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Wright State University Athletics

Makiya Miller

Women's Basketball

Women’s Basketball travels to Bowling Green

DAYTON — The Wright State women's basketball program continues its season-opening road slate on Monday, November 14, at Bowling Green inside the Stroh Center. WSU's second consecutive non-conference matchup against a Mid-American Conference school will begin at 7 p.m. and stream on ESPN+. Live Stats will also be available.  

GAME INFORMATION
Monday, November 14 - 7 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats - WSU Game Notes

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders opened their 2022-23 season with an 88-56 loss at Toledo. The season opener was a tale of two halves, as Toledo led 49-16 at halftime, punctuated by a 30-0 run spanning over 12 minutes. Wright State outscored the Rockets 40-39 in the second half, including a 19-15 advantage in the third quarter. 

Makiya Miller led the Raiders (0-1) with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting in her collegiate debut off the bench. Kacee Baumhower finished with 12 points and a team-leading five rebounds, while Isabelle Bolender added 11 points, four rebounds, and two assists. Cara VanKempen chipped in defensively with two blocks. 

HISTORY VS. BGSU
Wright State is 3-4 all-time against the Falcons, with the last meeting between the two schools taking place in 2001. WSU earned an 83-76 victory in the 2001 matchup for its first win over BGSU in two decades. 

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
Bowling Green is coming off a 17-16 record last year, with an even 10-10 record against MAC opponents. The Falcons finished in third place in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) with wins against Furman and Nevada and a loss to Saint Mary's.

BGSU returns its top-five scorers from a year ago, including three players — Kadie Hempfling (11.7 ppg), Amy Velasco (10.8 ppg), and Elissa Brett (10.7 ppg) — who averaged over 10 points per game. The Falcons opened their 2022-23 campaign with a 77-61 win against St. Bonaventure on the road. Brett, a senior guard, paced the Falcons with 26 points and five rebounds in the victory. 

NEW-LOOK RAIDERS
This year's women's basketball roster features 12 newcomers, including five upperclassmen transfers and seven freshmen.  

VETERAN PRESENCE
Wright State's five upperclassmen transfers bring a wealth of experience to the Raiders with a combined 370 games of collegiate basketball, including 156 starts. Bryce Nixon played in 33 games as a freshman at Arizona, the third-most by a first-year player in program history. 

Emily Chapman - 107 games (74 starts) over four seasons at Cedarville
Bryce Nixon - 55 games (6 starts) over two seasons at Santa Clara — 50 games over two seasons at Arizona
Cara Vankempen - 75 games (24 starts) over three seasons at Valparaiso
Isabelle Bolender - 60 games (52 starts) over three seasons at Cedarville
Rachel Loobie - 23 games over two seasons at Central Michigan

SHE'S JUST A FRESHMAN
Makiya Miller's 14 points against Toledo were the most in a Raider freshman debut since 2018. The Reynoldsburg, Ohio native was at her best in the second half of the season opener, netting 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting.  

CEDARVILLE TO WRIGHT STATE
Emily Chapman and Isabelle Bolender played under current Raider head coach Kari Hoffman for multiple seasons at nearby Cedarville University. Chapman, a two-time All-GMAC selection, earned NCCAA All-America Second Team honors in Hoffman's final season with the Yellowjackets after averaging 13.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. Bolender averaged 11.9 points on 51% shooting in 60 career games at Cedarville, earning GMAC Freshman of the Year in 2020 and NCCAA Midwest Region First Team accolades the following season. 

BACK FOR YEAR 3
Channing Chappell enters her third season with the Raiders after leading the team in minutes per game (33.1) and free throw percentage (.792) over 23 starts a year ago. The junior guard reached double-figure scoring in seven games, highlighted by 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting against Bradley. 

Chappell tallied a career-high 22 points against Robert Morris during the 2020-21 season, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, 6-for-6 from beyond the arc, and 2-for-2 at the charity stripe. 

WORTH THE WAIT
Sophomore guard Kacee Baumhower joined the Raiders as a mid-year transfer from St. Bonaventure in January 2022, making her ineligible to compete for the remainder of the 2021-22 season. The projected starting guard boasted a prosperous career at Sylvania Northview High School, as she was a three-time Division I All-Ohio selection and finished with a school-record 1,378 points. As a senior, Baumhower averaged 18.7 points per game en route to 2021 All-Northwest District Co-Player of the Year honors.

BASKETBALL RUNS IN THE FAMILY
Freshman guard Lauren Scott is the granddaughter of College Basketball Hall of Fame coach Gary Williams, who led the Maryland men's basketball program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament Championship in 2002. The current Big Ten Network college basketball analyst also served as head coach for American (1978-82), Boston College (1982-86), and Ohio State (1986-89).

SHOOTING SPARK
Makira Webster appeared in 22 games (6 starts) in her first season with the Raiders after spending two years at Wabash Valley Community College. The Sidney, Ohio native provided a spark in long-range shooting, as she ranked second on the team in 3-point percentage (.326), which included multiple deep balls in five games.

