new calendar year.

Over the last 11 games, senior forward Maxine Moore is averaging 13.4 PPG and 6.1 rebounds per contest. Moore nearly recorded a third double-double this season with nine points and nine rebounds at Davenport.

SKIPPING THE SOPHOMORE SLUMP
Wayne State sophomores Alyssa Leister and Shea Tripp are proving that the second year in college is not a down year. Leister has already scored more points (91 compared to 47) and dished out more assists (19 compared to 5) than last year, while more than doubling the number of made field goals (33 compared to 14).

Tripp has greatly improved her rebounds per game average (6.2 compared to 3.8 last year), and has already surpassed her assist total from all of last season. Additionally, she has demolished her point total from last season with 202 points, surpassing the 143 she scored last season.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
Every regular season home game will be streamed via Warrior All-Access at WSUAthletics.com. Veteran Wayne State broadcaster Kevin Brechmacher will call each home game all season long.

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Players Mentioned

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

#13 Hillary Griffin: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

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

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

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

#44 Gabi Lutchka: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

#13 Hillary Griffin
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F

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

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

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

#44 Gabi Lutchka
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F