Western Wayne Today

The Wayne State University women's basketball team is set to continue its early-season road stretch with non-conference matchups against Malone University and Ashland University. The Warriors come into these games after splitting their first two contests, losing 61-56 to third-ranked Texas Woman's University and defeating the University of Alabama-Huntsville 83-76.

Wayne State has a history of success against Malone, holding an 8-3 overall record since the teams first met in 2011. On Malone’s home court, Wayne State is 4-1. Last season, however, Malone secured a 67-60 victory over the Warriors at WSU.

Against Ashland, Wayne State trails in the all-time series, with Ashland leading 47-16 and winning each matchup since leaving the GLIAC conference. In last year’s meeting at WSU Fieldhouse, Ashland won 73-53. The Warriors’ record when playing at Ashland stands at 6-26.

Malone begins its season facing Wayne State for the second consecutive year after finishing last season with a 22-8 overall record and reaching the conference tournament semifinal. Erin Kaufman returns as Malone’s top scorer from last year, averaging 16 points and more than eight rebounds per game. She also recorded notable defensive stats including 50 steals and 21 blocks. Head coach Selana Ickes leads Malone into her eighth season with a cumulative record of 118-80.

Ashland opens its campaign by hosting UIndy before facing Wayne State. Last season, Ashland posted a strong performance with a 32-4 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship before being eliminated by Grand Valley State. Lexi Howe is Ashland’s top returning scorer from last year; Ashley Mullet also returns to bolster their lineup. Kari Pickens continues as head coach for her eighth season, having guided the Eagles to over 200 wins during her tenure and securing a national championship in the 2022-23 season.

For Wayne State, junior guard McKenna Ferguson was named to the D2 CCA Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team after scoring a combined total of 42 points across two games—23 points against Texas Woman's University along with five rebounds and three steals, followed by a performance of 19 points and four steals versus Alabama-Huntsville.

Graduate student Karrington Gordon returned to action for Wayne State after redshirting last season following three years at Central Michigan University. In her first weekend back on court during the D2 CCA Tip-Off Classic, she contributed significantly with totals of 24 points, eleven rebounds, and five assists over two games.

According to this year's GLIAC preseason poll, Grand Valley State is projected as favorite while Wayne State is picked fifth out of eleven teams.

In recent game action against Texas Woman's University, Wayne State held an early lead but trailed at halftime before narrowing the gap late in regulation; ultimately they fell short by five points despite strong performances from Ferguson and Gordon. Against Alabama-Huntsville, Wayne State established an early advantage that they maintained throughout most of the contest despite several comeback attempts by their opponent.

Fans can watch all home games as well as road GLIAC matchups on FloSports (flohoops.com). For audio coverage during road GLIAC contests Kevin Brechmacher will provide play-by-play via Warrior Sports Network; Tom Cavanaugh will handle commentary for both upcoming games against Malone and Ashland through links available on wsuathletics.com.