Raiders set for final homestand

Thursday, February 24

Dayton, OH

4:00 PM

Wright State University

Detroit Mercy

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2/23/2022 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes Tickets Watch on ESPN+ (Thursday)Follow Live Stats (Thursday)Watch on ESPN+ (Saturday)Follow Live Stats (Saturday)

DAYTON — The Wright State women's basketball team wraps up its regular season with a pair of home games inside the Nutter Center. WSU will host Detroit Mercy on Thursday, February 24 at 4 p.m., followed by 2 p.m. Senior Day meeting versus Oakland on Saturday, February 26.

The Raiders will celebrate the senior trio of Jenasae Bishop, KK White, and Jada Wright during the pregame portion of Saturday's contest. Team posters will be available at both games.

THE SLATE
Feb. 24 vs. Detroit Mercy | 4 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes
Feb. 26 vs. Oakland | 2 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders closed their regular-season road schedule with losses to Robert Morris and Youngstown State. Jada Roberson scored a career-high 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and one steal at RMU (2/18). Trailing 28-27 at halftime, the Colonials broke away after outscoring the Raiders 20-6 in the third quarter. Against the Penguins (2/20), Wright State turned the ball over a season-low seven times while recording eight steals and four blocks defensively. However, YSU led the entirety of the game to remain first place in the Horizon League.

SCOUTING THE TITANS
Detroit Mercy is 1-26 overall under first-year head coach LaTanya Collins. Despite sitting last in the HL standings, the Titans have been competitive, as nine of their losses have been decided by single digits. Two weekends ago, UDM defeated UIC 63-61 for its first win of the season.

Irene Murua has been a consistent figure for the Titans, averaging 8.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. As a team, Detroit leads the conference in steals (221), averaging 8.8 per game.

INSIDE THE WSU-UDM SERIES
Thursday will mark the 62nd-career meeting between WSU and UDM. The Raiders lead the all-time series 33-28, which includes nine-straight victories over Detroit. Wright State's first HL victory in the Kari Hoffman era came against Detroit, as the Raiders won 72-56 on January 15. A season ago. WSU won both meetings by 20-plus points. KK White enjoyed a career outing in WSU's 75-55 win at Detroit (12/12/20), totaling 18 points and four blocks, both career-high marks.

SCOUTING THE GRIZZLIES
Oakland sits seventh in the Horizon League with a 10-8 record. Last Sunday, the Golden Grizzlies defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 58-54, snapping a three-game losing streak. One of OU's biggest wins of the season transpired at Youngstown State, upsetting the Penguins 56-52.

Kahlaijah Dean headlines the Golden Grizzly returners, as the senior guard leads the team in scoring (15.3 ppg) and steals per game (1.8). Another guard in Brianne Beatty has averaged 9.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in a team-high 24 starts.

INSIDE THE WSU-OU SERIES
The Raiders have controlled the all-time series versus Oakland with 18 wins in 21 meetings. In last year's 74-49 victory over the Golden Grizzlies, Roberson turned in her first collegiate double-double with 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. WSU made history in its 80-75 win against OU during the 2017-18 season with school records in free throws makes (33) and free throw attempts (48). The team's last met in early January, with the Raiders finishing on the losing end of a 62-51 decision. Destyne Jackson scored a team-leading 12 points in the loss.

MAKING HISTORY
In Wright State's 69-63 win against UIC (2/12), the Raiders scored 19 points off 30 turnovers, including 15 by way of steal. WSU had not reached feats in turnovers forced and steals in its last 162 games, which also came against the Flames on January 20, 2017.

CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOK
Jada Wright has totaled 40 blocks in 18 games, good for the sixth-most in single-season school history. She is four blocks away from surpassing '02 graduate Robyn Swain into fifth in the record book. Richelle van Der Keijl currently holds the single-season block record, as she finished with 80 during the 2015-16 campaign.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
The Raiders have committed 285 turnovers this season, the ninth-lowest amount of 348 Division I programs. WSU also ranks second in the HL in turnovers per game (14.2). Against Youngstown State (2/20), WSU had a season-low seven turnovers, including just three in the first half.

RIM PROTECTOR
Wright ranks 23rd nationally and second in the Horizon League in blocks per game (2.2). The Chicago native has totaled multiple blocks in 11 games, including a career-high six stuffs at Cleveland State (2/7). She is the lone player in the HL with four-plus blocks in five or more games. Wright has increased her average to 2.4 blocks per game in conference-only games.

IN A GROOVE
Wright has averaged close to a double-double in her last 13 games with 7.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks. The junior college transfer has reached double figures in rebounding six times and in scoring five times in the span. One of Wright's best showings came against Lake Erie (12/15) when she tallied 14 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks. She posted a double-double against Detroit Mercy with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. Wright notched her third double-double of the season at CSU with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocks. The Raiders are 2-1 when Wright records a double-double.

