Women's Basketball 12/10/2024 10:10:00 AM Henry Coyle, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball Welcomes 8-1 Edinboro

GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State aims to bounce back after an 80-59 setback to #1-Grand Valley State. The Green and Gold will host Edinboro on Wednesday for the first time since 2008. The Warriors traveled to Edinboro for the two most recent meetings (2023 and 2012).

SERIES HISTORY
The Warriors trail Edinboro 2-5 in the all-time series that dates back to 1988. Despite being behind in the series, WSU claimed victory in last year's contest (11/28/23), 78-67, behind McKenna Ferguson's game-best 17 points. Wayne State has won two of the last three meetings, and when playing at home, Wayne State holds a 1-1 record against the Fighting Scots. Prior to last year's match-up, five of the first six meetings were decided by a combined 21 points (4.2 points per game).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Edinboro owns an 8-1 overall record and is perfect when playing on the road (3-0). The Fighting Scots will enter Wednesday's game on a five-game win streak, out scoring their opponents by an average of 17.8 points over that stretch.

Morgan Gentile is leading the charge for EU, scoring 16 points and grabbing 4.7 rebounds per contest, while being held to single digit scoring once this season (five points vs. Kutztown).

Callie Wheeler is in her seventh season as the head coach of the Fighting Scots. Prior to being named head coach, she served as an assistant for 11 seasons. While at the helm, Wheeler has compiled a 93-57 overall record, and has guided Edinboro to one NCAA Tournament appearance (2018-19).

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Forwards Shea Tripp and Taylor Thompson both appear in the top-50 of Division II in double-doubles, as they are tied-for-36th with three apiece. Tripp is 36th in assists per game (4.6).As a squad, the Warriors are 30th nationally among 290 teams in assists per game with 16.4.

THOMPSON MAKING AN IMPACT
Taylor Thompson helped the Warriors to a 1-1 week with the only setback coming against top-ranked Grand Valley State. She nearly averaged a double-double (16.5 PPG and 9.5 RPG) for the opening week of GLIAC play and was selected as the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week.

After scoring just two first half points against Davenport, Thompson recorded four points, six rebounds, an assist, a blocked shot and steal in the decisive third quarter (WSU led 32-30 at halftime). To help seal the win, she went 5-for-5 from the field with two rebounds and a steal in the fourth period vs. the Panthers. Thompson finished the DU contest with 17 points, 10 rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block.

In the opening quarter vs. GVSU, Thompson contributed six points, three rebounds and two assists as WSU was out-scored 25-17. In the second period in which each team scored 17 points, she contributed seven points, two rebounds and a block. Thompson added two points and three rebounds in the third stanza. She nearly notched a double-double against GVSU with 16 points and a team-best nine rebounds, along with two steals, two assists and a block.

She finished the weekend by shooting 56 percent (14-of-25) from the floor and 83 percent (5-of-6) from the charity stripe in scoring 33 points. Seven of her 19 rebounds were on the offensive end, while she also dished out three assists.

TRIPP SECURING DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Shea Tripp notched her third double-double of the 2024-25 campaign in the win against Tiffin. The senior tallied a season-high 23 points and 14 rebounds against the Dragons. This double-doubles marks her 12th as a Warrior.

Tripp in nearly averaging a double-double on the season, with 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest.

LAST WEEK RECAP
Wayne State split its most recent contests, playing host to Davenport and #1-Grand Valley State. The Warriors opened the week by defeating the Panthers 78-58 on Thursday, before falling, 80-59, to GVSU on Saturday.
The Warriors and Panthers exchanged multiple buckets in the first half of the opening period, with Davenport claiming an 11-9 lead at the 5:02 mark.

A pair of free throws by Shea Tripp ignited a 14-2 run for the Green and Gold in which three WSU student-athletes scored to enter the second stanza with a 23-13 advantage.

Two lay-ups by Lexi Boyke and a mid-range jumper by Koko Sylvester gave WSU a 32-23 lead with 3:12 remaining. The Panthers tallied the final seven points of the quarter, shortening the Wayne State advantage to just two (32-30) at intermission.
Lay-ups from McKenna Ferguson and Tripp started the second half scoring, extending the WSU lead to 36-30. Annabel Ayrault connected on the first three-pointer for the Warriors with 0:36 left in the stanza, putting the Green and Gold ahead 54-43.

A Taylor Thompson lay-up with 6:55 remaining in the contest sparked a 12-0 spurt for the Green and Gold, giving the Warriors a 20-point lead (70-50).

In Saturday's contest, Grand Valley State's Abrie Cabana started the contest's scoring, connecting on her first two shots to give the Lakers an early 4-0 advantage. Baskets by Thompson and Ferguson sandwiched around a GVSU lay-up made it 6-4 Lakers.

A 6-2 spurt by the Warriors gave WSU its first lead of the game at 10-8. Thompson, Alyssa Leister and Tripp scored during the run. Ninety seconds later a pair of foul shots by Thompson put the hosts in front 15-13. GVSU tallied 14 of the final 16 points of the quarter to lead 25-17 after 10 minutes.

A Tripp lay-up followed by five straight points from Thompson shortened the Laker lead to just one (25-24) with 8:09 remaining in the stanza. Grand Valley State followed with a 14-6 run to extend its advantage to nine (39-30) with just over two minutes remaining in the half.

A pair of free throws by Ferguson and a lay-up by Boyke brought the Green and Gold to within five (39-34), before Ellie Droste nailed a long-range jumper with 48 seconds remaining to close the half with the Lakers leading 42-34.

The Warrior offense was unable to replicate back-to-back 17-point quarters as they were held to 12 in the third period. Grand Valley State capitalized on this by scoring 22 points, spearheaded by Nicole Kamin's seven. WSU entered the final quarter of the contest trailing 64-46.

After a free throw by Thompson and a triple from Lutchka made the WSU deficit 14 (64-50), but the Warriors would never be closer than 15 the rest of the way.

LETTERWINNERS RETURNING
Wayne State has 12 players that have earned a letter with the Warriors. Alyssa Leister, Ally Shagena, and Shea Tripp have all collected three letters ahead of the 2024-25 season, with Taylor Thompson earning two. The Green and Gold have eight more players that have received a letter. Included in those eight are players that saw time during the 2022-23 season, or the 2023-24 season.

KEEP UP WITH THE ACTION
Every women's basketball home and GLIAC contest will be televised on FloSports (flohoops.com) per the conference's agreement with the streaming service. Brady Beedon and Joe Abramson will handle play-by-play duties for the home broadcasts during the 2024-25 campaign.

In addition, the WSU Department of Athletics has partnered with The PreP for streaming home athletic events for the 2024-25 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

#40 Annabel Ayrault: G; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#33 Lexi Boyke: F; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

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

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

#14 Ally Shagena: F; 5' 11"; Graduate Student

#5 Koko Sylvester: G; 5' 6"; Freshman

#30 Taylor Thompson: F; 5' 11"; Junior

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

Players Mentioned

#40 Annabel Ayrault
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: G

#33 Lexi Boyke
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: F

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

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

#14 Ally Shagena
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student
: F

#5 Koko Sylvester
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: G

#30 Taylor Thompson
: 5' 11"; Junior
: F

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