GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's basketball squad travels to Midland, Mich., on Wednesday for a 2 p.m. tip-off at Northwood University.  Last week, the Green and Gold earned a 79-59 in-region victory at home vs. Hillsdale College.  Senior forward Taylor Thompson led the way with a career-best 33 points to go with seven rebounds, five steals, four assists, and one block and was selected GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 68th meeting between the two programs, with WSU holding a 36-31 advantage in the all-time series.  When playing in Midland, Wayne State is 12-20, falling 84-67 in the last contest at Northwood in 2023.

In last season's 73-64 home win over the Timberwolves, the Warriors made 43 percent of their field goal attempts (29-of-68) compared to NU's 33 percent (21-of-63).  WSU won the battle of the boards as well, grabbing a season-high 52 rebounds (17 offensive) to Northwood's 35.  McKenna Ferguson led all scorers with 21 points, while Shea Tripp (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Taylor Thompson (11 points, 15 rebounds) each had a double-double.

SCOUTING THE TIMBERWOLVES
Northwood is 3-1 with wins over Saginaw Valley State, Lake Superior State, and Lewis, while falling to Ferris State in overtime.  NU is coming off an 88-70 triumph over the Flyers in which senior guard Maeve St. John notched a career-best 32 points alongside six steals.

St. John leads the way for the Timberwolves, averaging 22.8 points per game, 5.8 rebounds each night, and 3.8 assists per contest.  The 2024-25 First Team All-G-MAC honoree is also poking away 2.8 balls per game.  Redshirt sophomore center Lea Holmes in contributing 20.3 points and a team-high 9.5 rebounds per game, while blocking 10 shots on the season.

Autumn (Haggadone) Hunter is in her fifth season as the head coach at Northwood, helping the Timberwolves to a 73-45 ledger.  Prior to being named head coach, Hunter served as an assistant coach and associate head coach for NU.  Before her time at Northwood, she spent a pair of seasons on the coaching staff at Albion, her alma mater.

400 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER FOR COACH LOHR
Head Coach Carrie Lohr is approaching 400 career wins (397) as a head coach between her time at WSU and St. Clair County Community College (SC4).  In addition, the contest at Northwood on Wednesday, November 26, will represent Lohr's 400th game at the helm for the Green and Gold.

CAREER NIGHT FOR THOMPSON
Senior forward Taylor Thompson was selected GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week (11/24) after notching a career-high 33 points (13-of-22 FG, 3-of-5 3PT, 4-of-5 FT) in the 79-59 win over Hillsdale College on Nov. 19.

Thompson totaled 21 points in the first half as the Warriors led 41-22 at the break.  She contributed seven rebounds and four assists in the victory.  On the defensive side of the court, the pre-season all-conference selection tallied five steals and one block vs. the Chargers.

This marks her fourth consecutive game in double figures, and the 33rd time in her collegiate career she reached double digits.

In addition, this marks the first time in Thompson's WSU career that she has produced four or more assists in back-to-back games, after dishing five in the win at No. 6-ranked Ashland.

INCREASED PRODUCTION
Senior guard Jaci Tubergen has started four of five games this season after being utilized in a reserve role a year ago.  The Hudsonville, Mich., product has increased her scoring from 1.5 points per contest last season to seven per game this year, while already matching her total number of triples made (six) in 2024-25.

After playing in 14 games as a freshman and 17 as a sophomore, Emily Homan has seen an uptick in action during her junior campaign.  The Haslett, Mich., native is playing over 12 minutes per game, while nearly matching her rebounds total from a year ago (nine) with eight thus far, and has surpassed her total number of points from last year as well, scoring nine through the first five games.

EARLY WARRIORS
WSU played its season opener at the D2 CCA Tip-Off Classic on Friday, November 7, at No. 3-ranked Texas Woman's University, which is the earliest game that counts against the team's overall record in program history.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
The Green and Gold ranks first in the GLIAC in both free throw attempts (25.6) and makes (17) per game.  WSU is first in the conference in steal per game with 12.8.

Individually, Taylor Thompson is 14th nationally in free throw attempts (36), 26th in field goal attempts (74), 29th in made free throws (23), and 34th in made field goals (31), while being 37th in points scored at 88.

McKenna Ferguson is third in steals (20), eighth in thee-point percentage (61.1 percent), and 10th in steals per contest (4.0).

FERGUSON BEING RECOGNIZED
Junior guard McKenna Ferguson garnered GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week accolades (Nov. 17) after posting six rebounds, 10 steals and one blocked shot in 61 minutes of action, while also contributing offensively with 33 points and three assists in the loss at Malone and the triumph at No. 6-Ashland.  The honor comes one week after being named to the All-Tournament Team at the D2 CCA Tip-Off Classic.

GORDON RETURNS TO THE FLOOR
After playing in 74 games for Central Michigan University across three years, Karrington Gordon redshirted a season ago.  In her return to the court, the graduate student tallied 24 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists in the two games at the D2 CCA Tip-Off Classic.  Gordon totaled 11 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals in two contests in Ohio.  In the Nov. 19 win over Hillsdale, Gordon contributed 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

GLIAC PRESEASON POLL
1.   Grand Valley State - 100 (10)
2.   Northern Michigan - 87
3.   Ferris State - 84 (1)
4.   Parkside - 72
5.   Wayne State - 66
6.   Michigan Tech - 48
7.   Saginaw Valley State - 46
8.   Roosevelt - 43
9.   Davenport - 25
10. Lake Superior State - 21
11. Purdue Northwest - 13

LAST GAME RECAP
WSU started hot against Hillsdale, tallying 19 of the first 23 points that included 13 from senior forward Taylor Thompson.  The Chargers cut the deficit to nine points after closing the first period on a 10-4 run as Wayne State held a 23-14 advantage following the first frame.

An HC free throw by Savannah Smith pulled the Chargers within eight points, but four straight field goals for WSU made the margin 16 in favor of the hosts (31-15) with just over eight minutes remaining in the second quarter.  

A jumper by HC's Maddy Greene slowed the Wayne State offense, but Thompson and Gordon again scored on back-to-back possessions increasing the lead to 18 (35-17) with just over six minutes left until intermission.

The Warriors scored six of the final 11 points before halftime to lead 41-22 at the break, with Thompson leading all scorers with 21.

Thompson opened the third quarter scoring with a triple before Ellie Bruce (HC) rattled off six consecutive points to pull the guests within 16 (44-28).

A 12-9 Charger spurt made the score 53-40, before WSU closed  the frame on a 5-2 run to hold a 58-42 advantage.

The Green and Golf scored 11 of the first 13 points in the final stanza and out-paced the Chargers 21-17 for the 79-59 victory.

Thompson led all scorers with 33 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.  McKenna Ferguson had a squad-high five assists.  From the floor, the Warriors made 29-of-69 attempts (42 percent) and connected on 17-of-24 (70.8 percent) from the charity stripe

FOLLOW THE WARRIORS
All Wayne State home contests and road GLIAC games will be streamed on FloSports (flohoops.com).  

For road GLIAC contests, Wayne State men's basketball play-by-play voice Kevin Brechmacher will provide audio for free through the Warrior Sports Network.  Click the audio button on the WSU women's basketball schedule page on wsuathletics.com.