Women's Basketball 1/13/2026 3:00:00 PM Henry Coyle, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball to Host Parkside and Roosevelt

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's basketball squad returns to the WSU Fieldhouse to host the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Roosevelt University after a four-game road stretch. The team split its last two games, dropping a one-point decision at top-ranked Grand Valley State before topping Davenport.

SERIES HISTORY
The Warriors and Rangers have faced each other 21 times, with WSU holding an 11-10 edge in the all-time series. The Green and Gold has a 6-6 mark at home vs. the Rangers, including a 1-3 record in the last four match-ups at the WSU Fieldhouse.

The squad's met in the GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals a year ago, with WSU prevailing 65-52 behind 22 points and 12 rebounds from Shea Tripp. McKenna Ferguson added 12 points with seven helpers and three steals.

Wayne State played its first two games against Roosevelt last year, splitting the inaugural season series as both team's captured home court victories.

In the most recent meeting, the Warriors fell 66-62 despite 29 points and eight rebounds from Tripp, and a double-double (10 points, 13 boards) from Taylor Thompson. The Lakers had four student-athletes score in double digits.

SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Parkside is 7-7 overall with a 2-4 mark in the GLIAC, winning its last two contests. The Rangers earned wins over Lake Superior State (90-60) and Saginaw Valley State (79-66) at home last week.

Katie Hamill leads the UWP offense, with 15.4 points per game. Cassidy Arni is second on the team in scoring, with 13.1 points per contest. Lillie Petersen is hauling in 7.7 rebounds each night and contributes 10.6 PPG. Peighton Nelson has dished out a team-high 67 assists, nearly posting a double-double in the Jan. 5 loss at Ferris State with 18 points and nine assists.

Jen Conely is in her eighth campaign with Parkside, and has helped the Rangers to a 113-93 ledger.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Roosevelt enters its contest at Purdue Northwest with a 3-10 overall record, including a 2-4 mark in league play.

Kelly Boyle and Isabella Pitta each contribute 12.5 points per game, with Pitta grabbing a team-best 129 rebounds and Boyle posting a squad-leading 44 assists. Marie Outlay is scoring 11.2 PPG and has hauled in 96 boards (7.4 RPG).

Deon Thomas is in his fourth season as head coach of the Lakers, guiding the team to a 43-53 overall ledger and a GLIAC Tournament appearance in its first year in the league.

MILESTONE WATCH
Junior guard McKenna Ferguson is one three pointer away from 100 career triples, and needs 149 points to become the 21st WSU women's hoops player to eclipse 1,000 in a career.

LOHR REACHES 400
Wayne State head coach Carrie Lohr earned her 400th collegiate head coaching victory with WSU's 78-66 win at Tiffin on December 9. This includes nine years at St. Clair County Community College (SC4) and 15 seasons with the Warriors.

She became Wayne State's winningest coach (win #127) after a 76-67 triumph at Purdue Northwest on January 10, 2019.

STACKING DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Gabi Lutchka had the first two of the season in back-to-back games at Northwood (10 points, 12 rebounds) and Purdue Northwest (18 points, 10 rebounds).

Taylor Thompson notched her fourth of the season during the 68-59 win at Davenport, tallying a game-best 23 points and 11 boards.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Warriors' strength of schedule (SOS) is .609 (124-79), which ranks 18th nationally out of 298 schools, with WSU's composite schedule ranking 16th nationally (.579, 232-169).

LEAGUE RECOGNITION
WSU student-athletes have earned five GLIAC Player of the Week Awards thus far in the 2025-26 campaign.

Junior guard McKenna Ferguson has garnered two, with her most recent coming on the offensive end of the court (12/8) after tallying 12 points and two assists at Purdue Northwest, and a career-best 32 points along with four steals, three assists, and three rebounds against #18-Ferris State.

Senior forward Taylor Thompson has been recognized three times, earning Defensive Player of the Week honors (1/5) after notching her third-consecutive double-double with 14 points and 10 boards at Saginaw Valley State and recording eight rebounds, four steals, and two blocks at Lake Superior State.

INCREASED PRODUCTION
Senior guard Jaci Tubergen has started 11 of the 12 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 6.4 PPG this year, while passing her total number of triples made (six) in 2024-25, with 13 this year. Tubergen has dished out more assists as well, with 31 so far.

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 14.1 minutes per game, while passing her rebound total from a year ago with 29 thus far, and has surpassed her total number of points from last year as well, scoring 56 through the first 14 games.

Both produced impactful scoring performances in the 66-58 win over Findlay on Dec. 20, as Tubergen tallied a career-high 13 points, while Homan notched 11, including the game-sealing triple.

At #1-Grand Valley State on Jan. 8, Homan notched career highs in points (15), rebounds (six), and steals (four).

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
The Green and Gold ranks first in the GLIAC in field goal percentage (43.83) which is 29th in the country, and second in three-point percentage (35.9 percent), which is 14th nationally.

McKenna Ferguson is fifth in the nation in three-point percentage (47.1 percent) and 40th in three pointers made per game (2.36), while ranking first in the GLIAC in points per game (16.5).

WSU is ranked 18th nationally according to the Massey Ratings.

LAST TIME OUT
The Green and Gold split its last two games, falling 81-80 at #1-Grand Valley State, before triumphing 68-59 at Davenport.

At GVSU, Wayne State found itself trailing 17-9 in the first quarter before a 15-7 scoring run knotted the game at 24 points apiece after the first stanza.

The Warriors and Lakers continued to exchange blows as neither squad gained an advantage of more than six points in the second quarter, with WSU holding a 35-34 lead entering the halftime intermission.

WSU extended the margin to 10 points, but Grand Valley State out-paced the Warriors 19-13 for a 63-59 Wayne State lead.

The top-ranked squad in the nation out-scored the guests 22-17 to close the game.

At Davenport, Wayne State once again found itself in a hole, trailing as much as 11 points (30-19) with 3:52 remaining in the second quarter.

The Warriors rallied to tie the contest at 36-36 after a 17-6 run capped by a McKenna Ferguson triple, before a 12-8 run for the Panthers put the hosts ahead 48-44 with one frame left to play.

The Green and Gold erupted in the final stanza, out-pacing DU 24-11 to capture the road victory.

Taylor Thompson secured her fourth double-double of the season after posting game-highs in points (23) and rebounds (11).

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.

Brady Beedon will call Thursday and Saturday's contests from the WSU Fieldhouse with Kevin Brechmacher joining on Thursday and Tony Ortiz on Saturday.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

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

#22 Emily Homan: G; 6' 0"; Junior

#15 Gabi Lutchka: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#30 Taylor Thompson: F; 6' 0"; Senior

#3 Jaci Tubergen: G; 5' 11"; Senior

Players Mentioned

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

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

#22 Emily Homan
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

#15 Gabi Lutchka
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#30 Taylor Thompson
: 6' 0"; Senior
: F

#3 Jaci Tubergen
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G