DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball program (10-8 overall, 5-5 GLIAC) host fifth-ranked Ashland (17-1 overall, 9-1 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

STORYLINES
Wayne State looks to extend its winning streak to three when it faces Ashland.  The Warriors won both GLIAC contests last week claiming a 69-60 victory over Northwood (1/17), followed by a 50-48 win against Saginaw Valley State (1/19).

THE SERIES
The Eagles lead 38-15 in the all-time series against WSU, which began in 1983.  The Green and Gold have lost seven consecutive games in the series since a 87-78 triumph in Ohio on Dec. 18, 2013.  Last season, Wayne State fell twice to top-ranked AU -- 120-70 in Ohio in the first match-up, then 101-84 at the Matthaei in February of 2018.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Last year, Ashland went 36-1 overall with a 20-0 league record.  The Eagles were defeated 66-52 by Central Missouri in the NCAA DII National Championship game, suffering their only loss of the season.  AU is currently 17-1 overall and 9-1 in the GLIAC.  Ashland's season-opening seven-game winning streak was snapped at Grand Valley State in a 94-61 loss.  The Eagles have a current 10-game winning streak.
 

Junior Jodi Johnson, the 2017-18 National Player of the Year, is currently second in the GLIAC, averaging a team-best 19.1 points per game.  Johnson is also first in the league with a 65.1 field-goal percentage and 2.9 steals per contest, and fifth with a 44.0 three-point field-goal percentage.  Junior forward Sara Loomis is third in the conference in points per game (16.1) and rebounds per contest (9.6), while leading the league in blocks (3.5 per game).
 

Senior guard Maddie Dackin (12.5), sophomore forward Karlee Pireu (11.4) and junior Renee Stimpert (11.1) also average in double digits.  Pireu is fourth in the GLIAC in field-goal (55.9), while Stimpert is first in assists per game (7.6).  Freshman guard Hallie Heidemann is currently second in the league with a 46.6 percentage from beyond the arc.  Kari Pickens is in her first season as head coach of the Eagles.  She was previously an assistant coach for five seasons, including one as the associate head coach, after a two-year playing career at Ashland (played her first two collegiate seasons at Dayton).

LAST TIME OUT
WSU claimed a 50-48 victory over Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, Jan. 19.  In a close contest with three lead changes before halftime, the Warriors stayed ahead the entire second half, minus two ties.  Senior guard India Hawkins led Wayne State, scoring a game-high (and season-best) 16 points.  Freshman forward Sam Cherney grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.  Wayne State shot 42 percent (8-of-19) from beyond the arc, compared to 35 percent (7-of-20) for the Cardinals.  WSU had a 46-40 edge in rebounds, while also leading 10-8 in second-chance points and 20-3 in bench scoring.

NATIONAL AND LEAGUE RANKINGS
Senior guard Ja'Nae Williams is currently second in the conference and 21st in the nation with 47 steals.  Williams is also fifth in the GLIAC and 49th in the country with 154 rebounds through 18 contests.  Junior guard Alex Matus is second in the GLIAC and 76th nationally with 38 three-pointers made, while freshman guard Alexis Miller is ranked third in the league with a 46.5 (20-of-43) three-point field-goal percentage.  Freshman forward  Sam Cherney is third in the league, recording 56 offensive boards.
 

CRASHING THE BOARDS
Ja'Nae Williams leads the squad in rebounds, grabbing double-digit boards in 10 of the 18 games.  She has accumulated 154 rebounds (8.6 RPG) this season.  In addition, Williams has four double-doubles:  against Findlay (10 points & 12 rebounds), at Tiffin (14 points & 10 rebounds), vs. Lake Superior State (18 points & 10 rebounds), and versus Fairmont State (16 points & 11 rebounds).

CONNECTING FROM LONG DISTANCE
Alex Matus can be found beyond the arc, shooting a triple.  Last season, she connected on 37-of-106 three-pointers in 26 games.  Matus has drained 38-of-102 triple tries in 18 games this year, for a three-point field goal percentage of .373 (compared to last year's .349).

TOUGH COMPETITION
As of Jan. 22, two GLIAC teams were ranked in the top nine of the WBCA D2 Coaches Poll.  Ashland (17-1) moved up to the No. 5 spot after notching victories against Saginaw Valley State and Northwood on Jan. 17 and Jan. 19, respectively.  Grand Valley State (16-2) fell six spots to No. 15 after winning at Michigan Tech on Jan. 17 and falling at Northern Michigan on Jan. 19.  NMU (14-4) received votes for the first time this season after ending GVSU's 14-game winning streak.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Wayne State's home women's basketball games in 2019 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN 900.  Sean Baligian, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will call the action.

MAKING STRIDES
Following the 2017-18 season record of 19-8, Wayne State was tied-for-eighth among the 2018 Most Improved Teams, along with Union (TN).  WSU enhanced its record by 11.5 games, after an 8-20 record during the 2016-17 season.

LOHR REWRITES HISTORY
Following a 76-67 triumph at Purdue Northwest on Thursday, Jan. 10, head coach Carrie Lohr became the winningest coach in WSU women's basketball history, tallying 127 victories since her arrival in 2011.  In her eight seasons with the Warriors, Lohr averages 15.88 wins per season with a 58.8 winning percentage.  She surpassed Gloria Bradley (2000-11) who had 126 wins (11.45 wins per season) and a winning percentage of 42.3.

FROM WNBA TO COACHING
Plenette Pierson was named an assistant coach at WSU this past August, following a 15-year WNBA career.  Pierson won three WNBA Championships while playing for the Phoenix Mercury (2003-05), Detroit Shock/Tulsa Shock (2006-10), New York Liberty (2010-14), Tulsa Shock/Dallas Wings (2015-16) and the Minnesota Lynx (2017).
 

She was selected as the inaugural Sixth Woman of the Year in 2007 and a WNBA West All-Star in 2015.  Pierson ranks 29th all-time in career points (4,258), 24th in rebounds (1,834), 24th in blocks (242), and 15th in field goal percentage (.439).

Pierson also played in 49 career playoff games.  She ranks 27th all-time in playoff rebounds (208) and 19th in playoff blocks (31).

WARRIOR COACHES
Assistant coach Karen Lafata has been by head coach Carrie Lohr's side since about day one of Lohr's tenure.  In Lafata's second year (2012-13), she helped guide WSU to the second-most wins in a season (22) as well as the first two NCAA Tournament wins in program history.  The next year, Wayne State won the GLIAC regular-season title with a 17-5 record and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year.  In 2014-15, Lafata assisted the Warriors in tying the school record for wins in a season (23), claiming the GLIAC South Division title with a school record of 18 league victories, and advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.
 

Graduate assistant coach Juanita Cochran is returning for her second season at WSU.  Prior to the start of her coaching career, Cochran played for the University of New Orleans (2009-10), Stony Brook (2010-11), and Wayne State (2011-13).  She started 51 games for the Warriors and ranks 46th in scoring, despite playing only two seasons for the Green and Gold.   In 2013, Cochran helped WSU reach the NCAA Midwest Regional final (Sweet Sixteen), where she scored 15 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds in the loss at Ashland.