Women's Basketball 3/11/2026 5:00:00 PM Henry Coyle, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Hoops Set to Face Northern Michigan in NCAA Tournament

GAME STORYLINES
The No. 4-seeded Wayne State University women's basketball team will face GLIAC foe No. 5-seeded Northern Michigan this Friday in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament in Allendale, Mich., at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.

WSU is one of four GLIAC squads to make the big dance, joining Grand Valley State, Ferris State, and NMU.

This will be Wayne State's seventh NCAA tournament appearance and sixth in the last 14 years. WSU fell 91-83 at Indianapolis in 2003. In 2013, the Warriors advanced to the Regional Championship game (Sweet Sixteen) following victories over #18-Findlay (63-58) and RV-Parkside (70-60). The host AU Eagles, who were ranked No. 2 nationally, won the Midwest Regional Championship game 72-63 despite a double-double by Juanita Cochran (15 points, 17 rebounds) and a near double-double by Talisha Bridges (18 points, 9 rebounds).

In addition to the GLIAC teams, the eight-team field for the Midwest Region consists of Northwood and Malone from the G-MAC, along with Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville from the GLVC.

The winner of the game between Wayne State and Northern Michigan will face the victor of the contest between top-seeded Grand Valley State and eighth-seeded Maryville on Saturday, March 14, at 7:30 PM.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wildcats lead the all-time series 40-29, despite Wayne State posting an 84-63 win during the last meeting (2/12/26). During that win, a quartet of Warriors eclipsed double-digit scoring, as Taylor Thompson tallied 26 points, McKenna Ferguson contributed 21, Gabi Lutchka accounted for 13, and Mackenzie Miller had 10.

GVSU has a 67-27 lead in the all-time series against the Warriors, however WSU recorded a 78-77 win in Detroit over the Lakers on Feb. 7, 2026.

Wayne State has never faced Maryville in women's basketball.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
NMU enters the game ranked No. 24 nationally according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) with a 25-7 ledger.

NMU had a trio of student-athletes tabbed as All-GLIAC recipients as Sarah Newcomer and Jacy Weisbrod were voted to the All-GLIAC First Team, while Sydney Whitehouse was named Sixth Woman of the Year. Weisbrod leads the way in scoring with 16.3 points per game, while Newcomer contributed 11.3 points and 2.3 assists per game.

Casey Thousand has posted an 85-39 record in her four years at the helm for the Wildcats. She leads NMU to its third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
Grand Valley enters Friday's match-up with Maryville at 30-1 overall. Paige VanStee and MacKenzie Bisballe each average 14.6 points per game, while combining for just 41 minutes per contest.

SCOUTING THE SAINTS
Marvyille will take a 25-6 mark into the GVSU game. Lindsey Schadewalt averages 14.6 points per outing, while Clare Lueken contributes 11.3 points, mostly off the bench.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The Green and Gold has a 4-2 record in first round contests, including last season's 77-57 triumph over No. 17-ranked Lewis. In the Round of 32, the Warriors are 2-2. WSU has advanced to the Regional Final twice, falling both times. Overall in the NCAA Tournament, Wayne State is 6-6.

LEAGUE RECOGNITION
The league office released its 2025-26 All-GLIAC teams and three Warriors were selected to the All-GLIAC First Team, with two of those also receiving GLIAC All-Defensive Team accolades. Head Coach Carrie Lohr was voted GLIAC Coach of the Year for the second time.

Junior guard McKenna Ferguson, graduate student forward Gabi Lutchka and senior forward Taylor Thompson were all voted to the All-GLIAC First Team. Both Ferguson and Thompson also garnered GLIAC All-Defensive Team recognition.

This marks just the second time in program history, WSU had three First Team All-GLIAC selections. The previous instance was 1980-81 when Liz O'Brien, Stephanie Stone and Monice Thomas were all honored after the Tartars compiled a 13-1 mark to win the GLIAC regular-season title. Lutchka was selected the 2026 GLIAC All-Tournament team.

TOP-RANKED MATCH-UPS
The 78-77 win against Grand Valley State (2/9/2026) marked the first win in program history over a No. 1 ranked team after previously being 0-10.

