Women's Basketball 1/17/2024 1:24:00 PM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Hoops to Entertain Saginaw Valley State This Weekend

The Warriors and Cardinals will play against each other for the first time this season.

GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State will commence a three-game home stand beginning with Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, January 20. The contest between the Warriors and Cardinals is slated for 1 p.m. from the Wayne State Fieldhouse.

WSU will also welcome Ferris State on Thursday, January 25, and Lake Superior State on Saturday, January 27, as part of the home stand.

SERIES HISTORY
Saginaw Valley State has a 44-38 advantage in 82 all-time meetings between the two schools. After WSU claimed six of eight match-ups between January 11, 2018, and February 20, 2021, SVSU has reversed the trend with four victories in the past five games. The lone Warriors' triumph in that span was in a 70-62 overtime win on February 3, 2022, inside the Wayne State Fieldhouse.

Despite the Cardinals claiming a 69-56 victory in Detroit during the last meeting, WSU holds a 21-18 all-time edge at home over their rivals from University Center, Mich.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
SVSU unexpectedly had just one game last week, a 76-38 setback at #1-Grand Valley State. The Cardinals, similar to WSU as travel partners, were scheduled to play at Davenport, but the contest was postponed to January 22 due to inclement weather. Saginaw Valley State is 4-11 overall and 1-4 in the GLIAC, with the league win coming in a 69-49 decision over Parkside.

The Cardinals play rather low scoring affairs. In their 15 games, they average 57.5 points per game and allow 62.1. Their 62.1 points allowed per contest is fourth best in the conference.

Saginaw Valley State's primary scoring threat is junior guard Aleshia Jones. She is the lone SVSU player averaging in double-figures (12.6 PPG), while leading her squad in field goals made (71) and free throws made (30). Jones has also dished out a team-best 28 assists. Senior forward Tyler Scheid leads SVSU with 79 rebounds and shoots the ball effectively to the tune of a .551 field goal percentage (27-of-49). Jones and Scheid are the only two Cardinals to start in each of the team's 15 contests.

Sophomore guard Emma Dziezgowski is one to look out for beyond the arc. She has made a team-high 26 three-pointers on 78 attempts (.333). Other Cardinals' leaders include sophomore forward Lauren Sollom in blocked shots (10) and sophomore guard Lydia Meredith in steals (31).

Jenny Pruett is in her fifth season as Saginaw Valley State's head coach. The Cardinals are 58-63 overall (.479) and 39-41 in the GLIAC (.488) under Pruett.

LAST WEEKEND RECAP
Wayne State was on the west side last weekend at Davenport and #1-Grand Valley State. The Warriors narrowly escaped DU with an 85-81 victory in overtime to start the trip, but fell 81-48 in the second game to the top-ranked GVSU squad. After leading for much of the first 30 minutes inside the DU Student Center, the Panthers stormed back in the final quarter to lead 70-64 in the closing minutes. WSU answered with a 6-0 run, and both teams sank two free throws in the final seconds to tie the score at 74-74. That sent the Warriors into OT for the first time this season. Wayne State out-scored Davenport 11-7 in the five-minute extra time to come away with the triumph.

McKenna Ferguson led the way offensively for the Green and Gold with a personal-best 28 points, while Gabi Lutchka had the first double-double of her career with 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

Grand Valley State opened action inside the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena with a 15-3 run over the first five minutes and led the rest of the game. Nine different players found the scoring column for the Warriors, including Becca Fugate with eight points. Shea Tripp grabbed five rebounds, while Ferguson nabbed a pair of steals. Four players recorded one block each in the contest.

The match-up against the Lakers in Allendale was the second time this season that the Warriors have played the No. 1-ranked program in the country in 2023-24. The Green and Gold also visited Ashland for the season-opener on November 10, when the Eagles were ranked No. 1 in Division II.

FUGATE'S SECOND MILESTONE
After eclipsing the 1,000-point milestone in the win over Purdue Northwest on January 4, redshirt senior guard Becca Fugate has one more upcoming milestone that she can achieve vs. Saginaw Valley State on Saturday afternoon. By simply playing against the Cardinals, Fugate will have appeared in her 119th game for Wayne State. That number will pass Brittany Streetman's 118 games played between 2012 and 2016 for most in women's basketball history at WSU.

WIDE MARGINS
Last Thursday's contest at Davenport was the closest final score in any of Wayne State's 15 games this season. The 85-81 overtime finish was the second contest during the 2023-24 campaign that has been decided by single digits. WSU has won both of those contests after a 76-71 triumph over Purdue Northwest on January 4.

