Women's Basketball 1/29/2020 9:00:00 AM Lauren Bryne, Sports Information Graduate Intern

Women's Basketball Remains Home for Contests Versus LSSU and Ferris State

The Warriors will host Lake Superior State on Thursday (5:30 p.m.) and FSU on Saturday (1:00 p.m.).

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (11-8 overall, 5-6 GLIAC) will face both Lake Superior State (6-12 overall, 2-9 GLIAC) and Ferris State (14-5 overall, 8-3 GLIAC) for the second time this season. The Warriors will host LSSU on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 1:00 p.m. tip-off versus the Bulldogs on Saturday.

STORYLINES
Wayne State looks to extend its three-game winning streak as it hosts familiar foes this week. The Warriors will face both Lake Superior State and Ferris State for the second time this season. The Green and Gold plays LSSU on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 1:00 p.m. game versus the Bulldogs on Saturday.

THE SERIES
Wayne State trails 36-41 in the all-time series vs. Lake Superior State, which started in 1975. The Warriors have won 13 of the last 16 meetings. Earlier this season, poor shooting cost WSU a 48-34 setback in Sault Ste. Marie.

Wayne State is 34-39 against Ferris State in the all-time series that began in 1976. In the first meeting this season, the Warriors notched a 78-75 victory at FSU in the GLIAC opener. WSU is 19-15 at home in the series.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Lake Superior State is 6-12 overall, with a 2-9 record in GLIAC contests. After splitting the first four conference contests, the Lakers are on a seven-game losing streak. LSSU most recently fell 54-46 to Purdue Northwest on Jan. 23rd, followed by a 64-55 loss against Parkside on Jan. 25th.

Senior forward Lexie Khon leads Lake Superior State in scoring at 12.6 points per game, with an .837 free throw percentage (43-of-49). Freshman forward Mattison Rayman is third in the GLIAC with 8.9 boards per contest. Rayman also averages 9.7 points per game.

Ferris State enters the week with an overall record of 14-5, including an 8-3 mark in league games. The Bulldogs struggled at the beginning of GLIAC play (1-3) with losses against Wayne State, No. 4-AU and No. 3-Grand Valley State, but have won seven straight since. FSU will travel to third-ranked Ashland this Thursday before facing the Warriors on Saturday.

GLIAC Player of the Week Riley Blair leads the conference in scoring at 20.4 points per game. Blair is also third in the league with a .565 field-goal percentage. Junior Adrienne Anderson (14.8 PPG) and freshman Mallory McCartney (11.5 PPG) are also averaging in double figures.

LAST WEEK RECAP
The Warriors upended Saginaw Valley State, 74-64, at home on Jan. 23rd. WSU shot 45 percent (25-of-56) from the floor, while the Cardinals were limited to 35 percent (20-of-57) from the field. The Warriors were 16-of-23 (70 percent) from the charity stripe, with SVSU connecting on just 56 percent (18-of-32) of its shots from the foul line. Wayne State had a 41-36 edge in rebounding, while also leading 14-6 in assists and 6-0 in blocked shots. Freshman Rebecca Fugate tallied a career-high 17 points, including four triples. She also dished out a game-best four assists. Sophomore Sam Cherney earned her second career double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while also blocking a game-best three shots. Classmate Kate Sherwood equaled a career-high with 13 points and senior Alex Matus contributed a season-best 11 points.

Wayne State secured a 68-59 home victory vs. Northwood after a second-half comeback. WSU shot 38 percent (22-of-58) from the floor, while the Timberwolves were limited to 34 percent (20-of-59) from the field. The Warriors were 23-of-30 (77 percent) from the charity stripe, with NU connecting on just 65 percent (11-of-17) of its shots from the foul line. Wayne State had a 41-38 edge in rebounding, while also leading 9-6 in steals and 7-2 in blocked shots. Sophomore Grace George and classmate Sam Cherney tied for game-high scoring honors with 13 points. Cherney notched her third career double-double after grabbing a game high 12 rebounds. Senior Sadia Johnson (12) and sophomore Kate Sherwood (11) also scored in double figures. Senior Alex Matus dished out three assists, while junior Tori Perez set a career best with three blocks.

GLIAC RANKINGS
Sophomore Grace George leads the league in rebounding at 10.0 boards per game and 190 total rebounds. Classmate Sam Cherney is third in the GLIAC in both total rebounds (167) and blocks per game (1.8 BPG), and fourth at 8.8 boards per contest.

Senior Nastassja Chambers is second in the conference with an .896 free throw percentage (48-of-56), while classmate Sadia Johnson ranks sixth (.839 // 52-of-62).

Wayne State leads the conference with 42.7 rebounds per game, while ranking second in blocks per game (4.6) and third in opponent's field-goal percentage (.394).

