DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball squad (12-11 overall, 6-9 GLIAC) plays both Purdue Northwest (6-17 overall, 5-10 GLIAC) and Parkside (13-10 overall, 10-5 GLIAC) at the Matthaei this week.  The Warriors will host PNW on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 1:00 p.m. contest on Saturday versus the Rangers.

STORYLINES
Wayne State will host two GLIAC contests at the Matthaei.  The Warriors will face Purdue Northwest on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a 1:00 p.m. game versus Parkside on Saturday.  Head coach Carrie Lohr is looking for her 100th GLIAC regular-season victory as she enters Thursday's contest with a 99-84 mark in league play.

THE SERIES
Wayne State is undefeated (5-0) in the all-time series vs. Purdue Northwest, which started in 2017.  Earlier this season, WSU notched a 71-59 victory in Pride territory.  The Warriors are 2-0 in Detroit.

Wayne State trails 3-5 against Parkside in the all-time series that began in 1984.   In the first meeting this season, the Green and Gold fell 83-77 at UWP.  The Warriors are 1-2 at home vs. the Rangers.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Purdue Northwest is 6-17 overall, with a 5-10 record in GLIAC contests.  The Pride tallied their most recent win versus Davenport (75-72) on Feb. 1st, before falling at both Michigan Tech (63-53) and Northern Michigan (57-53) last week.

Freshman Savaya Brockington leads PNW in scoring at 13.2 points per game, followed by freshman Anjel Galbraith (9.8 PPG) and junior Danielle Nennig (9.6 PPG).  Brockington also leads in rebounds (4.8 RPG), assists (3.6 APG), and steals (1.8 SPG).  

Parkside enters the week with an overall record of 13-10, including a 10-5 mark in league games.  The Rangers split GLIAC play last week with a 60-55 loss at Northern Michigan on Feb. 6th, and an 80-66 win at Michigan Tech on Feb. 8th.  UWP will travel to second-ranked Ashland this Thursday before playing in Detroit on Saturday.

Redshirt senior Taylor Stephen is third in the conference in assists (5.0 APG) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.449), while junior Alisha Murphy is fifth in three-point shooting (.435).  Sophomore Alyssa Nelson leads the Rangers in scoring at 13.7 points per contest, followed by Stephen (13.6 PPG) and senior Carolina Rahkonen (12.4 PPG).  Nelson also averages 4.7 boards per game.

LAST WEEK RECAP
Wayne State was upended, 74-55, at No. 3 Grand Valley State on Feb. 6th.  WSU shot 34 percent (19-of-56) from the floor, while the Lakers made 43 percent (26-of-61) from the field.  The Warriors were 13-of-17 (77 percent) from the charity stripe, with GVSU connecting on 91 percent (20-of-22) of its free throw attempts.  Wayne State led 4-3 in blocked shots, but trailed 49-26 in rebounding.  Sophomore Grace George tallied 11 points, while classmate Alexis Miller scored a season-best 10 points.  George and senior Alex Matus each grabbed six rebounds.  Matus also dished out a team high three assists.

Wayne State was upset 74-63 at Davenport on Feb. 8th.  The loss dropped the Warriors into a tie-for-seventh.  Both teams made 25 field goals with WSU shooting 42 percent (25-of-59) compared to the Panthers 39 percent (25-of-65).  Both squads attempted 22 shots from beyond the arc with the Warriors making seven (31 percent), while Davenport made six (27 percent).  The biggest discrepancy came at the foul line where Wayne State was 6-of-10 (60 percent) with DU making 18-of-19 (95 percent).  Davenport had a 39-37 edge in rebounding and had just 11 turnovers, while WSU had 17 miscues.  Senior Sadia Johnson finished with a team-high 18 points, while sophomore Grace George contributed 15 points and senior Nastassja Chambers chipped in with 11 points.  George notched her ninth double-double of the season by grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds.

GLIAC RANKINGS
Sophomore Grace George leads the league in rebounding at 9.4 boards per game and 217 total rebounds.  Classmate Sam Cherney is third in the GLIAC in blocks per game (1.9 BPG) and fourth in rebounds (8.4 RPG).

Senior Nastassja Chambers is fourth in the conference with an .857 free throw percentage (48-of-56).

Wayne State leads the conference with 41.3 rebounds per game, while ranking second in blocks per game (4.8) and third in opponent's field-goal percentage (.394).

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

George has tallied nine double-doubles this season.  Her first eight 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, against Davenport (1/9) with 15 points and 11 boards, at Parkside (1/16) with 20 points and 18 rebounds, and at Purdue Northwest (1/18) with 14 points and 11 boards.  George's most recent double-double was at DU (2/8) with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Cherney has three double-doubles as she notched her first against Central State (11/13) with 10 points and 11 rebounds.  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 10 blocks at Purdue Northwest.  WSU's previous season best was nine blocks vs. Purdue Northwest on January 30, 2020.

The 2019-20 team is currently first in single-season history with 4.8 blocked shots per contest.  The current Warriors lead the 2012-13 squad that averaged 4.3 blocks per game.  This season, Wayne State has tallied 111 blocks, which is second 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 44, which is tied-for-second in single-season history.  She has already passed her mark of 30 blocks from last year.  Cherney is also first in blocked shots per game for a single season, at 1.9 blocks.  In less than two seasons she has accumulated 74 career blocks, which is fourth 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 (128) and 14th in three-point field goal percentage (.332 / 128-of-386 - min. 50 made).

By draining nine triples vs. Lake Superior State on Jan. 30, 2020, Matus tied the school record for three-point field goals made in a game.  The only other time that a Warrior women's basketball player recorded nine long-distance baskets during a game was by Brooke Bowers in January 2008 vs. Mercyhurst.  Matus' 32 points was a career high, with her previous career best at 18 points.  The last WSU player to score at least 32 points in a game was Shareta Brown in January 2015 versus Grand Valley State.

NATIONAL STATUS
In the Division II NCAA rankings, Wayne State is 14th in blocked shots (111), 18th at 4.8 blocks per game, 32nd in free throws made (335), and 44th in rebounds (950).

Sophomores Grace George and Sam Cherney appear in the top 40 multiple times.  George is ranked 29th nationally in rebounds (217), 39th in defensive boards per game (6.6 RPG), and 47th in rebounds per contest (9.4 RPG).  Cherney is 31st in the nation in blocked shots (44) and 38th with 1.9 blocks per contest.

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.

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.