Women's Basketball 2/14/2024 10:21:00 AM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball to Play at Lake Superior State and Ferris State

The Warriors will play two of their final five regular season contests this week.

GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State will play two of its final three road contests this week at Lake Superior State and #4th-ranked Ferris State. WSU and LSSU will meet for a 5:30 p.m. tip on Thursday, February 15, in Sault Ste. Marie, while the Warriors and Bulldogs will renew acquaintances at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 17, in Big Rapids.

The Green and Gold are 15-7 overall and 8-5 in the GLIAC with five regular-season games remaining.

SERIES HISTORY
Wayne State maintains a slim 44-42 edge in the all-time series against Lake Superior State, which includes an 87-57 victory for WSU on January 27 earlier this season in Detroit. The win for the Warriors was the 21st triumph in the last 25 meetings against LSSU since 2010. The Green and Gold have also won eight of the past nine against Lake Superior State in that same span.

Similar to the all-time season series with Lake Superior State, Wayne State and Ferris State have played historically close. FSU's 80-46 win on January 25 in Detroit extended its advantage all-time to 43-40 against the Warriors. WSU has won its last eight games played in Big Rapids starting with a 76-72 triumph on January 4, 2018. The streak has improved the Green and Gold's all-time mark in Big Rapids to 20-23.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Lake Superior State has dropped its last 11 contests after a 68-56 win at Illinois-Springfield on December 31. LSSU is 0-12 within the GLIAC, but should not be overlooked. The Lakers defeated Wayne State at home a season ago by 10 (72-62) on February 11, 2023. Lake Superior State is also fifth in the conference in free throw percentage (.750) and was in the top five for a majority of the campaign in rebounding.

Sophomore forward Grace Bradford is the league leader in rebounds per game (9.9), and at 11.7 points per game is nearly the only player in the conference to average a double-double. She was limited to just two boards and two points in the first match-up of the season between WSU and LSSU. Bradford also paces her squad in field goals made (89), free throws made (50), and steals (31). Freshman guard Breah Golden leads Lake Superior State in assists (38), as well as three-pointers made (20). Junior guard Jaden Wilder maintains a .463 field goal percentage and has drained 10 of her 23 triples tries (.435).

LSSU is coached by Brandon Lokken, who is in his seventh season. He has led Lake Superior State to a 32-137 (.189) overall record and a 17-109 (.135) GLIAC ledger.

Ferris State has won its last 10 games ahead of Thursday's contest vs. Saginaw Valley State. The Bulldogs have not lost since a five-point defeat (61-56) at Daemen on January 3. FSU continues to be one of the best teams in the nation, as the team was ranked fourth by the WBCA Coaches Poll for February 13. Ferris State is second in the GLIAC in both points per game (76.0) and points allowed per game (58.7).

FSU has had the same starting five (Kenzie Bowers, DeShonna Day, Chloe Idoni, Kadyn Blanchard, and Mallory McCartney) in all but one game this season. Three of them (Idoni, Blanchard, and McCartney) average in double figures, led by the 2023-24 GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year Idoni. The senior is third behind Makaylee Kuhn (NMU) and Dash Shaw (PNW) in scoring at 16.2 PPG, and has made exactly half (112-of-224) of her field goals. She has a Bulldog-best 126 boards, 38 steals, and 28 blocked shots.

McCartney is the FSU leader in both triples (41) and assists (104), a statistic that the guard is also pacing the conference in. McCartney's 5.5 assists per game is also best in the GLIAC.

The head coach of FSU in his fourth season is Kurt Westendorp. He has compiled a 62-37 (.626) overall record and a 39-29 (.574) GLIAC ledger.

LAST WEEKEND RECAP
Wayne State split its two home games last week against #4-Grand Valley State and Davenport, but nearly won both after falling one-point short (63-62) to the Lakers on February 8. GVSU opened the match-up by tallying the first 11 points of the game over the opening 4:49, and led 22-9 following 10 minutes. Wayne State reversed that trend by out-scoring the Lakers 22-11 in the second period, which put the WSU within two (33-31) at halftime. The third quarter saw several ties (36-36, 38-38, 40-40, 44-44), but Grand Valley State nabbed five points late in the stanza for a four-point edge through 30 minutes. With a chance still to play spoiler, the Green and Gold registered the first seven points of the fourth to move ahead by three (52-49) with 7:09 to play. Despite the advantage, GVSU secured the advantage for good after a three-pointer from Rylie Bisballe. Wayne State had a chance for the final shot and an opportunity to win, but McKenna Ferguson missed a jumper and later turned the ball over.

