Women's Basketball 2/13/2019 11:01:00 AM Lauren Bryne, Sports Information Graduate Intern

Women's Hoops Hosts Parkside and Purdue Northwest in Final Home Contests

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball squad will host Parkside on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and Purdue Northwest on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in its final home contests of the season.

STORYLINES
Wayne State will host Parkside on Thursday (5:30 p.m.) and Purdue Northwest on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) in the final home contests of the season. The Warriors split their league play last week with a 50-46 loss at Lake Superior State on Feb. 7 and a 55-46 victory at Ferris State on Feb. 9.

THE SERIES
WSU and the Rangers are tied 3-3 in the all-time series. Earlier this season, Wayne State fell 73-68 at UWP. This will be the third meeting in the Matthaei, with each team claiming a victory in the two previous contests in Detroit.

The Warriors lead 3-0 in the all-time series versus PNW. WSU won 76-67 in Pride territory in this season's previous meeting on January 10. Wayne State has a 1-0 mark in home games.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Parkside has an overall record of 9-12 with a 7-8 record in the GLIAC. The Rangers won 86-56 at Davenport on Feb. 7, followed by an 84-51 loss at #13-Grand Valley State two days later.

Junior guard Carolina Rahkonen and redshirt guard senior Blair Arthur lead UWP in scoring (12.0 PPG each), with Arthur and senior guard Georgie Eishold leading the squad in rebounds (4.1 RPG each). Redshirt junior guard Taylor Stephen is the leader in assists (3.6 APG) and steals (1.7 SPG) for Parkside.
Purdue Northwest is 3-18 overall with a 1-14 mark in league contests.

PNW split its two previous games, losing 84-36 at No. 13-GVSU and tallying its first GLIAC victory at Davenport (80-63). The Pride will play the No. 11 Ashland Eagles on Thursday before traveling to Detroit.

Sophomore guard Danielle Nennig leads Purdue Northwest in scoring, averaging 11.2 points per contest. Freshman center Molly DeValkenaere grabs 5.6 boards per contest, with sophomore guard Tayler Vauters leading in assists (2.2 APG) and steals (1.4 SPG).

LAST TIME OUT
The Green and Gold notched a 55-46 victory at Ferris State on Saturday, Feb. 9. Junior guard Nastassja Chambers led the squad with a game-high 19 points. Senior guard Ja'Nae Williams recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and a team-best 11 rebounds. The Warriors shot 27 percent (19-of-70) from the floor, while making 63 percent (15-of-24) of their free-throw attempts. WSU had a 53-48 edge in rebounds, while also leading 21-7 in bench points, 34-14 in points in the paint, and 16-2 in fast break points.

NCAA TEAM RANKINGS
Wayne State is currently ranked 36th in the nation in fewest average turnovers per game (14.1), and 40th nationally with 15.6 personal fouls per contest. The Warriors are also ranked 41st in the NCAA with a season total of 950 rebounds.

NATIONAL AND LEAGUE RANKINGS
Senior guard Ja'Nae Williams is currently fourth in the conference and 56th in the nation with 52 steals. Williams is also fourth in the GLIAC and 50th in the country with 6.7 defensive rebounds per game. Junior guard Alex Matus is sixth in the league with 42 made triples, while freshman forward Sam Cherney is third in the GLIAC, recording 3.1 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. She has accumulated 200 rebounds (8.7 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 42-of-117 triple attempts in 23 contests this year, for a three-point field goal percentage of .359. Last year, she connected on 37-of-106 three-pointers in 26 games for a .349 shooting percentage.

TOUGH COMPETITION
As of Feb. 12, two GLIAC teams were ranked in the top 13 of the WBCA D2 Coaches Poll. Ashland (21-2) remained at No. 11 after winning its contests at Ferris State on Feb. 7 and at Lake Superior State on Feb. 9. GVSU (21-2) climbed up a spot to No. 12 after posting victories vs. Purdue Northwest and against Parkside.

COMCAST/XFINITY
Wayne State's home women's basketball games in 2019 will be aired live throughout the state of Michigan on Comcast CN 900. Sean Baligian, Rod Beard and Joe Abramson will call the action.

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 Thursday, Jan. 10, head coach Carrie Lohr became the winningest coach in WSU women's basketball history, tallying 127 victories since her arrival in 2011. In her eight seasons with the Warriors, Lohr is averaging 16.38 wins per season with a .587 winning percentage. She surpassed Gloria Bradley (2000-11) who had 126 wins (11.45 wins per season) and a winning percentage of .423.

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