GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's basketball team will travel to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to face Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan on Thursday, January 22, and Saturday, January 24, respectively.  The Warriors earned a pair of home GLIAC wins last week, topping Parkside 95-88 and besting Roosevelt 78-50.

SERIES HISTORY
Michigan Tech leads the all-time series 49-22, with the squad's splitting the season series a year ago, as each team prevailed at home.  The Green and Gold is 9-27 all-time in Houghton, Mich.

Wayne State fell 76-67 at Michigan Tech last season, before defeating the Huskies 66-44 in Detroit.  In the win, McKenna Ferguson had a game-best 19 points and corralled a season-high five steals.  Shea Tripp added 18 points.

The Warriors split their two games with the Wildcats last year, topping NMU 61-60 on the road, before falling 66-61 at home.

With Wayne State trailing by two points last year at Northern Michigan, Jaci Tubergen splashed a long-range jumper to take a 61-60 lead at the 17 second mark, that won the game for the Warriors.  Ferguson led the squad with 17 points, while Taylor Thompson contributed 12, and Gabi Lutchka tallied 10.  Ferguson nabbed nine boards.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Michigan Tech is 11-5 overall, including a 5-3 mark in league play.  MTU has won back-to-back games, earning wins at Saginaw Valley State (59-40) and Lake Superior State (68-57).

Four players are scoring in double figures for the Huskies.  Those four are Ella Mason (14.3 PPG), Janie Tormanen (11.5), Alyssa Wypych (11.5), and Soraya Timms (10.3).  Tormanen leads the squad with 6.3 rebounds per game, while Timms is dishing out 4.4 assists each night.
Sam Clayton is in her eighth year at the helm for the Huskies, helping the squad to a 133-80 overall record and qualifying for the GLIAC Tournament every year along with making two NCAA Tournament appearances (2021 and 2023).

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Ahead of its meeting with Purdue Northwest on Thursday, Northern Michigan is 15-3 overall, with a 5-3 record in conference games.  Last week, NMU earned two wins over Lake Superior State (80-61) and Saginaw Valley State (67-51).

Jacy Weisbrod paces the offense for the Wildcats, scoring a GLIAC-leading 16.9 points per game.  Alyssa Hill leads the team in rebounds with 135 (7.5 per game), while CJ Romero has amassed a team-best 71 assists.

Casey Thousand is in her fourth year as the head coach of Northern Michigan and has guided NMU to a 75-35 mark.

MILESTONE WATCH
Junior guard McKenna Ferguson tallied her 100th triple in the win over Parkside, and needs 120 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 has tallied three double-doubles this season including back-to-back road games at Northwood (10 points, 12 rebounds) and Purdue Northwest (18 points, 10 rebounds), and most recently against Roosevelt (25 points, 10 rebounds).

Taylor Thompson notched her fifth double-double of the season during the 95-88 win against Parkside, tallying 13 points and 10 rebounds.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Warriors' strength of schedule (SOS) is .585 (152-108), which ranks 21st nationally out of 298 schools, with WSU's composite schedule ranking 13th nationally (.580, 262-190).

LEAGUE RECOGNITION
WSU student-athletes have earned six 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.

Senior forward Gabi Lutchka earned her first Offensive Player of the Week award of the year (1/19) after posting a career-high 32 points alongside nine rebounds against Parkside, and a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds vs. Roosevelt.

INCREASED PRODUCTION
Senior guard Jaci Tubergen has started 15 of the 16 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 6.6 PPG this year, while passing her total number of triples made (six) in 2024-25, with 14 this year.  Tubergen has dished out more assists as well, with 47 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 15 minutes per game, while passing her rebound total from a year ago with 40 thus far, and has surpassed her total number of points from last year as well, scoring 61 through the first 16 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 then career highs in points (15), rebounds (six), and steals (four).

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
The Green and Gold ranks first in the GLIAC in three-point percentage (36.9), which is eighth nationally, and in field goal percentage (44.5) which is 23rd in the country.

McKenna Ferguson is third in the nation in three-point percentage at 46.1 percent.

WSU is ranked 17th nationally according to the Massey Ratings.

LAST TIME OUT
The Green and Gold earned a pair of home GLIAC wins last week, besting Parkside 95-88 before topping Roosevelt 78-50.

Against the Rangers, The Warriors made 36-of-74 attempts from the floor (49 percent FG), compared to 33-of-71 for Parkside (47 percent).  WSU made 14-of-15 from the line, while UWP went 14-of-19.  The hosts won the rebounding battle 42-36.

Gabi Lutchka led all scorers with a career-best 32 points (12-of-17 FG, 4-of-5 3PT, 4-of-4 FT) and nearly posted a double-double with nine rebounds.  McKenna Ferguson contributed 18 points, five assists, four boards, and a game-high four steals.  Jaci Tubergen added 10 points and a game-high six helpers, while Taylor Thompson notched her second straight double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

In the win over RU, The Warriors shot 49 percent from the floor (31-of-63), while holding the Lakers to 28 percent (16-of-61).  From long range, the Green and Gold made 7-of-17 attempts compared to 5-of-22 for Roosevelt.  Wayne State corralled 45 rebounds, while RU hauled in 32.

Lutchka tallied a double-double with a game-leading 25 points and a team-high 10 rebounds, while posting four steals and a pair of blocks.  Lexi Boyke added 13 points in nine minutes off the bench.  Ferguson contributed 11 points with two rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals.  Emily Homan tied for a game-best with four assists and had a career-high eight rebounds.

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 Thursday and Saturday's games from Houghton, Mich., and Marquette, Mich., respectively.