Women's Basketball 2/27/2019 10:31:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Basketball Concludes Regular Season At #7-Ashland

Wayne State will conclude its regular season this Thursday with a 5:30 p.m. contest at seventh-ranked Ashland. The Warriors will compete in a GLIAC Quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 5th. The post-season pairings will be announced following the conclusion of the regular season.

THE SERIES
The Warriors trail 15-39 in the all-time series against Ashland. WSU has lost eight straight since an 87-78 triumph at Kates Gymnasium on Dec. 18, 2013. Wayne State is 6-21 all-time at Ashland, including four consecutive setbacks.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Ashland has won six in a row since a two-point home court loss (73-71) to Grand Valley State on Feb. 2. First-year head coach Kari Pickens has led the Eagles to a 25-2 overall record and a 17-2 GLIAC mark. Both setbacks came against the Lakers (94-61 in Allendale on Dec. 6).

Junior guard Jodi Johnson leads AU in scoring (18.5 PPG), while classmate Sara Loomis is second in scoring (15.7 PPG) and first in rebounding (9.9 RPG). Senior guard Maddie Dackin (12.1 PPG), sophomore forward Karlee Pireu (11.4 PPG) and junior guard Renee Stimpert (10.1 PPG) also average in double figures. Stimpert has a league-leading 200 assists, while Johnson leads the GLIAC in field goal percentage (.605 / 164-271) and free throw percentage (.875 / 105-120), and is second in steals (2.6 SPG). Loomis is second in blocks (77 blocks).

LAST TIME OUT
The Warriors suffered a 78-72 setback in overtime at Northwood last Saturday. Despite the loss, Wayne State qualified for the GLIAC Tournament as Saginaw Valley State lost at home to Ashland.

The Timberwolves scored the first seven points of overtime before a triple by Alex Matus made it 70-66 with 2:11 left in the extra session. Northwood scored eight of the final 14 points for the victory.

Alexis Miller tallied a team-high 18 points, while Nastassja Chambers contributed 16 points. Ja'Nae Williams nearly had a double-double with 15 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Matus chipped in with 10 points, while Chavon Tiggs had a career-high 10 points.

NCAA TEAM RANKINGS
Wayne State is 39th in rebounds (1,111) and 47th in offensive rebounds per game (14.3).

NATIONAL AND LEAGUE RANKINGS
Senior guard Ja'Nae Williams is fourth in the conference and 48th nationally with 61 steals. She is also third in the GLIAC and 50th in the country with 6.7 defensive rebounds per game. Williams leads the GLIAC in minutes played per game (34.0), while ranking third in the conference in both field goals attempted (312) and free throws attempted (129).

Junior guard Alex Matus is sixth in the league with 50 made triples, while freshman forward Sam Cherney is fourth in the GLIAC, recording 2.85 offensive rebounds per contest.

CRASHING THE BOARDS
Ja'Nae Williams, a 5-8 guard, leads the squad in rebounds, grabbing double-digit boards in nine games, and another seven contests with nine rebounds. She has accumulated 230 rebounds (8.5 RPG) this season. In addition, Williams has five double-doubles: against Findlay (10 points & 12 rebounds), at Tiffin (14 points & 10 rebounds), vs. Lake Superior State (18 points & 10 rebounds), versus Fairmont State (16 points & 11 rebounds), and at Ferris State (18 points & 11 rebounds).

CONNECTING FROM LONG DISTANCE
Alex Matus can be found beyond the arc, shooting a triple as she has already surpassed last season's total. Matus has drained 50-of-139 triple attempts in 27 contests this year, for a three-point field goal percentage of .360.

Last year, she connected on 37-of-106 three-pointers in 26 games for a .349 shooting percentage.

Matus needs five triples to become the 13th player in school history with 100 made three-pointers (95-for-282 / .337).

TOUGH COMPETITION
As of Feb. 26, two GLIAC teams were ranked in the top eight of the WBCA D2 Coaches Poll. Ashland (25-2) and Grand Valley State (25-2) each climbed three spots, to seventh and eighth, respectively after going 2-0 last week.

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 Jan. 10, head coach Carrie Lohr became the winningest coach in WSU women's basketball history, with her 127th victory. In her eight seasons with the Warriors, Lohr is averaging 16.38 wins per season (132 victories) with a .581 winning percentage. She surpassed Gloria Bradley (2000-11) who had 126 wins (11.45 wins per season) and a winning percentage of .423.

Lohr has 298 collegiate coaching victories, including her nine seasons at St. Clair County Community College where she went 166-106.

QUALIFYING FOR THE POST-SEASON
Wayne State qualified for the GLIAC Tournament for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.

Next Tuesday's GLIAC Quarterfinal game will be the first time the Warriors have been on the road for the opening round since a 67-64 triumph at 18th-ranked Hillsdale on March 1, 2008. WSU was the No. 8 seed for the league tournament in 2008.

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