Women's Basketball 1/27/2026 4:50:00 PM Henry Coyle, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Hoops Hosts Purdue Northwest Before Heading to Ferris State

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's hoops squad is ready for a home-road split with Purdue University Northwest and #21-Ferris State University this weekend. The Warriors will host the Pride on Thursday, January 29, before traveling to Big Rapids, Mich., for a meeting with the Bulldogs on Saturday, January 31.

SERIES HISTORY
The Green and Gold is 16-1 all-time when facing PNW, including a flawless 7-0 mark in Detroit. Head Coach Carrie Lohr became WSU's all-time winningest coach following a 76-67 win at Purdue Northwest on January 10, 2019.

Wayne State earned a 77-56 win during its last meeting with the Pride, as the squad led wire-to-wire behind a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) from senior forward Gabi Lutchka.

The Warriors trail 42-45 in the series with FSU, and are 20-25 on the road. When WSU hosted the Bulldogs earlier this year, junior guard McKenna Ferguson scored a career-high 32 points to lead the hosts past Ferris State 84-71.

SCOUTING THE PRIDE
PNW holds a 3-15 overall ledger, with a 1-8 record on the road, with the lone away win being a 70-66 triumph at Lake Superior State. Purdue Northwest is aiming to halt a seven-game losing skid.

A quartet of PNW student-athletes are scoring over 10 points per game. The four are Alyssa Cole (13.6 PPG), Ciara Sims (10.9), Riley Milausnic (10.6), and Cameryn Phillips (10.3). Cole is the team's leading rebounder with 124 this year (6.9 per game) and is second in assists (39) behind Phillips (60).

Jesse Ford is in year two with the Pride, helping the team to a 9-37 mark. Prior to taking the helm in Hammond, Ind., Ford spent three seasons as the head coach at Indiana Northwest, collecting a 60-31 record and an appearance in the NAIA National Tournament.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Ferris State is 15-4 overall, with an 8-2 record in the conference. FSU has won its last two games, and eight of its last nine contests.

Kadyn Blanchard is the team's leading scorer at 16.2 points per game and has a team-high 81 assists. Mia Riley adds 14.9 PPG, while Mya Hiram is grabbing a squad-best 6.7 boards per game.

Kurt Westendorp is in his sixth season with the Bulldogs, helping them to a 107-57 record and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including a trip to the National Semifinals during the 2023-24 campaign.

HOME SWEET HOME
After playing 13-of-18 games on the road this year, WSU will be at home for seven of the final 10 contests. When playing in the WSU Fieldhouse, the Green and Gold is 5-0.

MILESTONE WATCH
Junior guard McKenna Ferguson is 91 points away from becoming the 21st player in program history to eclipse 1,000.

Senior forward Taylor Thompson will play her 100th game as a Warrior this Saturday at Ferris State, and is 141 points away from 1,000 in her 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.

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 sixth double-double of the season during the 86-83 win at Michigan Tech, tallying 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Jaci Tubergen joined the double-double party, notching her first with a career-high 14 points and 10 rebounds during the 86-83 win over the Huskies.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Warriors' strength of schedule (SOS) is .609 (199-128), which ranks fourth nationally out of 298 schools, with WSU's composite schedule ranking 11th nationally (.580, 290-210).

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 17 of the 18 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 7.0 PPG this year, while passing her total number of triples made (six) in 2024-25, with 16 this year. Tubergen has dished out more assists as well, with 50 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 nearly 15 minutes per game, while passing her rebound total from a year ago with 44 thus far, and has surpassed her total number of points from last year as well, scoring 68 through the first 18 games.

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

Tubergen tallied her first-career double-double during the team's 86-83 victory at Michigan Tech, with a career-high in points (14) and rebounds (10).

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
The Green and Gold ranks first in the GLIAC in field goal percentage (.444), which is 18th nationally, and defensive rebounds per game (27.6), which is 56th in the country.

McKenna Ferguson is fifth in the nation in three-point percentage at 45.9 percent.

WSU is ranked 16th nationally according to the Massey Ratings.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State split a pair of road games in the Upper Peninsula last week, beating Michigan Tech 86-83 on Jan. 22 before falling 91-71 at #16-Northern Michigan on Jan. 24.

Four players scored in double figures in Houghton for the Warriors, with McKenna Ferguson (21), Gabi Lutchka (18), Jaci Tubergen (14), and Taylor Thompson (11) each eclipsing that mark. Tubergen and Thompson had 10 rebounds apiece for a pair of double-doubles.

The Warriors shot 46.2 percent from the field (30-of-65), including 40 percent from deep (10-of-25), compared to 40.3 percent from the floor (27-of-67) and 39.3 percent from behind the arc (11-of-28) for the Huskies.

Thompson was the only WSU student-athlete to score in double figures during the team's 91-71 falter at Northern Michigan, with a game-high 27 points.

Wayne State was held to 40 percent from the floor (26-of-65) and 31.8 percent from three-point range (7-of-22). NMU seemingly couldn't miss from long range, splashing 15-of-23 attempts (65.2 percent). Overall, the Wildcats shot 57.9 percent from the field (33-of-57).

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 and Kevin Brechmacher will call Thursday's contest, while Brechmacher will be on the call Saturday from Big Rapids.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#15 Gabi Lutchka: F; 5' 11"; Graduate Student

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#15 Gabi Lutchka
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student
: F

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

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