DAYTON — The Wright State women’s basketball program continues its season-opening road slate on Sunday, November 12, at Michigan State inside the Breslin Center. The non-conference matchup will begin at 2 p.m. and stream on Big Ten Plus. Live stats will also be available.
GAME INFORMATION
Sunday, November 12 – 2 p.m. – Watch – Live Stats – WSU Game Notes
LAST TIME OUT
On Monday, Wright State opened its 2023-24 season with a 67-63 loss at Southern Indiana. The Raiders trailed 51-36 at the 3:40 minute mark of the third quarter but rallied back to a 63-all tie with 1:15 left in the fourth quarter. However, Wright State was scoreless for the remainder of the game, going 0-for-4 on free throws in the span.
WSU had three players scored in double figures, led by Alexis Hutchison, who scored a game-high 19 points. The Raider defense recorded 15 steals and six blocks, forcing USI to 25 turnovers and edging the host team 20-11 in points off turnovers. Rachel Loobie led the defensive effort with a career-high five steals to go along with six rebounds and two blocks.
HISTORY VS. MSU
Wright State is 0-2 all-time versus Michigan State. The Raiders lost 67-61 in 1987 and 84-68 in 2018. MSU has hosted both meetings.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Michigan State went 16-14 overall and 7-10 in conference play last season. The Spartans faced Horizon League programs Purdue Fort Wayne, Oakland, and Detroit Mercy in the non-conference portion of their schedule, defeating each team by 30-plus points. MSU brings back a trio of starters, including two-time All Big Ten honorable mention selection DeeDee Hagemann.
Head coach Robyn Fralick enters her first year with the program after spending five seasons at Bowling Green. MSU opened the Fralick era with an 87-62 victory over Oakland at home. Hagemann recorded a game-leading 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Graduate transfer guard Alexis Hutchison scored a game-leading 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting against Southern Indiana (11/6). Her point total was 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.
Redshirt senior guard Layne Ferrell also made an impression in her first game at WSU, as she stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists, four steals, and two blocks.
CAREER NIGHT
Senior forward Rachel Loobie finished with career-high marks in steals (5), assists (3), blocks (2), and minutes played (24) in Wright State’s season opener at Southern Indiana. She added seven points on 3-of-4 shooting and six rebounds off the bench.
TOGETHER AGAIN
Graduate forward Jada Tate’s younger sister Jocelyn is a junior guard on a Michigan State women’s basketball team. The two helped Pickerington Central High School win the 2018 state championship before earning a state runner-up finish in 2019.
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).
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
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.
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.
MILESTONE WATCH
Alexis Hutchison is nearing 1,500 career points (currently at 1,406 points) and 200 career steals (currently at 185 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 113 collegiate games, while Julia Hoefling has compiled 88 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.
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.
STRONG FINISH
Wright State started the 2022-23 season 2-19 overall but went 6-5 over its last 11 games. The Raiders defeated conference opponents Robert Morris, Northern Kentucky, Milwaukee, Detroit Mercy, and Oakland (twice) in the span. WSU scored 80-plus points six times, highlighted by an 86-point performance in its win over UDM (2/25/23).
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
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
Wright State welcomes Mount Vernon Nazarene to the Nutter Center for its home opener on Tuesday, November 14, at 4 p.m. The game will stream on ESPN+.