The Warriors have an average margin of victory of 16.2 in its 10 triumphs this season over Malone, CU, Tiffin, Lawrence Tech, Edinboro, D'Youville, Michigan Tech, Findlay, PNW, and DU.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Through games on January 16, Wayne State ranks 25th out of 291 programs in bench points per game (28.2), 35th in free throw percentage (.759), 43rd in steals per game (11.0), 51st in free throws made per game (14.47), 54th in assists per game (14.9), 55th in three-pointers per game (7.0), and 58th in scoring offense (71.7 points per game).

Individually, Shea Tripp is 23rd nationally in both steals (43) and steals per game (2.87). McKenna Ferguson is 62nd in the country in free throw percentage (.841).

PACING THE GLIAC
Within the GLIAC and following games on January 16 (15 contests), Wayne State ranks fourth in several categories including points per game (71.7), field goal percentage (.422), and free throw percentage (.759). The Warriors place fifth in three-point percentage (.328). In ball control categories, the Green and Gold's 11.0 steals per game sit behind just Ferris State's 11.1 in that statistic. Wayne State is also fourth in the league with 14.9 assists per game, trailing FSU (17.7 APG), Parkside (17.2), and Grand Valley State (16.3).

Shea Tripp is the league leader in steals (43) and steals per game (2.87). Kate McArthur ranks fourth with 3.8 assists per game and is second behind her teammate Tripp for the conference lead in steals (35) and steals per game (2.33). Gabi Lutchka is within the top five for a pair of shooting categories. The sophomore paces the GLIAC in three-point percentage (.500), while fifth in field goal percentage. After connecting on 11-of-12 tries from the charity stripe at Davenport and Grand Valley State, McKenna Ferguson jumped to fourth in the conference in free throw percentage at .841.

STABLE STARTING FIVE
The Warriors have used the same starting five (Alyssa Leister, Becca Fugate, Shea Tripp, Kate McArthur, and Gabi Lutchka) in each of the last seven games. WSU has won four of those contests against Michigan Tech (61-42), Findlay (71-46), Purdue Northwest (76-71), and Davenport (85-81 in OT).

In total, WSU has maintained a stable starting lineup through the first 15 games of the season. Fugate and McArthur have started each contest, while Leister and Tripp have made 14 starting appearances. Lutchka has been a key piece to the puzzle. In her seven starts, the sophomore has averaged nearly 10 points per game (9.6) and grabbed 6.1 rebounds per game. That includes her first career double-double in the overtime win at DU with 16 points and 10 boards.

Wayne State's success is not just due to its starters, however. The Green and Gold is also receiving significant help from the bench this season. Carrie Lohr's squad has averaged 28.2 bench points per game, which is 25th in Division II and third in the GLIAC. Grand Valley State is the conference leader with 33.3 points from its bench.

CONFERENCE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Becca Fugate and Shea Tripp have each been named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week by the league office during the 2023-24 campaign. Fugate received the honor for the week of December 4 after averaging 16.5 points per game in the victories against Edinboro and D'Youville, while Tripp was recognized the following week (December 11) for back-to-back 26-point performances on the road at NMU and MTU. Both achieved Player of the Week for the first time in their careers.

GLIAC PRESEASON POLL
1. Grand Valley State (79 points, 7 first-place votes)
2. Ferris State (73 points, 3 first-place votes)
3. Michigan Tech (66 points)
4. Northern Michigan (52 points)
5. Wayne State (46 points)
6. Parkside (40 points)
7. Saginaw Valley State (37 points)
8. Davenport (22 points)
9. Purdue Northwest (19 points)
10. Lake Superior State (16 points)

KEEP UP WITH THE ACTION
Every women's basketball GLIAC contest this season (with the exception of the road contest at Purdue Northwest) will be televised on FloSports (flohoops.com) per the conference's agreement with the streaming service. For the contest against Saginaw Valley State (Saturday at 1 p.m.), Kevin Brechmacher will handle the play-by-play duties. Veteran Tony Ortiz will join the team as a sideline reporter.

In addition, the WSU Department of Athletics has partnered with The PreP for streaming home athletic events for the 2023-24 season. For road GLIAC contests, Wayne State men's basketball play-by-play voice Kevin Brechmacher will provide audio for free through WSUAthletics.com (Warrior All-Access).

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Players Mentioned

#21 McKenna Ferguson: G; 5' 7"; Freshman

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

#21 McKenna Ferguson
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: G

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

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

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

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

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