Women’s Basketball hosts Tiffin for Wednesday night exhibition

Wednesday, November 1

Dayton, OH

8 PM

Wright State University

Tiffin (EX)

Photo by: Joseph Craven

Women’s Basketball hosts Tiffin for Wednesday night exhibition

10/31/2023 3:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

DAYTON — The Wright State women's basketball program hosts Tiffin for its lone exhibition contest on Wednesday, November 1, at 8 p.m. inside the Nutter Center. Admission will be free for all spectators.

HISTORY VS. TIFFIN
The Raiders and NCAA Division II Dragons have never met during the regular season. Wright State head coach Kari Hoffman went 4-3 against Tiffin during her five-year head coaching stint at Cedarville.

SCOUTING THE DRAGONS
Tiffin is under the direction of second-year head coach Josh Mason, who compiled an 8-20 overall record and a 5-15 mark in conference action last season. The Dragons return four starters from last year's squad, including all-conference guard Savanah Richards.

PRESEASON POLL
The Raiders finished seventh in the 2023 Horizon League preseason poll with 54 points, which the league's 11 head coaches voted on. Green Bay (121 points) was selected to win the conference after receiving all 11 first-place votes.

SHOOTERS SHOOT
Wright State was one of the nation's most prolific long-distance shooting teams last season, as the Raiders ranked second nationally in 3-point makes per game (10.1) and 22nd in 3-point percentage (.364). Wright State netted a school record 323 threes while also shattering a single-game school record with 18 3-pointers versus Cleveland State (1/20/23). Graduate forward Cara VanKempen is the team's top returning long-range shooter, as she went 30-for-70 (.429) on 3-point attempts in 2022-23. Returning guards Kacee Baumhower, Lauren Scott, and Makiya Miller each made 20-plus threes a year ago.

KEY RETURNERS
The Raiders return five letterwinners from a year ago, anchored by starting guard Kacee Baumhower (9.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.3 apg) and starting forward Cara VanKempen (6.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg). The duo is joined by Horizon League All-Freshman Team recipient Makiya Miller (5.9 ppg, 1.5 apg), Lauren Scott (4.8 ppg), and Rachel Loobie (2.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg).

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
Wright State has bolstered its depth with seven newcomers on the squad, including upperclassmen transfers Jada Tate (Tiffin), Alexis Hutchison (Malone), Layne Ferrell (Akron), and Julia Hoefling (Loyola Chicago). The Raiders also added sophomore transfer Claire Henson (Long Island) and freshmen guards Rylee Sagester and Ellie Magestro-Kennedy.

VETERAN PRESENCE
Wright State's four upperclassmen transfers bring a wealth of experience to the Raiders with a combined 384 games of collegiate basketball, including 299 starts.

Jada Tate » 112 games (92 starts) over four seasons at Division II Tiffin
Alexis Hutchison » 108 games (103 starts) over four seasons at Division II Malone
Julia Hoefling » 84 games (41 starts) over four seasons at Loyola Chicago
Layne Ferrell » 80 games (63 starts) over three seasons at Akron

MILESTONE WATCH
Alexis Hutchison is nearing 1,500 career points (currently at 1,387 points) and 200 career steals (currently at 183 steals) in her collegiate career. The guard spent her first four seasons at Malone University, where she was a two-time NCCAA Division I All-Midwest Region selection and a Third Team NCCAA All-American in 2023. Jada Tate is up to 991 points over 112 collegiate games, while Julia Hoefling has compiled 87 career blocks.

EARLY TESTS
Wright State's non-conference schedule features seven teams with a winning record last season, two Power Five programs, and a multi-team exempt event (MTE). The Raiders face road meetings at Michigan State (November 12) and West Virginia (December 18). WSU will close its non-conference slate with games against Presbyterian (December 21) and Wyoming (December 22) at the Las Vegas Hoops Classic.

FAMILY HOOPS TREE
Graduate forward Jada Tate has three siblings with Division I college basketball experience, including her older brother Jae'Sean, who played at Ohio State from 2014-2018 and is in his fourth year as an NBA forward for the Houston Rockets. Her brother Jalen was a four-year starter at Northern Kentucky (2016-2020) before spending the 2020-21 season at Arkansas. Her sister Jocelyn is currently a junior guard at Michigan State. Tate's father, Jermaine, played college basketball for Ohio State and Cincinnati before embarking on a 13-year professional career.

BASKETBALL RUNS IN THE FAMILY
Sophomore guard Lauren Scott is the granddaughter of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Gary Williams, who led the Maryland men's basketball program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament Championship in 2002. He also served as head coach for American (1978- 82), Boston College (1982-86), and Ohio State (1986-89). Currently, he is Maryland's Senior Managing Director for Alumni Relations and Athletic Development.

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 November 30 versus IUPUI and concludes on March 2 at Detroit Mercy.

BUILT IN OHIO
Six of WSU's seven total newcomers played high school basketball in Ohio, including four from the Greater Dayton area. In total, 11 individuals on Wright State's 15-player roster are from Ohio.

RAIDER LEADERSHIP
Wright State is set for its third season under the direction of head coach Kari Hoffman, who was introduced as the eighth head coach in program history in May 2021. In her second year at WSU, Hoffman guided the Raiders to a four-win improvement, a Horizon League Championship quarterfinals appearance, and a 6-5 record over the program's last 11 games. 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, and Patrick Bain enter their third season at Wright State. Director of Operations Emily Chapman joined the coaching staff in August 2023.

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.

MOBILE TICKETING
Wright State has launched the Wright State Raiders app, allowing fans to stay up to date on Raider women's basketball. Fans are encouraged to use the Wright State Raiders app as the primary method for managing their digital tickets, which are required for entry to all WSU basketball events. Tickets for the 2023-24 basketball seasons are now uploaded and accessible on all purchaser accounts. Fans can easily view their tickets, download them to their mobile wallet, or transfer them to another individual account.

UP NEXT
The Raiders will open the regular season at Southern Indiana on Monday, November 6. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET for the non-conference matchup.