EXHIBITION PREP
Wright State earned a 72-42 win over Ohio Dominican in its lone exhibition contest of the 2022 season. WSU shot 46 percent (24-of-52) from the field and an efficient 41% (9-of-22) from outside the arc in the victory. Taylor Johnson-Matthews led all scorers with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting to go along with eight rebounds in just 20 minutes of action. Five Raiders connected on 3-pointers, including a team-leading three treys on five attempts by Bryce Nixon.

EARLY TESTS
WSU will square off against a pair of teams that reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season in Ohio State and Tennessee. Wright State will close its non-conference slate at the Hawk Classic from December 20-21, hosted by Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia, Pa. 

HL SLATE
Each Horizon League team will play a 20-game double round-robin schedule. Wright State's conference schedule gets underway at the Nutter Center on December 2 versus Robert Morris and concludes with home games against Oakland on February 23 and Detroit Mercy on February 25. 

BUILT IN OHIO
Six of WSU's seven total freshmen played high school basketball in Ohio — two from Greater Dayton, two from Greater Columbus, and two from Greater Cleveland. In total, ten individuals on Wright State's 15-player roster are from Ohio. 

FAMILY OF ATHLETES
Bryce Nixon is no stranger to success in collegiate athletics, as her mother Shelley was a three-time All-American running track at the University of Texas, while her father Chuck played football at San Diego State University. On top of that, her uncle Troy played in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers, and her uncle Brandon was an All-American basketball player for UC San Diego.  

LIFE ON THE ROAD
Wright State opens the season with four of its first five games on the road, punctuated by a non-conference contest at Ohio State on November 23. Following a pair of home games against Horizon League opponents, the Raiders will face six road matchups over a seven-game stretch, including a trip to Tennessee on December 11 and the Hawk Classic from December 20-21 in Philadelphia, Pa. 

YEAR NO. 2
The Raiders are set for their second season under the direction of head coach Kari Hoffman, who was introduced as the eighth head coach in program history in May 2021. Hoffman joined the Raiders after serving as the head coach at nearby Cedarville University for five seasons, where she won 106 games, led the Yellow Jackets to three regular season conference titles, and was named the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2021. Hoffman also earned NCCAA Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors in 2019 and 2020. In addition to Hoffman, assistant coaches John Leonzo, Megan Leuzinger, Patrick Bain, and Abby Wolford enter their second season at Wright State.

GET YOUR TICKETS
Season tickets for the Raider women's basketball campaign are on sale through WSURaiders.com or by contacting the ticket office at (937) 775-4936, starting as low as $40. Single-game tickets are as low as $5, with general admission seating throughout the arena. 

PRESEASON POLL
The Raiders finished tenth in the 2022 Horizon League preseason poll with 26 points, which the league's 11 head coaches voted on. Youngstown State (118 points) was selected to win the conference with a league-high eight first-place votes, followed by Green Bay (106 points, 2 first-place votes) and Cleveland State (102 points, 1 first-place vote) in the second and third slots.  

UP NEXT
After Bowling Green, the Raiders welcomes Ohio Christian to the Nutter Center for their home opener on Thursday, November 17. 
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Players Mentioned

Kacee Baumhower

#24 Kacee Baumhower

G
5' 9"
Sophomore
Channing Chappell

#10 Channing Chappell

G
5' 5"
Junior
Makira Webster

#5 Makira Webster

G
5' 7"
Junior
Bryce Nixon

#20 Bryce Nixon

G
5' 10"
Senior
Cara VanKempen

#2 Cara VanKempen

F
6' 1"
Senior
Taylor Johnson-Matthews

#15 Taylor Johnson-Matthews

G
5' 9"
Freshman
Rachel Loobie

#11 Rachel Loobie

F
6' 1"
Junior
Isabelle Bolender

#1 Isabelle Bolender

G
5' 10"
Graduate Student
Emily Chapman

#0 Emily Chapman

G
5' 5"
Senior
Lauren Scott

#21 Lauren Scott

G
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Kacee Baumhower

#24 Kacee Baumhower

5' 9"
Sophomore
G
Channing Chappell

#10 Channing Chappell

5' 5"
Junior
G
Makira Webster

#5 Makira Webster

5' 7"
Junior
G
Bryce Nixon

#20 Bryce Nixon

5' 10"
Senior
G
Cara VanKempen

#2 Cara VanKempen

6' 1"
Senior
F
Taylor Johnson-Matthews

#15 Taylor Johnson-Matthews

5' 9"
Freshman
G
Rachel Loobie

#11 Rachel Loobie

6' 1"
Junior
F
Isabelle Bolender

#1 Isabelle Bolender

5' 10"
Graduate Student
G
Emily Chapman

#0 Emily Chapman

5' 5"
Senior
G
Lauren Scott

#21 Lauren Scott

5' 7"
Freshman
G