Women's Basketball 2/7/2023 5:41:00 PM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Basketball Visits Ferris State and Lake Superior To Conclude Four-Game Road Trip

Wayne State looks to maintain winning record on the season.

STORYLINES
Wayne State began a four-game road trip last weekend and split the pair of contests, falling 80-70 at Michigan Tech, before salvaging the weekend with a 69-64 victory at Northern Michigan. The Warriors will finish their road trip this weekend by visiting Ferris State at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, then heading north and playing Lake Superior State on Saturday for a 1 p.m. tip.

SERIES HISTORY
The Warriors trail Ferris State 39-42 in the all-time series. WSU won 58-55 in Detroit three weeks ago in the first meeting of the season. The January 21st victory was the seventh in the last 10 meetings for the Warriors. Wayne State has dominated Ferris State in Big Rapids, winning the last seven contests in Big Rapids. WSU's last road loss at FSU came in an 83-80 setback on January 21, 2017.

Wayne State holds a modest 43-41 edge in the all-time series against Lake Superior State. However, the Warriors have won the last seven meetings after narrowly defeating the Lakers by a 53-52 score in the first match-up of the season. LSSU's last victory over WSU was on December 7, 2019, a 48-34 win in Sault Ste. Marie. In fact, all three of Wayne State's losses to Lake Superior State since the 2010-11 season have come on the road.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Ferris State split a pair of contests on the road last weekend, dropping a 79-66 decision at Parkside but recovering and claiming a six-point triumph (74-68) at Purdue Northwest. The Bulldogs have won three of their last four games after losing three straight prior to the stretch. FSU has the same record at home (7-4) as they do on the road.

The Bulldogs possess one of the most prolific scorers in the GLIAC (and country) in senior forward Chloe Idoni. She ranks third in the conference and 16th in the nation in scoring at 19.2 PPG. Not only that, but Idoni leads Ferris State in a number of other categories, including field goal percentage (.497 / 149-of-300), rebounding (170 / 7.7 RPG), and free throws made (105).

Aiding in the attack is senior Mallory McCartney. The guard is a supreme facilitator of the basketball, as she paces the GLIAC and is eighth in the country in assists (128). Her 5.8 assists per game ranks sixth in the nation. McCartney also leads the Bulldogs in triples (48).

FSU is led by Kurt Westendorp, who is in his second season as head coach after spending the previous four seasons as head coach of NAIA member William Jessup University in Rocklin, Calif. Westendorp has a 36-18 (.647) overall record with the Bulldogs, including a 20-13 (.606) GLIAC ledger.

Lake Superior State lost both of its contests last weekend, first a close 90-85 loss in overtime at Purdue Northwest, then falling 109-68 at Parkside. The Lakers have lost six in a row heading into Thursday's home game with Saginaw Valley State. LSSU's last triumph was a 78-65 win over Purdue Northwest at home on Jan. 14. The Lakers are respectable at home, however, carrying a 5-4 record.

The LSSU squad is primarily led by three players in senior forward Mattison Rayman, freshman forward Grace Bradford and senior guard Margot Woughter.

Rayman and Bradford clean-up the glass unlike any other duo in the GLIAC, as they are first and second in rebounding (225 / 10.7 RPG for Rayman, 203 / 9.7 for Bradford). Both are in the top 30 nationally in rebounds per game.

Rayman is also the team's leading scorer (16.0 PPG). Woughter paces the Lakers with 30 three-pointers and 70 assists, and is tied with Bradford with a team-best 24 steals.

In his sixth season as head coach of Lake Superior State, Brandon Lokken has compiled a 29-114 (.203) overall record and a 15-94 (.138) mark in the GLIAC.

LAST WEEKEND RECAP
Wayne State finished the most recent weekend 1-1, losing on the road at Michigan Tech, 80-70, but defeating Northern Michigan 69-64 in Marquette. The Warriors have an overall record of 11-9 overall and a 4-8 mark in the GLIAC.

Against the Huskies, senior Maxine Moore paced the team with 20 points, leading a trio of Warriors who scored over 15 points, including senior Becca Fugate (19) and sophomore Shea Tripp (15). Tripp nearly had her fourth double-double of the season, finishing a rebound shy with nine for the contest. Fugate made five of WSU's nine triples. Senior Kate McArthur finished with a game-high three steals.

The Warriors grabbed a late lead from the Wildcats in the fourth quarter and never looked back for the victory. Tripp recorded a game-high and career-best 25 points, going a strong 9-of-13 shooting and connecting on 5-of-6 attempts from the charity stripe. Moore finished with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while graduate student Sophia Karasinski made half of WSU's triples for (3 of the 6) in the game.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Wayne State ranks 24th nationally in free throw percentage (.769) and 47th in defensive rebounds per game (28.0).

Individually, Becca Fugate ranks 38th in the nation in three-point percentage (.408) as she now qualifies for the statistic.

WARRIOR UPDATE
Senior guard Becca Fugate leads a trio of Warriors averaging in double figures at 14.2 PPG. She also leads the team in triples (40), rebounds (126 / 6.3 RPG), and field goal percentage (.487 / 94-of-193).

Sophomore Shea Tripp follows closely behind Fugate in rebounding (123 / 6.2 RPG), while scoring 12.1 points per contest. She leads WSU in assists (63), steals (40) and blocks (10).

Senior forward Maxine Moore has scored 235 points (11.8 PPG) and is the team's leading free throw shooter (42-of-49 / .857) and one of three Warriors shooting over 80 percent from the foul line along with Tripp (.844 / 65-of-77) and Fugate (.812 / 56-of-69).

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
Senior forward Maxine Moore had a 38-point weekend on the road at Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan, scoring 20 against the Huskies and 18 versus the Wildcats. Over the nine games played in 2023, she is averaging 12.3 PPG and 5.0 rebounds per contest. Additionally, Moore nearly recorded her third double-double this season with nine points and nine rebounds at Davenport on January 14th.

Senior guard Becca Fugate has scored in double-figures in 11 of the last 13 contests, including a 19-point outing at Michigan Tech. She has scored in double figures in 16 of WSU's 20 games this season. She is averaging 14.6 PPG and 6.4 rebounds per contest across nine games played in the new calendar year.

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 242 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

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

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