GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's basketball team will conclude a four-game road trip this week with contests at No. 3-ranked Grand Valley State (Thursday at 6 PM), and Davenport (Saturday at 1 PM).  WSU will finish the regular season with a pair of home contests on Feb. 27 (Ferris State) and March 1 (Lake Superior).

SERIES HISTORY
Grand Valley State leads 63-26 in the all-time series, including a 31-9 record when playing at home.  The last win at GVSU for the Warriors was a 78-76 victory in 2014.  The Lakers triumphed in the squad's first meeting this season, defeating Wayne State 80-59 for their 21st straight win over the Warriors.

When competing against Davenport, the Green and Gold hold an 11-4 overall record and are 4-4 in Grand Rapids.  The last four meetings have belonged to WSU.  The Warriors prevailed 78-58 in the team's previous contest in the WSU Fieldhouse in early December.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Grand Valley State had won 14 consecutive contests since a loss at Ohio State before Saturday's 79-77 setback at Parkside.  GVSU is 25-2 overall and leads the GLIAC with a 15-1 conference mark.

Rylie Bisballe leads the Lakers in scoring (12.9 PPG), rebounding (5.3 RPG) and assists (59).  Abrie Cabana has a team-best 47 triples, while Nicole Kamin has recorded 65 steals.  Five GVSU players, including Bisballe are averaging at least 8.7 points per outing.

Head coach Mike Williams has compiled a 265-49 record in his 10th season leading the Lakers.
Davenport has won two of its last three contests to improve to 6-18 overall and 4-12 in the GLIAC.

Ellie Toney leads the Panthers in scoring (14.0 PPG) and ranks second in rebounding (7.2 RPG) behind Lillie Gustafson's 8.1 boards per game.  Gustafson also has a team-high 27 blocks, while Nevaeh Williams leads DU with 54 assists and 52 steals.  Jada McCree has connected on a team-high 34 triples.

Shonda Sanders has a 16-64 record in her third season at the helm of the Panthers.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Wayne State has played the 24th-toughest schedule in Division 2 (312-240, .565), which ranks second in the Midwest Region.  WSU will play opponents that have a combined .531 winning percentage (51-45) over the final two weeks of the regular season.  The combined winning percentage of .560 (363-285) ranks 27th nationally out of over 300 schools.

NATIONAL ATTENTION
Taylor Thompson is 34th nationally in offensive rebounds with 3.4 per contest, which leads the GLIAC.  As a squad, the Warriors are 28th in assists per game at 16.0.

Shea Tripp ranks 16th among active Division II players in career steals with 224.

TRIPP GETTING IT DONE ON BOTH ENDS
Senior forward Shea Tripp had an impressive weekend on the offensive and defensive sides of the court.

In the contest at SVSU, Tripp had team-highs in points with 20 and assists with four, while going 7-of-11 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc and 4-of-6 from the charity stripe. 

Defensively, the senior had a team-best four steals vs. the Cardinals and hauled in five defensive rebounds.  Her first steal resulted in a Gabi Lutchka triple to extend the WSU lead to 12-3.  On the ensuing possession she came down with a defensive rebound and splashed a triple, pushing the lead to 12 (15-3).  The forward continued to disrupt the SVSU offense by causing two turnovers on the next two possessions that both led to points for the Green and Gold.

While holding a two-point advantage with less than 20 seconds remaining, Tripp had a crucial steal that helped seal the road victory.

At Roosevelt, the WSU student-athlete tallied a career-high 29 points on an impressive 12-of-16 from the field, knocking down one triple and making 4-of-5 from the free-throw line.  The senior added three assists and four offensive rebounds.

On the defensive side, Tripp poked three balls away and nabbed four defensive boards.  She finished +18 when on the floor.

LAST GAMES RECAP
Wayne State split its two contests last week as the Warriors triumphed over Saginaw Valley State 71-68 before falling 66-62 at Roosevelt.
 
WSU began its game at SVSU hot, leading 19-3 with 3:14 remaining in the first quarter.  The scoring surge slowed in the final minutes of the stanza for the Green and Gold, which led 22-7 advantage after the first period behind a 10-point performance from Gabi Lutchka.

The Cardinals battled back in middle two quarters, out-scoring WSU 47-25 and capturing their first lead of the contest.  SVSU entered the final period with a 54-47 advantage.

The fourth quarter was headlined by an 11-point performance from McKenna Ferguson.  The sophomore made two shots from behind the arc and went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.  While ahead 70-68 with under 20 second remaining, Tripp stole the ball that led to a trip to the foul line where the senior made 1-of-2 attempts securing the win

The Green and Gold made 24-of-47 shots from the floor including 9-of-18 from beyond the arc.  Wayne State grabbed 29 rebounds and had 15 assists.

Tripp led the team in points (20), assists (four), and steals (four).  Ferguson hauled in a team-high seven rebounds, while scoring 14 points.

Roosevelt took an advantage early (5-4) before a 10 point WSU run that put the Warriors ahead 14-5.  Wayne State pushed its lead to 13 (20-7), but an 11-point spurt to end the quarter brought RU within two points (20-18).

A Laker triple began the second period scoring to put Roosevelt ahead by one (21-20).  The visitors regained the lead after a 14-0 spurt (34-21) before the hosts went on an 8-2 run to enter halftime trailing 36-29.

RU out-paced the Green and Gold 19-11 in the third period.  In that quarter, WSU made just 5-of-16 from the field and missed its only attempt from beyond the arc.

After a back-and-forth final stanza, Ferguson tied the game at 62 points each, but the Warriors missed two shots along with a turnover in their final three possessions allowed RU to tally the final four points.

WSU was just 1-of-13 from behind the arc.  Roosevelt shot 23-of-58 (39.7%) from the floor, including 5-of-23 from deep.

Tripp notched a career-high in points with 29, while Taylor Thompson garnered her seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 boards.

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. 

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).