Women's Basketball 3/5/2024 9:15:00 AM Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball to Visit Northern Michigan for GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals

The Warriors and Wildcats will meet in the postseason for the third time ever on Wednesday.

GAME STORYLINES
Wayne State will start its postseason journey on Wednesday, March 6, at Northern Michigan for the opening round of the GLIAC Tournament. The Warriors and Wildcats are slated for a 5:30 p.m. start inside the Berry Events Center.

The Green and Gold finished the regular season with a 16-11 overall record and an even 9-9 mark in 18 conference games.

WSU and NMU will be meeting inside the Berry Events Center for the first time this season. The other match-up in Marquette was held inside the PEIF Gym on December 7, due to issues with the basketball playing surface in Northern Michigan's usual home.

WELCOME TO THE POSTSEASON
Wayne State enters tournament action as the No. 6 seed within the eight-team bracket. This marks the seventh consecutive campaign that head coach Carrie Lohr's squad has qualified for the league tournament. WSU is 3-3 in opening round games, including a 2020 triumph at Ferris State in which the program was also seeded sixth.

The Warriors are 1-2 in true road games, which includes last year's 80-71 setback at Michigan Tech in the first round. All told, the Green and Gold holds a 3-6 ledger in the GLIAC Tournament for the past six years.

During Coach Lohr's tenure, WSU has qualified for the postseason event 10 times in 13 seasons. The team is 5-9 in that span.

In addition to Wayne State (#6) and Northern Michigan (#3), the other six teams to qualify for the tournament were Grand Valley State (#1), Ferris State (#2), Michigan Tech (#4), Parkside (#5), Saginaw Valley State (#7), and Purdue Northwest (#8). GVSU, FSU, and MTU will serve as hosts for the opening round along with NMU. The highest remaining seed following the quarterfinals will host both semifinal games on Saturday, March 9, and the championship game on Sunday, March 10.

SERIES HISTORY
Northern Michigan leads 37-27 in the all-time season series between the two schools. The Wildcats claimed victories in the first two meetings between WSU and NMU during the regular season, including an 81-66 win on December 9 in Marquette, and an 80-74 triumph in Detroit on February 24. Those two decisions have given Northern Michigan three wins in the past four contests with the Warriors.

Wayne State and the Wildcats have not met in postseason action since March 3, 1995, which NMU won 75-67 in Houghton, Mich. The Green and Gold are 12-20 all-time on the road against Northern Michigan.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Northern Michigan split its final two regular-season contests following its visit to Detroit on February 24. NMU suffered a 74-67 overtime defeat vs. second-ranked Grand Valley State last Thursday, but rebounded to handle Davenport by 10 (64-54) this past Saturday. The Wildcats enter the GLIAC Tournament with a 19-8 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the conference. Northern Michigan is fifth in the league in points per game (68.5), and third in points allowed per contest (60.1).

NMU's standout senior guard Makaylee Kuhn finished the regular season as the GLIACs top scorer, as she averaged 18.0 PPG across 27 contests. She also is fourth in rebounding (6.9 RPG) and fifth in free throw percentage (.833). Kuhn leads Northern Michigan in field goals made (176), free throws made (120), rebounds (185), assists (70), and steals (24).

Sophomore guard Jacy Weisbrod is a supreme three-point shooter. She has made 74 triples and her .411 three-point percentage ranks third in the GLIAC. Weisbrod is the other NMU player besides Kuhn to average in double figures. Redshirt junior center Ana Rhude is the team leader in blocked shots with 34, which is 20 more than any other Wildcat.

Casey Thousand has guided NMU to a 34-21 (.618) overall record in nearly two full seasons as head coach of Northern Michigan, along with a 23-13 (.639) mark within the GLIAC.

LAST WEEKEND RECAP
Wayne State had just one contest for the final calendar week of the regular season, as the Warriors played their travel partner Saginaw Valley State last Saturday. However, WSU was unable to snap a three-game losing skid and fell 77-72 to the Cardinals inside the James E. O'Neill Arena.

