Women's Basketball 1/6/2026 2:50:00 PM Henry Coyle, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Hoops Continues Road Stretch at Grand Valley State and Davenport

GAME STORYLINES
The Wayne State University women's basketball team remains on the road to face No. 1-ranked Grand Valley State University on Thursday, January 8, and Davenport University on Saturday, January 10. The Warriors enter the GVSU contest with a six-game win streak.

SERIES HISTORY
WSU has faced GVSU 92 times with 26 wins. In Allendale, Mich., the Green and Gold are 9-34 with the last road win being a 78-76 thriller, in which Shareta Brown knocked down a turn-around jumper with eight seconds remaining to cap a 26-point performance on February 1, 2014.

The team's met four times a year ago, with the most recent being an 87-54 loss in the NCAA Tournament round of 32. Alyssa Leister had a team-best 10 points, while Shea Tripp added nine points, nine boards, and six helpers.

Against the Panthers, Wayne State holds a 12-4 advantage, winning the last five meetings. The Warriors are 5-4 at DU, including last year's 76-49 triumph in WSU's final road game of the regular season.

During last year's victory, a trio of Warriors scored double-digit points. Those three were Tripp (16), Leister (14), and McKenna Ferguson (10). Tripp and Taylor Thompson each had nine rebounds.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
GVSU enters Thursday's contest with an unblemished 12-0 record and the No. 1-ranked team in the country according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The Lakers captured last year's National Championship, topping California State-Dominguez Hills 70-58.

MacKenzie Bisballe is the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.3 points per game, making nearly 52 percent of her shots (76-of-147), while leading the squad in rebounds with 72 (six per game). 2025-26 GLIAC Preseason Player of the Year Nicole Kamin has a team-high 42 assists.

Mike Williams is in his 11th year at the helm for the Lakers, helping them to a 290-49 overall mark, including five GLIAC regular-season titles, three league tournament championships, a trio of Regional titles, and last year's National Championship.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Davenport is 3-9 overall with a 1-3 ledger in the GLIAC ahead of its meeting with Purdue Northwest on Thursday. The Panthers topped Lake Superior State 74-59 for their lone league win.

Maddie Geers paces the Panther offense, averaging 12.3 points per game on 47.5 percent from the floor (57-of-120). Geers has hauled in a team-leading 65 rebounds and blocked 12 shots. Nevaeh Williams leads the way in assists with 34.

Shonda Sanders is in her fourth year as head coach of DU, compiling a 19-77 mark. Prior to her time with the Panthers, she spent three years as an assistant coach at Saginaw Valley.

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
After not posting a double-double in the first five contests, WSU has tallied five in the last seven countable outings.

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 three-consecutive double-doubles after posting 26 points and 13 rebounds at Tiffin, 13 points and 16 boards against Findlay, and 14 points and 10 rebounds at Saginaw Valley State.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Warriors' strength of schedule (SOS) is .611 (88-56), which ranks tied-for-25th 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.

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 6.8 PPG this year, while passing her total number of triples made (six) in 2024-25, with 13 this year including at least one made in the last three games. Tubergen is dishing 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 13.5 minutes per game, while passing her rebound total from a year ago with 23 thus far, and has surpassed her total number of points from last year as well, scoring 41 through the first 12 games.

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

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
The Green and Gold ranks first in the GLIAC in free throw attempts (21.58 per game) and third in three-point percentage (35.1 percent), which is 21st nationally.

McKenna Ferguson is 13th in the nation in three-point percentage (42.9 percent), 21st in steals (39) and 20th in steals per game (3.25), while ranking second in the GLIAC in points per game (16.5) and points (198).

WSU is ranked 20th nationally according to the Massey Ratings.

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 on Dec. 6. The junior added a game-best four steals, along with three assists and a trio of rebounds. She has led the team in scoring five times this year.

LAST TIME OUT
The Warriors earned a pair of road league wins last weekend, topping Saginaw Valley State 77-39 on January 2 and Lake Superior State 74-70 on January 4.

In University Center, Mich., SVSU claimed a 5-4 lead early in the first quarter before a 13-4 run for the Warriors gave them a 17-9 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Six straight Saginaw Valley State points shortened the gap to six before a 9-0 run for the Green and Gold extended the margin 15 points with 6:29 remaining in the half. WSU out-paced the hosts 10-7 to close the second frame with a 36-18 lead.

Wayne State out-scored the SVSU 41-21 in the second half for the 77-39 win.

In the contest at Lake Superior State, the Green and Gold amassed a lead as large as 19 points in the third quarter, but a 23-15 spurt for the Lakers shortened the gap to 11 points with one quarter to play.

The Warriors scored nine of the first 13 points of the final frame before the LSSU offense erupted for an 18-5 scoring run that included 11 unanswered points to pull within three points. Three Wayne State free throws and one lay-up for Lake Superior State closed the game, as WSU prevailed 74-70.

McKenna Ferguson scored a game-best 20 points, while Taylor Thompson contributed 17 points and eight boards at LSSU.

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 contests from Grand Valley State and Davenport, respectively.

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