A TRIO OF 1,000 POINT SCORERS
Junior guard McKenna Ferguson became the 21st player in program history to reach 1,000 career points, doing so with a triple in the first quarter of the 68-67 win over Michigan Tech (2/14/2026).

Graduate student forward Gabi Lutchka eclipsed 1,000 points with a buzzer-beating jumper before halftime of the 98-61 win over Lake Superior State.

Senior forward Taylor Thompson joined the illustrious 1,000-point club during the LSSU contest as well, burying a jumper in the third quarter.

STACKING DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Taylor Thompson notched her ninth double-double of the season during the 94-78 win over Lake Superior State on Feb. 26, with 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Gabi Lutchka has tallied five double-doubles this season, most recently against Ferris State in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals, recording a team-high 24 points and a game-best 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 at Michigan Tech.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Warriors' cumulative strength of schedule (SOS) is .578 (515-376), which is 12th nationally out of 298 schools.

INCREASED PRODUCTION
Senior guard Jaci Tubergen has started 29 of the 30 games this season after being utilized in a reserve role a year ago. The Hudsonville, Mich., product has increased her scoring to 6.8 PPG this year, while passing her total number of triples made with 29 this year. Tubergen has dished out more assists as well with 84. Against No. 1-Grand Valley State (Feb. 7), she knocked down the game-winning free throws.

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 over 15 minutes per game, while passing her rebound total from the last two years combined with 74 thus far, and has surpassed her total number of points from last year with 89.

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

Tubergen scored a career-high 19 points in the GLIAC Tournament semifinal contest against Ferris State.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
The Green and Gold ranks first in the GLIAC in field goal percentage (.464), which is fifth nationally, and first in defensive rebounds per game (28.3), which is 30th in the country. The Warriors are sixth in the country in three point percentage as well at 36.1 percent.

Wayne State is averaging 17.2 assists per game, which is 10th in the nation, along with 77.4 points per game, which ranks 15th nationally.

McKenna Ferguson ranks 26th in career free throw percentage among active Division 2 players (.799, min. 250 attempts), while Taylor Thompson is 49th in career double-doubles with 16. Thompson is also mentioned for recording over 1,000 points and 600 rebounds.

Gabi Lutchka is ninth nationally and first in the GLIAC in three-point percentage, knocking down 40.9 percent of her triple tries.

WSU is ranked 12th nationally according to the Massey Ratings and tied-for-36th according to the WBCA as of March 10.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State fell in the GLIAC Tournament Semifinals to No. 3-seeded Ferris State 104-86.

Gabi Lutchka notched her fifth double-double of the campaign with 24 points and a game-high 10 rebounds on 10-of-18 shooting (4-of-11 from three-point range). Jaci Tubergen contributed a career-high 19 points along with six rebounds. Taylor Thompson chipped in with 18 points and seven rebounds, while McKenna Ferguson added 16 points, a team-high four assists and two steals.

Wayne State shot 51 percent (33-of-65) from the field, while FSU was 39-of-66 (59 percent). WSU made 9-of-25 triple tries (36 percent), with the Bulldogs connecting on 20-of37 (54 percent) from beyond the arc. The Warriors were 11-of-15 (73 percent) at the charity stripe, while Ferris State was just 6-of-12. Wayne State had a 35-31 edge in rebounding, along with a 40-36 margin in points in the paint. Despite WSU having 14 turnovers to nine miscues by FSU, the Bulldogs only led 13-9 in points off turnovers.

LOHR REACHES 250 WITH WSU
Wayne State head coach Carrie Lohr recorded her 250th win at WSU (over 400 wins as a collegiate head coach) with the 94-78 triumph over Saginaw Valley State on Feb. 28. She became WSU's all-time winningest coach when her squad recorded a 76-67 win at Purdue Northwest on January 10, 2019.

FOLLOW THE WARRIORS
All NCAA Regional contests will be streamed on NCAA.com. The Warrior Sports Network will have the audio for the Wayne State games with Kevin Brechmacher on the call. Click the audio button on the WSU women's basketball schedule page on wsuathletics.com.

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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

#42 Mackenzie Miller: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#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

#42 Mackenzie Miller
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

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

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