Women’s Basketball Set to Open GCU Christmas Classic Against Grand Canyon

Wednesday, December 18

Phoenix, AZ

4:30 PM ET

Wright State University

Grand Canyon

Photo by: Jordan Wommack

Women’s Basketball Set to Open GCU Christmas Classic Against Grand Canyon

12/17/2024 2:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Watch on ESPN+Live Stats WSU Game Notes vs. GCU

DAYTON — The Wright State women's basketball program will wrap up regular season non-conference play with three games at the GCU Women's Basketball Have Fayth Christmas Classic. The Raiders will open the tournament against Grand Canyon on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. ET. Fans can keep up with the action on the ESPN+ livestream or through live stats.

GAME INFORMATION
Wednesday, December 18 – 4:30 p.m. ET – Watch – Live Stats — WSU Game Notes

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders fell to Cleveland State 85-71 on Monday evening. They were led by another career night by Rylee Sagester as she tallied 24 points, all from three. WSU finished shooting 38.1 percent overall from the floor, 57.1 from three, and 77.8 on the line. Joining Sagester in double-figure scoring was Lauren Scott with 14 points. Makiya Miller ended the night with nine points, followed by Chloe Chard Peloquin with eight points and Macie Taylor with six points.

Wright State grabbed 29 rebounds on the night, led by Claire Henson with eight. Olivia Brown led the team with five assists and three steals, while Chard Peloquin and Amaya Staton each recorded one block.

SCOUTING THE LOPES
Under direction of fifth-season head coach Molly Miller, GCU is 8-2 on the season, recently defeating Westcliff, 90-31, Utah State, 76-62, and Arizona, 69-66. Their two losses came early on, first to Middle Tennessee, 57-47, and Oregon, 70-54.

The Lopes are led by Laura Erikstrup and Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, each earning Western Athletic Conference weekly honors. Erikstrup was named Player of the Week after putting up 22 points, six rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks against Westcliff. Durazo-Frescas was named Newcomer of the Week after recording her third 20-point game of the season. Durazo-Frescas leads the team and ranks sixth in the nation, averaging 3.5 three-pointers per game, and ninth with 35 threes on the season.

GCU leads the WAC with a 46.8 field goal percentage and 36 three-point percentage. The Lopes have grabbed 345 off the backboard, led by Erikstrup with 55 rebounds.

RECORD FROM RANGE
Rylee Sagester has put up career highs in her last two times out, first on Friday, November 6, leading the team with a career high 17 points at Oakland. The redshirt-freshman recorded all but two points from behind the arc, shooting 5-of-11 on the night, a career best, while going two-for-two on the free throw line. Sagester followed, adding seven more points against Cleveland State on Monday, December 16, recording all 24 points from three. The redshirt-freshman is currently ranked 44th nationally with a 44.2 three-point percentage.

STAT STUFFING HALF
Junior forward Chloe Chard Peloquin tallied a career best of five blocks in the conference opener at Detroit Mercy on Wednesday, December 4. The Johnstown, Ohio native recorded all five blocks in the first half. She is the first Raider to accomplish the feat since Richelle van der Keijl in the 2015-16 season. As a team, Wright State had not tallied five blocks in this season, last doing so in at IU Indy on January 11, recording five blocks in the first half and six in the second.

STATON HAS 'EM SEEING DOUBLE
Amaya Staton is no stranger to dual-figure stats, putting up a double-double for three consecutive games (Nov. 15-24). Staton's first of the back-to-back-to-back double-doubles came at home on November 15, tallying 12 points and 13 rebounds against Tennessee State; then at Bellarmine on November 21, grabbing 11 rebounds and leading the team with 15 points, and again against Ohio with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The Lorain, Ohio native was the first Raider to see three consecutive double-doubles since Lexi Smith in the 2016-17 season; and as of November 25, Staton was one of just 11 other NCAA Division I women's basketball players to do so in the 2024-25 season.

TALK ABOUT A FOURTH QUARTER!
In a 77-65 victory over Tennessee State on Nov. 15, Claire Henson logged a career high 22 points. Of her 22 points on the day, 14 were scored in the final ten minutes. In the eventful final period, the junior guard went three-for-three from the floor and eight-of-nine on the line, accounting for two-thirds of the Raiders 21 points in the quarter.

CAREER HIGH SEASON OPENER
The Raiders opened the 2024-45 season at Wisconsin, as Claire Henson and Makiya Miller each saw career-highs with double-digit points in the 95-68 final. Miller ended the night with a career high 22 points, marking eight double-figure scoring games in her collegiate career. Miller matched a career high of six rebounds, previously recorded at Michigan State (01/13/23) and Ohio Christian (11/17/22). Joining Miller in double-figures was Henson, tallying 12 points, another Raider career high. Chloe Chard Peloquin matched a career best of seven rebounds in her Wright State debut, recording five points.

PRESEASON POLL
The Raiders finished sixth in the 2024 Horizon League preseason poll with 58 points, which the league's 11 head coaches voted on. Cleveland State (117 points) was selected to win the conference after receiving all seven first-place votes, closely followed by Green Bay (114 points) with four first-place votes.

UP NEXT
After taking on the tournament host, the Raiders will take on Georgia Southern on Thursday, December 19 at 2 p.m. ET WSU will conclude the tournament on Saturday, December 21, taking on Florida Atlantic at 12 p.m. ET. Both neutral site games will stream on the GCU Lopes website for a fee and will have live stats provided.

Wright State will return home to resume conference play, hosting Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday, December 28 for a 2 p.m. game. Fans can keep up with the action on the ESPN+ livestream or through live stats.