WSU rebounded on Saturday for a 23-point win (84-61) over DU. A pair of lay-ups by the Panthers' Lillee Gustafson and Jaci Walker put the visitors ahead 4-2 early, but the Warriors countered with eight consecutive points to go ahead 10-4 with less than five minutes to play in the first. Davenport never led again after that point, but remained close for much of the game. The guests out-scored the hosts 20-16 in the third quarter, including closing its deficit to five (47-42) following a Walker three-pointer. Wayne State pulled away after that point by concluding the third quarter with seven of the final 10 points of the stanza, and later out-paced Davenport 30-16 in the fourth period. Becca Fugate led all scorers with 22 points, while managing five of the team's seven triples for the game. Shea Tripp scored 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting, with Taylor Thompson nearly recording her first career double-double with 13 points and a game-best nine rebounds.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS UPDATE
The Warriors currently sit in fourth for the GLIAC standings in 2023-24. Wayne State and Michigan Tech have the same conference ledger at 8-5, but WSU's 61-42 road victory in Houghton on December 9 serves as the tiebreaker with one game left between the two programs. The top eight out of 10 programs qualify for the GLIAC Tournament, while the top four seeds host a quarterfinal match-up. Wayne State will look to secure a home postseason game during its final five regular-season games. Heading into the week, WSU would currently host MTU (the No. 5 seed). The GLIAC Tournament is slated for Wednesday, March 6, through Sunday, March 10.

CLOSING GAMES THE RIGHT WAY
Wayne State's success in 2023-24 has been in large part to the squad's ability to finish games. The Warriors have won all 12 games in which they have led at halftime, with another victory when the game was tied at intermission. That represents 13 of the team's 15 victories this campaign.

In other notable statistics, WSU is 4-1 in games decided by five points or less, which have all occurred in GLIAC play. The Green and Gold have posted narrow victories over Purdue Northwest (76-71), Davenport (85-81), Saginaw Valley State (74-69), and Parkside (66-61) thus far in 2023-24.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Through games on February 11, Wayne State ranks 28th out of 291 programs in bench points per game (26.6), 37th in assists per game (15.4), 38th in field goal percentage (.435), 40th in free throw percentage (.754), and 42nd in steals per game (10.8). Individually, Shea Tripp is 35th nationally in steals (58) and 39th in steals per game (2.64). McKenna Ferguson sits 44th in free throw percentage (.849).

PACING THE GLIAC
Within the GLIAC and following games on February 14 (22 contests), Wayne State ranks fourth in a quartet of categories, including points per game (71.0), field goal percentage (.435), three-point percentage (.329), and free throw percentage (.754). In ball control categories, WSU remains second behind Ferris State in steals per game, garnering 10.8 to FSU's 11.4. The Green and Gold are fourth behind FSU, Grand Valley State, and Parkside with 15.4 assists per contest.

Shea Tripp remains the conference leader in both steals (58) and steals per game (2.64). Kate McArthur places third in both categories (49 and 2.23 SPG), while also second in assists (86) and third in assists per game (3.9). Becca Fugate and Gabi Lutchka are both within the top five for three-point shooting, with Fugate appearing third (.4176 to Mallory McCartney's .4184) and Lutchka fifth (.391). McKenna Ferguson has jumped to third in free throw percentage (.849) from fifth last week.

FUGATE'S MILESTONES
Redshirt senior guard Becca Fugate has eclipsed two milestones during the 2023-24 season. The fifth-year Warrior reached the 1,000-point plateau in the win over Purdue Northwest on January 4, which made her the 19th women's basketball player in program history to achieve the feat. Fugate also became the all-time games played leader at WSU after appearing in her 119th contest on January 20 vs. Saginaw Valley State. She passed Brittany Streetman's 118 GP between 2012 and 2016 for most all-time at Wayne State.

Fugate also needs 24 more three-pointers the rest of the season to become the all-time leader in that category. Her 172 triples sit second behind Brooke Bowers' 195 between 2006 and 2010.

KEEP UP WITH THE ACTION
Every women's basketball GLIAC contest for the remainder of the season will be televised on FloSports (flohoops.com) per the conference's agreement with the streaming service. 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

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

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

#5 Taylor Thompson: F; 5' 11"; Sophomore

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

#5 Taylor Thompson
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: F

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