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Three players have recorded their first career double-doubles this season, including sophomores Sam Cherney and Grace George, and junior Tori Perez.

George has tallied eight double-doubles this season. Her first six were vs. Tiffin (11/26) with 11 points and 11 rebounds, at Ferris State (12/5) with 18 points and 12 boards, at Fairmont State (12/18) with 13 points and a career-best 18 rebounds, vs. Cedarville with 22 points and 16 boards, at Michigan Tech (1/2) with 13 points and 14 rebounds, and against Davenport (1/9) with 15 points and 11 boards. George's two most recent double-doubles were at Parkside (1/16) with 20 points and 18 rebounds, and at Purdue Northwest (1/18) with 14 points and 11 boards.

Cherney has three double-doubles as she notched her first against Central State (11/13) with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Last week, Cherney earned two more double-doubles vs. Saginaw Valley State (1/23) with 11 boards and 10 points, and versus Northwood (1/25) with 12 rebounds and a season-best 13 points.

Perez recorded her lone double-double versus Tiffin (11/26) with a career-high 12 points and 10 boards.

BUILDING BLOCKS TO SEASON HIGHS
On January 18, 2020, Wayne State had a season high of 10 blocks at Purdue Northwest, surpassing the previous season best of eight blocks at Michigan Tech on January 2, 2020. Prior to that, WSU most recently blocked eight shots on February 22, 2018, once again at MTU.

The 2019-20 team is currently ranked first in single-season history with 4.6 blocked shots per contest. The Warriors surpassed the 2012-13 squad that averaged 4.3 blocks per game. This season, Wayne State has tallied 87 blocks, which is ranked 10th in a single season at WSU. The number one spot is occupied by the 2012-13 squad with 134 blocks.

Sophomore Sam Cherney leads the squad in blocks with 35, which is seventh in single-season history. She has already passed her mark of 30 blocks from last year. Cherney is also second in blocked shots average for a single season, with 1.8 blocks per contest. In less than two seasons she has accumulated 65 career blocks, which is tied-for-seventh in Wayne State history.

SENIOR SCORER
Senior Nastassja Chambers, who is on pace to become the third 1,000-point scorer in school history to average in double figures all four seasons, joining Monique Johnson (1988-93) and Delonda Little (1991-95), became the sixth player in school history to score at least 1,200 career points and third player in the last six years, joining Shareta Brown (2013-15 // 1,245 points) and Shannon Wilson (2014-18 // 1,228 points). When Brown reached this milestone in 2015, she was the first since 1993.

BEYOND THE ARC
Senior co-captain Alex Matus became the 13th player in Wayne State history with 100 made three-pointers vs. Wright State-Lake on Nov. 21, 2019. Matus is currently 10th in three-point field goals made (117) and 15th in three-point field goal percentage (.326 / 117-of-359 - min. 50 made).

TOUGH COMPETITION
Wayne State has played three top-25 teams this season. Walsh, previously unranked when the teams met in the season opener (L, 66-96), is now 14th in the nation. No. 2-Ashland was ranked fourth at the last meeting (L, 54-79), while No. 3-Grand Valley State was ranked third (L, 41-67). The Warriors will play AU and GVSU once more before the season concludes.

NEW BASKETBALL ARENA
In May of 2019, it was announced that WSU Athletics and the Detroit Pistons would be partnering to construct a $25 million basketball arena on the west side of the athletic campus.

The approved plan includes construction of a 70,000 square-foot arena near the intersection of Warren and Trumbull avenues with seating capacity for approximately 3,000 fans, office space and locker room areas for both WSU's men's and women's basketball teams, a concessions area and other ancillary spaces. The arena will be ready for play in the 2021-2022 basketball season.

The Pistons G-League team will also call the new facility home.

LOCKER ROOM REPORT
Check WSUAthletics.com every week to watch Carrie Lohr's weekly locker room report. She will recap the week's previous games and preview upcoming opponents.

WARRIOR ALL-ACCESS
All Wayne State home women's basketball games can be watched via Warrior All-Access for a $5.95 per game fee. All home contests during the 2019-20 season will be available on All-Access. Monthly passes are available for $9.95, and year-long access is offered for $69.95.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Nastassja Chambers: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#13 Sam Cherney: F; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#4 Becca Fugate: G; 5' 7"; Freshman

#32 Grace George: F; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#14 Sadia Johnson: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#11 Alex Matus: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#44 Tori Perez: F; 5' 10"; Junior

#21 Kate Sherwood: G; 5' 8"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#3 Nastassja Chambers
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#13 Sam Cherney
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: F

#4 Becca Fugate
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: G

#32 Grace George
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: F

#14 Sadia Johnson
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#11 Alex Matus
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#44 Tori Perez
: 5' 10"; Junior
: F

#21 Kate Sherwood
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: G