Women's Basketball 1/14/2020 12:00:00 PM Lauren Bryne, Sports Information Graduate Intern

Women's Basketball to Face Parkside and Purdue Northwest on the Road

The Warriors will travel to UWP on Thursday and PNW on Saturday.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball squad (8-7 overall, 2-5 GLIAC) looks to improve on its conference record as it travels to Parkside (9-6 overall, 6-1 GLIAC) for a 6:30 p.m. (ET) contest on Thursday, followed by a 2:00 p.m. (ET) meeting at Purdue Northwest (4-11 overall, 3-4 GLIAC) on Saturday.

THE SERIES
WSU trails 3-4 in the all-time series vs. Parkside, which started in 1984. Last season was the the first meeting between the teams since 2013. Wayne State fell, 73-68, at UWP on Jan. 12, 2019, and was edged by the Rangers (68-62) in Detroit a month later.

The Warriors lead 4-0 against Purdue Northwest in the all-time series that began in 2017. Last season, the Green and Gold posted a 76-67 win at PNW on January 10th, followed by a 93-68 victory at home on February 16th.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Parkside is 9-6 overall, with a 6-1 record in GLIAC contests. UWP notched an 81-73 home victory against Michigan Tech on Jan. 9th, before edging Northern Michigan, 58-55, on Jan. 11th.

Sophomore guard Alyssa Nelson leads Parkside in scoring at 15.7 points per game and is second in the GLIAC with a .507 three-point field goal percentage (37-of-73). Two other players average in double digits, including redshirt senior Taylor Stephen (12.5 PPG) and senior Carolina Rahkonen (11.5 PPG). Rahkonen is third in the conference with an .861 (31-of-36) free throw percentage, while Stephen ranks third in assists (4.9 APG).

Purdue Northwest has an overall record of 4-11, including a 3-4 mark in league games. The Pride recently fell 56-34 versus Northern Michigan on Jan. 9th and was upended by Michigan Tech (75-55) on Jan. 11th. PNW will host third-ranked Ashland this Thursday before facing the Warriors on Saturday.

Freshman Savaya Brockington leads Purdue Northwest in scoring, averaging 12.8 points per game. She also holds the top spots in rebounding (4.6 RPG), assists (4.1 APG) and steals (1.6 SPG).

LAST WEEK RECAP
WSU upended Davenport, 83-72, at the Matthaei on Jan. 9th. Wayne State shot 51 percent (32-of-63) from the floor, while the Panthers shot 38 percent (28-of-73) from the field. The Warriors connected on 12-of-15 (80 percent) free throw attempts, while DU made 9-of-15 (60 percent) from the charity stripe. Davenport had a 40-39 edge in rebounds. Each team made seven three pointers. Seniors Nastassja Chambers and Sadia Johnson each scored a team-best 17 points. Sophomore Grace George tallied her sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-best 11 rebounds. Freshman Rebecca Fugate recorded career bests in points (15) and assists (5).

The Warriors fell, 67-41, to third-ranked Grand Valley State at home last Saturday. Wayne State shot 30 percent (16-of-54) from the floor, while the Lakers shot 41 percent (24-of-59) from the field. The Warriors connected on 5-of-17 (29 percent) three-point field goal attempts, while GVSU made 2-of-17 (12 percent) from long distance. Grand Valley State had a 41-36 edge in rebounds. Johnson and junior Tori Perez tied for team high scoring honors with 10 points each. George grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds. Sophomore Kate Sherwood blocked a career-high three shots.

GLIAC RANKINGS
Sophomore Grace George leads the league in rebounding at 9.7 boards per game and 146 total rebounds. Classmate Sam Cherney is fourth in the GLIAC with 133 rebounds and fifth at 8.9 boards per contest.

Senior Nastassja Chambers leads the conference with an .870 free throw percentage (40-of-46), while classmate Sadia Johnson ranks fourth (.852 // 46-of-54).

Wayne State leads the conference with 42.6 rebounds per game, while ranking third in blocks per game (3.9) and fourth in free throw percentage (.735).

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 six double-doubles this season. Her first was vs. Tiffin (11/26) with 11 points and 11 rebounds and her second was at Ferris State (12/5) with 18 points and 12 boards. George also earned double-doubles at Fairmont State (12/18) with 13 points and a career-best 18 rebounds, vs. Cedarville with 22 points and 16 boards, and at Michigan Tech (1/2) with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Her most recent double-double was tallied in the win against Davenport (1/9) with 15 points and 11 boards.

Cherney and Perez each have one double-double. Cherney notched hers against Central State (11/13) with 10 points and a season-best 11 rebounds, while Perez earned her double-double versus Tiffin (11/26) with a career-high 12 points and 10 boards.

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

The Warriors are averaging 3.9 blocked shots per contest, which ranks second in single-season history at WSU. The 2012-13 squad holds the top spot with 4.3 blocks per game.
This season, Wayne State has tallied 59 blocks, ranking 26th 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 26, which is tied-for-10th in single-season history. She is on pace to pass her mark of 30 blocks set last year, which is tied-for-seventh. Cherney is also third in blocked shots average for a single season, with 1.7 blocks per contest. In less than two seasons she has accumulated 56 career blocks, ranking ninth 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 11th in three-point field goals made (111) and 15th in three-point field goal percentage (.329 / 111-of-337 - min. 50 made).

TOUGH COMPETITION
Two GLIAC teams were ranked in the top five of the WBCA D2 Coaches Poll on Jan. 14th. Ashland and Grand Valley State switched places following the Eagles home court win over the Lakers on Jan. 9th.

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