Women's Basketball 3/2/2026 3:05:00 PM Henry Coyle, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball to Host Roosevelt in GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals

GAME STORYLINES
The post season is here, as the Wayne State University women's basketball team plays host to Roosevelt University in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament on Wednesday, March 4. The Warriors secured the No. 2 seed after the squad's 94-78 triumph this past Saturday over Saginaw Valley State on Senior Day.

The 17 conference wins this year are tied-for-second in program history, having tallied 18 during the 2014-15 campaign, and 17 in back-to-back seasons prior to that in 2012-13 and 2013-14. The conference winning percentage of 85 percent (17-3) is the highest for a WSU squad since the 1980-81 season, when the team went 13-1 in league play (93 percent). The best winning percentage happened the year prior (1979-80) when the Tartars won all 10 of their conference games.

This marks the ninth straight season head coach Carrie Lohr's squad has qualified for the GLIAC Tournament. WSU is 4-4 in opening round games dating back to 2018, including last season's 65-52 win over Parkside. The Warriors are 6-3 in true home games in the GLIAC Tournament under Lohr. All told, Wayne State is 4-8 in the GLIAC Tournament in the last eight years.

During Coach Lohr's tenure, WSU has qualified for the GLIAC Tournament 12 times in 15 seasons with a 6-11 record heading into the 2026 league tournament.

SERIES HISTORY
Wayne State is 3-1 against the Lakers, winning both contests this season and both matches that have been played in Detroit.

The Warriors last saw action against RU on February 19, earning a 94-73 win at Roosevelt. Gabi Lutchka led all scorers during the triumph, tallying 28 points (10-of-14 FG, 5-of-6 3PT, 3-of-3 FT) to go with eight boards and a pair of steals. Taylor Thompson contributed a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
RU enters the GLIAC Tournament as the No. 7-seed after compiling an 8-19 overall ledger that includes a 7-13 mark in GLIAC games.

The Lakers have three players that have made at least 100 field goals this year. Those three are Marie Outlay (101), Kelly Boyle (100), and Isabella Pitta (100). Outlay paces the squad with 12.3 points per game, while Boyle adds 12.0 and Pitta contributes 11.0. Pitta is second in the league with 8.2 rebounds per contest, while Boyle has dished out a squad-best 76 assists. Outlay leads the squad in steals (114) and blocks (40).

Deon Thomas is in his fourth season at the helm for RU, posting a 48-62 record and guiding the Lakers to their second consecutive GLIAC Tournament appearance.

DEFENDING HOME COURT
The Warriors finished the regular season undefeated at home this year for the first time in school history. WSU posted an unblemished 12-0 record when playing at the WSU Fieldhouse.

WINNING STREAK
Wayne State's current eight-game winning streak is the longest since the 2014-15 season. During the 2014-15 campaign, the Warriors won 10 consecutive contests (12/15/14-1/22/15) as part of a stretch that featured 16 wins in 17 outings for a squad that equaled the school record with a 23-win campaign.

TOP-RANKED MATCH-UPS
The 78-77 win against Grand Valley State (2/9/2026) marked the first win over a No. 1 ranked team in program history 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 became the 22nd player in WSU women's basketball history to eclipse 1,000 points, doing so 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 four double-doubles this season, most recently against Michigan Tech (16 points, 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 .567 (435-332), which is 11th nationally out of 298 schools.

LEAGUE RECOGNITION
WSU student-athletes earned eight GLIAC Player of the Week Awards during the 2025-26 campaign.

Junior guard McKenna Ferguson garnered three, with her most recent coming on the offensive end of the court (2/16) after tallying 21 points and two assists against #12-Northern Michigan, and a game-high 19 points during the win over Michigan Tech.

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 second Offensive Player of the Week award of the year (3/2) after posting a game-high 20 points, along with eight rebounds, and a game-best five assists during a 98-61 win over Lake Superior State. In the 94-78 triumph against Saginaw Valley State, Lutchka once again led all scorers with 26 points (10-of-13 FG, 6-of-7 3PT), while grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out one assist.

INCREASED PRODUCTION
Senior guard Jaci Tubergen has started 27 of the 28 games this season after being utilized in a reserve role a year ago. The Hudsonville, Mich., product has increased her scoring to 6.5 PPG this year, while passing her total number of triples made with 25 this year. Tubergen has dished out more assists as well with 78. 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 87.

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 17 points in last Saturday's win over Saginaw Valley State.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
The Green and Gold ranks first in the GLIAC in field goal percentage (.462), which is sixth nationally, and in defensive rebounds per game (28.1), which is 37th in the country. The Warriors are sixth in the country in three point percentage as well, at 36.7 percent.

McKenna Ferguson ranks 23rd in career free throw percentage among active Division 2 players (.803, min. 250 attempts), while Taylor Thompson is 43rd in career double-doubles with 16. Thompson is also mentioned for over 1,000 points and over 600 rebounds.

Gabi Lutchka is eighth nationally and first in the GLIAC in three-point percentage, knocking down 41.8 percent of her triple tries.

WSU is ranked 10th nationally according to the Massey Ratings and 27th according to the WBCA as of 3/2/26.

LAST TIME OUT
Wayne State won its eighth straight contest with a 94-78 triumph over Saginaw Valley State on Senior Day.

Gabi Lutchka connected on 6-of-7 triple tries in scoring a game-high 26 points. Taylor Thompson nearly had a double-double with 22 points and a game-best nine rebounds. Karrington Gordon contributed 12 points, while McKenna Ferguson chipped in with 16 points. Emily Homan distributed a game-high five assists, which is also the most in her career.

WSU shot 58 percent (34-of-59) from the floor, the ninth time this season the Warriors have shot at least 50 percent in a game. WSU was 12-of-21 (57 percent) from beyond the arc and 14-of-16 (88 percent) at the foul line. Wayne State had a 38-29 edge in rebounding.

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) during last Saturday's 94-78 triumph over Saginaw Valley State. She became WSU's all-time winningest coach when her squad recorded a 76-67 win at Purdue Northwest on January 10, 2019.

TRAVELING THE COUNTRY
Last month, the Warriors traveled to their fifth and sixth states on the campaign, as the squad played in Illinois and Wisconsin. Previously this season, WSU had competed in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas.

FOLLOW THE WARRIORS
Wednesday's contest will be streamed on FloSports (flohoops.com) with Brady Beedon and Tony Ortiz on the call.

The Warrior Sports Network will also have the audio for the game. Click the audio button on the WSU women's basketball schedule page on wsuathletics.com.

Print Friendly Version