STORYLINES
Wayne State completed a four-game road trip last weekend, edging Ferris State 64-63 in Big Rapids, before dropping a 72-62 decision at Lake Superior State.  The Warriors will conclude the home portion of their regular-season schedule this weekend, first hosting Davenport at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, then battling 6th-ranked Grand Valley State on Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest on Senior Day.

SERIES HISTORY
In the short 11 game all-time series between Wayne State and Davenport, the Warriors hold a 7-4 mark over the Panthers.  WSU has never lost to DU on home court (4-0), including a 74-35 victory on February 26, 2022, in the most recent home contest against the conference rival.  The first match-up this season ended with a 75-65 overtime triumph for the Panthers on January 14, 2023, in Grand Rapids.

Wayne State trails Grand Valley State 26-59 in the series history dating back to 1974.  With their 81-44 victory on January 12, 2023, the Lakers claimed their 17th consecutive victory over the Warriors, dating back to the 2016-17 season.  WSU's last victory over GVSU came on January 2, 2015, in Detroit, an 89-63 win.  Wayne State is 17-23 all-time at home against Grand Valley State.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Davenport lost a pair of home contests last weekend, first falling to Northern Michigan 73-55, then 63-48 to #24-Michigan Tech.  The Panthers arrive in town having lost seven straight games, and 10 of the past 11.  In that span, their only victory came against Wayne State at home on January 14 (75-65), which is also DU's only conference win of the campaign. 

Leading the attack for the Panthers is forward Lillee Gustafson, who leads the team in several categories, including scoring (14.6 PPG), field goal percentage (.515 / 134-of-260), free throws made (82), blocked shots (29), steals (26), and rebounding (227 / 9.5 RPG).  The sophomore also ranks highly in the GLIAC, placing third in the conference in rebounds per game and in field goal percentage. 

Junior guard Makenna Bryant paces DU in three pointers (36), while senior guard Scout Nelson is the leader is assists (67 / 2.8 APG).

Shonda Sanders is in her first season as head coach at Davenport after spending the three previous seasons as an assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State.  She was a 1,000-point scorer for Central Michigan.

Grand Valley State won both home contests last weekend, topping #24-Michigan Tech 60-43, then handling Northern Michigan 64-52.  The Lakers have been the class of the GLIAC all season, entering Thursday's contest at Saginaw Valley State possessing a 22-2 overall record (13-1 GLIAC).  They enter the weekend having won five straight and 10 of the last 11 contests. 

GVSU has two players averaging double-digit points in senior guard Emily Spitzley (13.5 PPG) and redshirt sophomore guard Ellie Droste (10.5 PPG).  Spitzley paces the team in triples with 43 and made field goals (112).  

Redshirt sophomore guard Hadley Miller is the leader in rebounding (113 / 4.9 RPG) and steals (36 / 1.6 SPG), and is tied for the team lead in assists (47 with Droste).  Senior forward Hannah Kulas ranks third in the conference in free throw percentage (.875).

Mike Williams is in his eighth season as head coach of the Lakers and has compiled a 200-43 (.823) overall record and a 129-25 (.838) record in the GLIAC.

LAST WEEKEND RECAP
Wayne State split its pair of games for a second straight weekend, defeating Ferris State on the road (64-63), before falling 72-62 at Lake Superior State.  The Warriors finished the four-game road trip with a 2-2 ledger to have an overall record of 12-10 and conference mark of 5-9. 

Shea Tripp led the Warriors to victory over the Bulldogs, scoring a career-best and game-high 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting, plus shooting 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.  Becca Fugate finished with her third double-double of the season, tallying 13 points and a game-leading 10 rebounds.  Kate McArthur dished out a game-high seven assists in the triumph.

Against the Lakers, Sophia Karasinski amassed a team-best and a season-high 16 points, including all four of WSU's three-pointers for the contest.  Tripp was the other Warrior in double-digits with 15 points.  She also had a game-best five steals.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Wayne State ranks 12th nationally in free throw percentage (.778), 50th in field goal percentage (.425), and 53rd in defensive rebounds per game (27.8).

Individually, Shea Tripp ranks 48th in the nation in free throw percentage (.843). 

WARRIOR UPDATE
Senior guard Becca Fugate leads a trio of Warriors averaging in double figures at 13.9 PPG.  She also leads the team in triples (40) and rebounds (139 / 6.3 RPG).

Sophomore Shea Tripp follows behind Fugate in rebounding (137 / 6.2 RPG), while scoring 12.9 points per contest.  She leads WSU in assists (70), steals (47) and blocks (11).

Senior forward Maxine Moore has scored 245 points (11.1 PPG) and is the team's leader in field goal percentage (.485 / 100-of-206).  She is the top free throw shooter on the squad (42-of-49 / .857) and one of three Warriors shooting over 80 percent from the foul line along with Tripp (.843 / 75-of-89) and Fugate (.813 / 61-of-75).

WORKING OVERTIME
With their overtime loss 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
Sophomore forward Shea Tripp had another career weekend on the road at Ferris State and Lake Superior State, recording a career-high in points for a second consecutive game with 27 at FSU.  She followed that with 15 points at LSSU, and posted 15 or more points in each of the Warriors four road games from February 2nd to February 11th.  She is he is averaging 15.1 PPG in 11 games played in 2023. 

Senior guard Becca Fugate recorded her third double-double of the season against the Bulldogs, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  In scoring, she has eclipsed 10 points or more in eight of the last 11 contests and 17 of WSU's 22 games this season. 

Senior forward Maxine Moore had a 38-point weekend on the road at Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan (February 2nd and February 4th), scoring 20 against the Huskies and 18 versus the Wildcats.  Additionally, she nearly recorded her third double-double this season with nine points and nine rebounds at Davenport on January 14th.

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 greatly exceeded her point total from last season with 284 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 both games this weekend, with Solae Pope-White serving as analyst for both contests.