GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's hoops squad travels to Tiffin University for a non-conference meeting on Tuesday, December 9, in the Gillmor Student Center.  The Warriors began GLIAC action this past week, earning a 77-56 win at Purdue Northwest and an 84-71 triumph over No. 18-ranked Ferris State at the WSU Fieldhouse.

Head coach Carrie Lohr will be looking to win her 400th career game across her time with WSU and St. Clair County Community College, as the 24-year head coach has tallied 399 wins thus far.

SERIES HISTORY
The Green and Gold leads the all-time series 16-9 after posting a victory in the last six meetings, including last season's 72-48 home court triumph.  This will be the first meeting in Ohio, where WSU is 7-5 all-time, since November 2018 when the Warriors won 73-71 on a late bucket by Nastassja Chambers.

In last year's victory, a trio of Warriors reached double figures as Shea Tripp tallied a game-best 23 points, Taylor Thompson scored 11 points, and Gabi Lutchka added 10 points.  Tripp (14) and Thompson (10) each hauled in double-digit rebounds for a pair of double-doubles.  

SCOUTING THE DRAGONS
Tiffin enters Tuesday's contest at 4-3 overall after falling in back-to-back G-MAC contests against Northwood (71-55) and Malone (76-61).  The loss against NU halted a four-game winning streak that included wins over Illinois Springfield, Lake Superior State, Davenport, and Slippery Rock.

Three Tiffin student-athletes are averaging double-digit scoring as Megan Campbell is providing 15.0 points per game, Hailey Unger is adding 14.4 points in each contest, and Isabelle Niederst is averaging 10.6 points each night.  Myka Richardson is posting 9.9 PPG, while leading the way on the glass with 5.1 rebounds each outing.  Campbell is the team's leader in assists with 29 helpers, while Niederst has a team-best 16 steals.

Josh Mason is in his fourth season as the head coach at Tiffin, tallying a 25-67 ledger that includes a 0-2 mark when playing the Warriors.  Before taking the helm, Mason served as the head coach at North Canton's Hoover High School during the 2021-22 campaign and was on TU's Staff in 2020-21 as an assistant coach.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
WSU's strength of schedule (SOS) heading into the FSU match-up was ranked No. 16 in the country with a .690 opponent winning percentage.  After Saturday's competition, the Warriors' SOS is now .732 (41-15), which ranks fifth nationally out of 298 schools. This includes a 2-2 mark against ranked teams/receiving votes - loss to #3-Texas Woman's and now #25 Malone, along with victories over No. 6 Ashland and No. 18 Ferris State.

FERGUSON LEADING THE CHARGE
Guard McKenna Ferguson tallied 32 points (10-of-12 FG, 4-of-6 3PT, 8-of-9 FT) in the 84-71 home win over No. 18-ranked Ferris State.  The junior added a game-best four steals, alongthree assists and nabbing a trio of rebounds.  While on the floor, Ferguson was +28 and drew seven fouls.  She has reached double-figure scoring in each of the team's eight games this year, including scoring 20 or more on three occasions.

IMPACT FROM LUTCHKA
After not reaching double digits in the first three games of the seaosn, senior forward Gabi Lutchka has scored 10 or more points in five consecutive games, including a pair of double-doubles at Northwood and Purdue Northwest, along with a season-best 20-point performance in the team's 84-71 win over No. 18-ranked Ferris State.

INCREASED PRODUCTION
Senior guard Jaci Tubergen has started seven of eight 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 6.9 per game this year, while already passing her total number of triples made (six) in 2024-25, with eight this year.

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 12.6 minutes per game, while passing her rebound total from a year ago with 12 thus far, and has surpassed her total number of points from last year as well, scoring 22 through the first eight 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 free throw attempts (23.3 per game) and three point percentage (36.3 percent).  WSU's three-point percentage is 20th nationally.

McKenna Ferguson is third in steals (30) in the nation, seventh in steals per game (3.75), and eighth in thee-point percentage (51.3 percent), while leading the GLIAC in points per game (18.1) and is second in the league in total points (145).

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.

LAST WEEK RECAP
WSU began GLIAC play with a pair of victories claiming a 77-56 triumph at Purdue Northwest (Dec. 2) before dispatching 18th-ranked Ferris State, 84-71, at home on Dec. 6.

The Warriors led from start to finish against the Pride scoring the game's first 10 points and led 25-11 after 10 minutes.

Wayne State's lead ranged from 13 to 23 points until Taylor Thompson converted an old-fashioned three-point play.  The Pride's Zoe Spellman concluded the first half scoring with a pair of foul shots cutting the Wayne State margin to 14 (41-27).

PNW pulled within 11 on a couple of occasions in the third period, but each WSU responded and led by 17 (60-43) through three quarters.

Gabi Lutchka had a double-double for the second straight game with game-high totals of 18 points and 10 rebounds, along with three steals and three assists.  McKenna Ferguson contributed 12 points and three steals, while Annabel Ayrault chipped in with 11 points and a career-best six rebounds.  Jaci Tubergen dished out a team-high and career-best four helpers.

Against No. 18 Ferris State, WSU opened the game on a 9-2 scoring spurt before a short 7-4 run for the Bulldogs made the score 13-9.  A free throw by Lutchka and a triple by Ferguson sandwiched around an FSU long-range jumper pushed it to 17-12, before Ferris State closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run to knot the score at 17 points apiece.

A 6-1 surge for FSU broke the tie, giving the guests a 23-18 advantage.  A pair of buckets from Mackenzie Miller and Karrington Gordon cut the FSU advantage to one, but triples by Emma Schierbeek and Kadyn Blanchard pushed the margin to seven points (29-22).

FSU caught fire with a 10-2 scoring run to make it a 15-point game (39-24), but Wayne State tallied eight consecutive points to close the quarter, with the Bulldogs leading 39-32 at the intermission.

The team's traded buckets to begin the third frame with FSU leading 43-39.  The Warriors re-claimed the lead after a Lutchka long-range jumper and a Gordon steal and fast-break bucket. A Lutchka free throw sandwiched by a lay-up and triple made it 48-45 in favor of FSU.

Wayne State once more overtook the Bulldogs within a 13-6 run to end the period, giving WSU a 52-48 advantage, a lead that the Green and Gold would not surrender.

WSU out-paced Ferris State 26-17 for the 84-71 home win.

Ferguson notched a career-best 32 points, while Lutchka tallied her fifth straight double-digit scoring performance with a season-best 20 points.  Thompson led the squad in rebounds with eight, while Tubergen had a game-high six helpers.

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.

Brechmacher will call this Tuesday's contest from Tiffin.