STORYLINES
The Warriors hope to finish the regular-season on a three-game winning streak when they visit Ferris State this weekend for 3 p.m. contests on both Friday and Saturday.  Wayne State has won four of its last five games, including two in overtime.
  
THE SERIES
WSU trails 35-40 in the all-time series against Ferris State.  The Warriors have compiled a 16-23 record when playing at FSU.  Each team has won five times over the last 10 meetings.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Ferris State is 6-10 overall after splitting its weekend series at Purdue Northwest.  FSU lost 63-60 on February 19th, before rebounding for an 84-49 triumph on February 20th.  The Bulldogs are 3-4 at home this year after finishing the regular-season with a 3-6 road mark.

FSU is led in scoring by freshman guard Kadyn Blanchard (17.2 PPG) and sophomore guard Mallory McCartney (14.1 PPG).  Freshman forward Ariel Jenkins leads the Bulldogs in rebounding (5.8 RPG), while McCartney leads the team in both assists (61) and steals (44).  Freshman forward Amaka Unobagha has a team-best 24 blocked shots.

SAGINAW VALLEY RECAP
Wayne State split its series at SVSU losing the first game 78-63 and winning the second game, 79-70, in overtime.

In the series opener, the Warriors never managed to get a lead.  SVSU had a 42-25 advantage over WSU at the half. 

Becca Fugate had a team-high 12 points, while Sam Cherney chipped in with 10 points, a team-best seven rebounds and four blocks.

WSU led by five (43-38) at the half against Saginaw Valley on Saturday.  The second half was back and forth until overtime, where the Warriors took over.  Wayne State scored the first eight points on back-to-back triples by Fugate and Alexis Miller, and a pair of free throws by Fugate.

Kate Sherwood tallied a game-high 28 points, which included an 11-of-11 performance from the charity stripe.  Cherney notched another double-double with 11 points and a game-best 19 rebounds.  Fugate connected on three triples in scoring 12 points

NCAA STATS RECAP
WSU ranks 15th in NCAA Division II in blocked shots (72), 19th in blocked shots per game (4.5), 25th in rebounding margin (+6.9), 46th in rebounds per game (41.19), and 48th in rebounds (659).

Junior forward Sam Cherney is sixth in blocked shots (43), ninth in blocked shots per game (2.69), 10th in rebounds per game (11.7), 14th in total rebounds (187), 15th in offensive rebounds per game (4.3), 19th in double-doubles (7), and 27th in defensive rebounds per game (7.4).

CHERNEY IS BLOCKING HER WAY INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Wayne State junior Sam Cherney became the school's all-time leader in blocked shots with three rejections at Saginaw Valley State on February 22, 2020.

A year ago, she became the first player in school history to average over two blocks per game for an entire season.

This year, Cherney is averaging nearly three blocks per game and has at least two blocks in all but five contests this season.  Cherney had recorded at least one blocked shot in 17 consecutive games until having that streaked snapped at Purdue Northwest on February 6th.

TABBED FOR FOURTH
Wayne State was voted fourth in the GLIAC South Division Preseason Coaches Poll.  Ashland was selected first in the South Division with 11 first-place votes and 61 points.  Grand Valley State earned the other first-place vote and 43 points.  Saginaw Valley State (39 points) and Wayne State (28 points) were ahead of Northwood (27 points) and Davenport (18 points).

GLIAC ACCOLADES
Junior forward Grace George was selected GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on January 25th after helping the Warriors to a split against Northwood.  It was her first weekly honor from the conference office.

In the game one victory, George had game-high totals of 30 points and 12 rebounds, while shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.  She scored a game-best 22 points in the game two setback, along with tying for team-high honors with three assists.  For the weekend, George averaged 26.0 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per contest while shooting 53 percent (19-of-36) from the floor, including 56 percent from three-point range (5-of-9).  She was also 9-of-12 (75 percent) from the charity stripe, while contributing three assists and three blocks.

Junior Sam Cherney was selected GLIAC South Division Player of the Week on February 15th.  In a sweep of Wisconsin-Parkside, Cherney recorded a double-double in both games.  For the weekend, she averaged 19.0 points per game and 14.5 rebounds, along with 1.5 blocks, 2.5 steals and 3.5 assists.  Cherney shot 52 percent (14-of-27) from the floor and 83 percent (10-of-12) from the charity stripe.

WARRIOR COACHES
Assistant coach Karen Lafata, who holds three degrees from Wayne State, has been with head coach Carrie Lohr for all nine-plus seasons.  Graduate assistant Christina Green joined the coaching staff in the summer of 2019.  Green played basketball for the Warriors between 2013 and 2017 scoring in double figures 19 times.

2021 GLIAC TOURNAMENT
All 12 GLIAC institutions will qualify for the conference tournament next week with the teams being seeded 1 through 12 based on the points tie-breaker system points per game average.

The top four teams will get a bye into the GLIAC Quarterfinals.  The remaining eight teams will play a GLIAC First Round Tournament game at campus sites on Tuesday, March 2nd (#12 at #5, #11 at #6, #10 at #7 and #9 at #8).

The four first round winners will be re-seeded fifth through eighth for the league quarterfinals, which will take place in Westville, Ind., on Thursday, March 4th (all times below are Central time):

#1 vs. #8 at 11 am
#4 vs. #5 at 2 pm
#2 vs. #7 at 5 pm
#3 vs. #6 at 8 pm

The semifinals on Friday, March 5th will feature the 11 am and 2 pm winners playing at 4 pm, and the 5 pm and 8 pm winners squaring off at 7 pm.

The GLIAC Championship game will take place on Sunday, March 7 with tip-off at Noon Central time.