The Green and Gold started strong by scoring the first five points on a triple by Alyssa Leister and a lay-up from Becca Fugate. Wayne State amassed a 13-4 advantage at one point in the first stanza, and after SVSU tallied four of the final seven points of the quarter, led by five (19-14) following 10 minutes. Saginaw Valley State scored the first six points of the second period, all from the free throw line, to grab a 20-19 lead. Later, the lead changed hands three times in less than a minute with SVSU's Lydia Meredith making a lay-up to start a 6-0 run by the hosts. Shea Tripp scored five of the next seven points to cut the WSU deficit to two (30-28) with just over three minutes remaining before intermission. Four different Warriors scored over the final 170 seconds to put the visitors in front 36-34 at the break.

The third stanza saw the home squad out-score the guests 22-16 to earn a 56-52 edge heading into the final period. Saginaw Valley State led by as many as eight (60-52) early in the fourth quarter, but an 8-0 spurt from the Warriors later in the frame tied the score at 62-62. The Cardinals grabbed the lead with four straight points, and used nine made foul shots in the final 90 seconds to secure the win. Fugate tallied a team-high 20 points in the effort, while Gabi Lutchka collected 12 points and a team-best six rebounds.

HALFTIME LEADS
Saginaw Valley State's 77-72 triumph this past Saturday served as Wayne State's first loss in 2023-24 when leading at halftime. The Warriors had a 36-34 lead at the break against the Cardinals.

WSU was 13-0 when leading at intermission this season, with another win when the game was tied after 20 minutes.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Through games on March 3, Wayne State ranks 28th out of 291 programs in bench points per game (25.9), 31st in free throw percentage (.759), 35th in field goal percentage (.435), 36th in assists per game (15.6), 39th in steals per game (10.8), 55th in scoring offense (71.7 PPG), and 56th in turnover margin (3.00).

Individually, Shea Tripp is 33rd in Division II in steals (70) and 37th in steals per game (2.59). McKenna Ferguson ranks 38th nationally in free throw percentage (.853).

PACING THE GLIAC
Within the GLIAC and following games on March 3 (27 contests), Wayne State remains fourth in a trio of categories, including points per game (71.7), field goal percentage (.435), and free throw percentage (.759). In ball control categories, WSU continues to be second behind Ferris State in steals per game, garnering 10.8 SPG to FSU's 11.2. The Green and Gold are fourth behind FSU, Parkside, and Grand Valley State with 15.6 assists per contest.

Shea Tripp is still the conference leader in both steals (70) and steals per game (2.59). Kate McArthur is second with 109 assists, which is behind only the Bulldogs' Mallory McCartney with 138. The redshirt senior guard is also third in the league in assists per game (4.0), steals (59), and steals per contest (2.19). Becca Fugate's three made triples at Saginaw Valley State propelled her to second in the GLIAC with a .422 three-point percentage. That mark trails only Michigan Tech's Alex Rondorf at .457. McKenna Ferguson's .853 free throw percentage is third behind MTU's Isabella Lenz (.892) and FSU's Chloe Idoni (.870).

TRIPP'S STELLAR WEEK
Junior Shea Tripp came close to averaging a triple-double across WSU's two contests vs. Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan on February 22 and 24, respectively. The forward averaged 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 7.5 assists per game, as well as 3.5 steals per contest.

Tripp began her week by posting 19 points against the Huskies, while also adding six rebounds and seven assists. She then recorded one of the best games of her collegiate career against the Wildcats, as the forward collected her fifth double-double of the campaign with 18 points and a game-best 13 rebounds. The 13 boards tied her season and career high. Tripp finished the NMU match-up with eight assists, which put her two dimes shy of a triple-double effort.

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 WSU's 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 is also second in three-pointers with 180, which is 15 behind Brooke Bowers' 195 between 2006 and 2010.

KEEP UP WITH THE ACTION
Wednesday's GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals game at Northern Michigan inside the Berry Events Center will be televised on FloSports (flohoops.com) per the conference's agreement with the streaming service.

All conference tournament games can be seen on the platform.

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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