Women’s Basketball heads to Green Bay for HL Quarterfinal matchup

Thursday, March 2

Green Bay, WI

8 PM ET

Wright State University

No. 1 Green Bay (Quarterfinals)

Photo by: Joseph Craven

Women’s Basketball heads to Green Bay for HL Quarterfinal matchup

3/1/2023 4:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball

DAYTON — The ninth-seed Wright State women's basketball program will face top-seed Green Bay in the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championship quarterfinals on Thursday, March 2, inside the Kress Center. The postseason contest will commence at 8 p.m. ET and broadcast live on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available.

THE MATCHUP
March 2 at No. 1 Green Bay | 8 p.m. ET | Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders used a second-half comeback to defeat No. 8 seed Oakland 79-69 in the Horizon League Championship first round on Tuesday (2/28). Cara VanKempen erupted for a career-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting and a 4-of-4 mark on 3-pointers to go along with four rebounds, three blocks (tied career best), and one steal. Emily Chapman finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting, while Kacee Baumhower totaled 10 points and a team-best eight assists. Isabelle Bolender contributed with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Wright State faced a 41-37 halftime deficit but outscored the Golden Grizzlies 42-29 in the second half to secure the postseason victory. WSU went 56% (14-of-25) from the field over the last two quarters while holding OU to 32.5% (13-of-40) shooting and no 3-point makes.

WINNING STRETCH
WSU started the season 2-19 overall but has recorded a 6-4 record over its last ten games. The Raiders are averaging 75.1 points per game in the span, highlighted by six 80-plus point performances. Four players are scoring in double figures, led by Emily Chapman with 12.4 points per contest.

TOURNAMENT INFO
The Horizon League Championship semifinals and title game will take place from March 6-7 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. Each round of the championship will re-seed, with the highest-remaining seed matching up against the lowest-remaining seed until the championship games. Every tournament game will be carried on ESPN networks, with the championship airing on ESPNU on March 7.

HISTORY VS. GREEN BAY
The Phoenix lead the all-time series, 70-7. Wright State fell to Green Bay twice in the regular season by an average margin of 20.5 points. The Raiders netted double-figure 3-pointers in both games, including 13 in the first matchup between the two teams in early January. Kacee Baumhower averaged a team-leading 10.5 points over the two losses.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Isabelle Bolender earned the latest Horizon League Player of the Week (2/26) after averaging 24.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals over two wins last week. The senior guard shot 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the field, 60% (9-of-15) on 3-pointers, and 91.7% (11-of-12) on free throws in the stretch. Bolender opened the week with a team-leading 23 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals in WSU's 83-75 victory over Oakland at home. The Cedarville, Ohio native celebrated a Senior Day victory against Detroit Mercy with a career-high 25 points, going 7-of-12 on field goals, 5-of-8 from deep, and 6-of-6 at the charity stripe.

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Makiya Miller was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team on Monday (2/27). The Reynoldsburg, Ohio native has played in all 31 games (10 starts), averaging 5.8 points, 1.5 assists, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.6 steals per contest. She leads WSU freshmen in scoring, assists, and minutes per game (20.2) while ranking third on the team in free throw makes (39). The 5-foot-7 guard scored in double figures in her opening three games as a Raider, becoming the first freshman player in the last 17 seasons to do so.

SHOWING OFF RANGE
The Raiders rank second in the country and first in the HL with 10.1 3-pointers per game. Wright State has netted double-figure 3-pointers on 17 occasions, including 12 times in its last 17 games. WSU made a school record 18 3-pointers versus Cleveland State (1/20) and added 14 threes at Purdue Fort Wayne (2/16) in the span. Seven players have netted 20-plus 3-pointers on the season, led by Bryce Nixon with 72 makes.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
The Raiders have committed just 12.8 turnovers per game this season, the 24th-lowest mark in the nation. Wright State has eight games with single-digit turnovers, including a season-low five versus IUPUI (2/4).

RAIDER MILESTONES
Emily Chapman surpassed 1,500 career points after scoring a season-high 28 in Wright State's 74-65 win at Milwaukee (2/10). She is also nearing 500 career rebounds (currently at 491 rebounds) in her collegiate career. The guard spent her first four seasons at nearby Cedarville University, where she was a two-time All-GMAC selection and NCCAA All-America Second Team selection in 2021. Fellow Cedarville transfer Isabelle Bolender is up 991 points over 91 collegiate games.

TOUGH TESTS
Thirteen of the 19 Division I opponents Wright State faced in the regular season boast winning records, which includes seven teams in the NET top 100. WSU squared off against a pair of teams that reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 last season (Ohio State and Tennessee) during the non-conference portion of its schedule in addition to the Mid-American Conference's top-two teams (Toledo and Bowling Green).

FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Lauren Scott earned Horizon League Freshman of the Week (2/6) after averaging 11.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists over two games at the start of February. The freshman guard shot 57.1 percent (8-of-14) overall, 50% (3-of-6) on 3-pointers, and 80% (4-of-5) on free throws in the span. She finished with a season-high 16 points in just 18 minutes of play against IUPUI (2/4) while adding seven points on 3-of-5 shooting in WSU's 80-70 victory over Northern Kentucky (2/2).

SHOOTING THREAT
Bryce Nixon is eighth in single-season school history with 72 3-point makes this season. The senior guard is averaging a team-high 11.5 points per game, ranking second in the Horizon League in 3-pointers (70) and third in 3-pointers per game (2.32) and 3-point percentage (39.1%). She has scored in double figures in 17 games, including ten times in conference play. Nixon poured in a career-best 24 points versus Southern Indiana (12/17), 23 points against NKU (2/2), and 20 points at Eastern Illinois (11/28).

CHAP AT HER BEST
Emily Chapman has proven to be a threat in her first year with the Raiders, as she leads the team in shooting percentage (50%), 3-point shooting (44.3%), rebounding (3.3 rpg), assists (2.9 apg), and minutes (30.0 mpg) while ranking second in scoring (9.9 ppg) and steals (1.0 spg). The Proctorville, Ohio native poured in a season-best 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting at Milwaukee (2/10) and added 18 points at Tennessee (12/11). The 5-5 senior guard has been WSU's leading rebounder on five occasions and has tallied five-plus assists in four of her last six games.

FINDING A GROOVE
Kacee Baumhower has reached double-figure scoring 16 times in her last 19 games. The sophomore guard is averaging a team-leading 11.5 points against HL opponents, highlighted by a career-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and a 5-of-6 clip on 3-pointers at Detroit Mercy (1/13). Baumhower leads the team in free throw makes (51) and free throw attempts (77) while also ranking second in rebounding (3.2 rpg), assists (2.4 apg), and blocks (0.3 bpg).

TAKE NOTICE
Lauren Scott has shot 38.8% (26-of-67) on 3-pointers, good for fourth on the team. The freshman guard has gone an improved 16-of-29 (55.2%) from deep in home games, highlighted by 15 points on a 3-of-5 mark on threes against Cleveland State (1/20).

WRIGHT FIT
Bryce Nixon joined Wright State with 317 career points over four collegiate seasons (105 games). The transfer guard has totaled 357 points (11.5 ppg) in just 31 games with the Raiders.