Women’s Basketball set to face Eastern Illinois on Saturday

Saturday, December 9

Dayton, OH

4 PM

Wright State University

Eastern Illinois

Buy Tickets

Photo by: Joseph Craven

Women’s Basketball set to face Eastern Illinois on Saturday

12/8/2023 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

DAYTON — The Wright State women's basketball program returns to non-conference play with a Saturday afternoon matchup against Eastern Illinois inside the Nutter Center. The game will start at 4 p.m. and broadcast live on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available.

GAME INFORMATION
Sunday, December 9 - 4 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats - WSU Game Notes

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders ended their five-game win streak with a 71-60 loss at Purdue Fort Wayne last Sunday. Wright State had three players score in double figures, led by Alexis Hutchison's game-leading 18 points and nine rebounds. Kacee Baumhower tallied 13 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Layne Ferrell added 12 points and two blocks. WSU outrebounded PFW 40-38 while also scoring 36 points in the paint. Rachel Loobie was close to a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds. Jada Tate pulled down eight rebounds in just 13 minutes off the bench.

Wright State's offense shot below 40 percent for the first time in their last six games, finishing 39.3% (24-of-61) from the field and 20% (5-of-25) on 3-point attempts. WSU also turned the ball over 19 times, which led to a 20-7 advantage in points off turnovers for the Mastodons.

HISTORY VS. EASTERN ILLINOIS
Wright State holds a 6-5 advantage in the all-time series. The teams met last season, which resulted in a 96-67 win for Eastern Illinois. In a 1993 matchup against EIU, the Raiders set a single-game school record in 3-point field goal percentage (.833).

HOME COOKIN'
The Raiders are off to a 4-0 start at home for the eighth time in school history. WSU has all four games inside the Nutter Center by double digits, highlighted by wins over Marshall (89-78) and IUPUI (79-67) last week. Wright State's last 5-0 start at home transpired during the 2015-16 season.

HUTCH IS THE REAL DEAL
Graduate transfer guard Alexis Hutchison tops the team in scoring (17.0 ppg) and assists (3.6 apg) through eight games. Her 19 points at Southern Indiana (11/6) were the most in a Raider debut since Angel Baker's 21 points against CSU Bakersfield (11/6/18) at the start of the 2018-19 season. Hutchison recorded a season-high 10 assists in WSU's win over Marshall (11/27), the most by a Raider since Angel Baker's 11 against Detroit Mercy (1/23/20) during the 2019-20 season. The Centerville, Ohio native surpassed 1,500 collegiate points in Wright State's conference win over IUPUI (11/30) last week.

GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION
Redshirt senior guard Layne Ferrell has stuffed the stat sheet in the first year at Wright State, as she is averaging 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game. She currently leads the Horizon League in total blocks (14) and blocks per game. At Indiana State (11/18), she finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, four steals, and three blocks. The Franklin, Ohio native totaled 18 points, four steals, and three blocks versus IUPUI (11/30) at home.

HOT START
Wright State has three players shooting above 45% on 3-pointers through eight games. Sophomore guard Lauren Scott leads the team with a 58.8% (10-for-17) mark from beyond the arc. She netted a trio of 3-pointers versus Mount Vernon Nazarene (11/14) and Slippery Rock (11/20). Redshirt senior guard Layne Ferrell has gone 46.2% (12-for-26) from deep, sinking multiple threes in three of her last five games. Graduate forward Cara VanKempen is hitting threes at a 45.8% (11-for-24) clip, highlighted by a 4-for-5 showing at Michigan State (11/12) on her way to a team-leading 16 points.

SHOOTERS SHOOT
Wright State ranks 38th nationally and second in the Horizon League in 3-point makes per game (8.4). The Raiders have knocked down double-digit threes against Southern Indiana (11/6), Mount Vernon Nazarene (11/14), and Slippery Rock (11/20).

A season ago, Wright State was one of the nation's most prolific long-distance shooting teams, ranking 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).

BOUNCED BACK
Sophomore guard Lauren Scott opened the 2023-24 season with back-to-back scoreless performances but has averaged 9.3 points on 67.7% shooting over her last six games. She erupted for a career-high 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting in Wright State's 88-64 win over Mount Vernon Nazarene (11/14).

PRESENCE DOWN LOW
Rachel Loobie ranks seventh in the Horizon League with 6.9 rebounds per game. The Indianapolis native has pulled down eight-plus rebounds in four games.

1K CLUB
Jada Tate scored eight points against Mount Vernon Nazarene (11/14), surpassing 1,000 points in her collegiate career. The Pickerington, Ohio native joined the Raiders after spending four seasons at Tiffin, where she compiled 991 points over 112 games (92 starts).

CAREER MARKS
Senior forward Rachel Loobie finished with career-high marks in steals (5), assists (3), blocks (2), and minutes played (24) against Southern Indiana (11/6). She scored a career-high 16 points versus Slippery Rock (11/20) while pulling down a career-best nine rebounds versus IUPUI (11/30).

MILESTONE WATCH
Alexis Hutchison is nearing 200 steals (currently at 195 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. Layne Ferrell has compiled 84 steals and 84 blocks through 88 collegiate games.

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).

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.

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.

GET YOUR TICKETS
Single-game tickets for Raider women's basketball are on sale through WSURaiders.com or by contacting the ticket office at (937) 775-4936, starting 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
Wright State will host Bowling Green for its annual Education Day game on Tuesday, December 12. The non-conference matchup will start at 11 a.m. and stream on ESPN+.