CENTURY CLUB
Roberson reached 100 career steals in Wright State's loss to Milwaukee on January 29. The junior guard is averaging a conference-best 2.5 steals per game, ranking 47th in the country. She has recorded multiple steals 14 times, including 10 of her last 14 games. Roberson tallied a career-high five steals in WSU's conference opener against the Panthers (11/18).

HEATING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME
Over Roberson's last 17 games, she has averaged a team-best 14.7 points on 40.4% shooting (101-of-250) to go along with 6.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.2 steals. In the span, the Muskegon, Mich., native has achieved single-game career highs in points (27 at RMU), assists (7 vs. Lake Erie), and blocks (2 at Dayton). On the season, Roberson leads the Raiders in points per game (13.8), offensive rebounds per game (2.9), assists per game (2.7), and steals per game (2.5).

NOT BAD FOR A GUARD
Roberson ranks second on the team with 6.4 rebounds per game. The rebounding average ranks 11th in the conference and second among HL guards. Her 2.9 offensive rebounds per game sit fourth in the Horizon League.

JACKSON STEPPING UP
Jackson scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting in WSU's 82-79 loss to NKU on January 22. She averages 13.4 points per game, good for the 10th-best mark among conference players. The Lexington, Ky., native has scored in double figures in 17 games, including 10 of her last 12. Last season, Jackson averaged 4.3 points per game with only three double-digit scoring games. She is also shooting 34.8% through 20 games, an increase from her 30% shooting mark during the 2020-21 season.

CONFIDENCE BUILDING
Jackson has strengthened her long-range shooting as the season has gone on, as she leads WSU in 3-point makes (35) and 3-point attempts (107). She also ranks eighth in the Horizon League in 3-point field goals per game (1.8). Jackson has netted a season-high three 3-pointers on five occasions, most recently against Milwaukee on January 29.

JUCO TO D1
Makira Webster, a transfer out of Wabash Valley Community College, has appeared in 19 games with two starts for WSU. Against, she reached season-high marks in points (8), assists (3), 3-pointers (2), steals (4), and minutes (32). To date, the nearby Sidney, Ohio native ranks fourth on the team in assists per game (0.9).

SHOOTERS SHOOT
Chappell leads the Raiders in 3-point shooting (33.3%) and ranks 20th in the conference in 3-point field goals per game (1.2). The second-year guard has made one or more threes in 12 games, including a season-high five threes against Bradley (11/9).

BENCH SUPPORT
White has averaged a bench-leading 6.6 points per game for the Raiders. She is also pulling down 3.2 rebounds per contest. In WSU's 91-60 win over Lake Erie, she totaled 20 points, 13 rebounds, two steals, and one block.

BALL DISTRIBUTION
WSU recorded a season-best 20 assists against Detroit Mercy, its most since the 2019-20 season against Youngstown State (1/4/20). Six different Raiders recorded three or more assists in the win.

WIN NO. 1
Wright State rolled past Division II Lake Erie 91-60 in front of over 2,700 fans on Education Day inside the Nutter Center. The win marked head coach Kari Hoffman's first victory at the helm of the Raiders. WSU raced out to a 33-10 lead after the first quarter and extended its edge to 52-21 by halftime. In the third quarter, the Raiders grew their advantage to 71-33 to put the game entirely out of reach, coasting to a 91-60 finish.

BACK IN A BIG WAY
Despite a three-week absence from play, a trio of Raiders achieved career-high marks in multiple categories against Lake Erie. White led the way with a career-best 20 points and 13 rebounds to go along with two steals and one block. Wright posted her first double-double at WSU with 14 points and 15 rebounds – both career-highs. Meanwhile, Roberson finished with career-best marks in points (19) and assists (7). Jackson added a career-high 18 points.

HOT FROM DEEP
Wright State went 14-of-25 (.560) from deep versus Lake Erie, as four different Raiders made three or more 3-pointers. Chappell converted on a game-leading four 3-pointers, followed by Jackson, White, and Roberson knocking down three apiece. The last time WSU made 14 or more threes in a game transpired during the 2018-19 season against Kentucky State (12/13/18). The Raiders last shot above 56-percent from 3-point range in 2017 at Belmont (12/18/17), going 9-for-12 from deep.

TOUGH LUCK
Wright State opened the 2021-22 campaign with five games in a 15-day span but has been limited to 15 games since November 25. The Raiders have dealt with eight cancellations on the season, including four by way of forfeit.

UP NEXT
After Oakland, the Raiders will turn their focus to the 2022 Horizon League Basketball Championship, with the first round beginning on March 1 at the campus site of the tournament's higher seed.