Women's Basketball 12/3/2024 9:50:00 AM Henry Coyle, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Hoops Hosts Davenport and Grand Valley State to Begin GLIAC Play

GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State will look to extend its three-game winning streak as the Warriors begin GLIAC play. The Green and Gold will host both Davenport (Thursday), and top-ranked Grand Valley State (Saturday) at the WSU Fieldhouse. Thursday's game is presented by Fieger Law.

SERIES HISTORY
The Warriors hold a 10-4 advantage in the all-time series against Davenport after winning three in a row and five of the last six. Wayne State was victorious in the most recent competition, winning 84-61 at home on February 10 of this year to improve to 6-0 in Motown vs. the Panthers.

Wayne State trails 26-62 in the all-time series against Grand Valley State having dropped the last 20 meetings. In the most recent match-up (2/8/2024), the Lakers narrowly beat the Warriors 63-62 in a game at the WSU Fieldhouse that was down to the wire.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Entering Thursday's game, Davenport has a 1-5 ledger as the Panthers claimed victory in the team's most recent contest at home against Great Lakes Christian College.

Leading the way for the Panthers is senior forward Jaci Walker, who is averaging 11.7 points per contest while nabbing 3.5 rebounds per game. She tallied a career-high 21 points at Malone on November 23 and followed with a 13-point performance against Great Lakes Christian three days later.

Head Coach Shonda Sanders is in her third season at the helm for Davenport. In her time with the Panthers, Sanders has an 11-51 overall record and a 2-34 mark in GLIAC competition.
Grand Valley State enters this week's competition as the No. 1 team in the nation according to the WBCA (Women's Basketball Coaches Association) and holds a 7-0 mark on the season. Prior to arriving in Detroit, the Lakers will play at Saginaw Valley on Thursday, December 5.

2023-24 GLIAC Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-American Rylie Bisballe is the leading scorer for the Lakers, averaging 13.3 points per game, and has scored in double-digits in each of the team's seven contests this season. Along with points, Bisballe is team leader in both assists (2.6) and rebounds (5.0) per game.

In his time as head coach of the Lakers, Mike Williams has garnered a 247-47 record, and has been named GLIAC Coach of the Year four times (2019-20, 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24). The 7-0 start to the 2024-25 season marks the fifth consecutive year that Grand Valley State has opened a season 5-0 or better (excluding exhibition games) with the largest streak coming in the 2019-20 season, which saw GVSU begin the campaign with 13 consecutive victories.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Forwards Shea Tripp and Taylor Thompson both appear in the top-50 of Division II in double-doubles, as Tripp is tied-for-16th with three and Thompson is tied-for-46th with two. Tripp is also 50th in assists per game(4.4), and tied-for-45th in rebounds per game (9.2).

THOMPSON MAKING AN IMPACT
Taylor Thompson scored 11 points going 4-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. The junior grabbed 10 rebounds as well to notch the second double-double of her career as she helped the Warriors defeat Tiffin, 72-48, on November 23. The forward had an impact defensively, as seven of her 10 rebounds came on that side, while adding two steals.

Thompson has scored in double figures in each of the last four contests and is averaging 8.8 rebounds during that stretch.

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.

RETURNING ALL-LEAGUE PLAYERS
Shea Tripp and Gabi Lutchka both earned All-GLIAC honors for their efforts during the 2023-24 season. Tripp garnered first team honors after averaging 13.4 points per game and leading the conference in steals with 41. Lutchka's 12.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game earned her second team laurels.

Tripp was named to the 2024-25 GLIAC Women's Basketball Preseason First Team as announced by the conference on October 30.

LAST GAMES RECAP
Wayne State claimed victory in its past two contests with an 80-67 win at Hillsdale, and a 72-48 triumph over Tiffin at the WSU Fieldhouse.

The Chargers opened the scoring with a three, but WSU answered with a 12-2 run that saw four Warriors in the point column to make it 12-5. Hillsdale responded by out-scoring the Green and Gold 11-7 to close out the first stanza with Wayne State leading 19-20.

After exchanging multiple buckets, the Warriors were held to just one point in final 2:43 of the second quarter, as the Chargers entered halftime with a 32-31 lead

WSU out-scored Hillsdale 20-19 in the third period behind six points from Alyssa Leister and five from Gabi Lutchka to enter the final quarter tied at 51-51.

The Warriors tallied 29 points in the fourth quarter, the most in a single period this season, to secure an 80-67 victory.

WSU scored 20 points in the opening period vs. Tiffin as Tripp led the way with 10. Defensively, the Warriors were able to hold Tiffin to just eight points on 4-of-12 from the field and 0-of-4 from behind the arc.

Despite another solid defensive performance in the second stanza in which Tiffin was held to four made field goals again, the Dragons were able to knock down each of their five free throw attempts to bump their team total to 22 points.

The Warriors collected four points from the charity stripe and made six field goals to conclude the first half with a 38-22 advantage.

The WSU offense would remain steady in the second half, not allowing the advantage to get below 17 points in earning a 72-48 victory. Tripp (23 points), Thompson (11 points), and Lutchka (10 points) all scored in double figures with Tripp and Thompson each claiming a double-double.

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

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

#15 Gabi Lutchka: F; 5' 11"; Junior

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#15 Gabi Lutchka
: 5' 11"; Junior
: F

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

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

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