The Wright State Raiders women’s and men’s basketball teams will both be in action on the road on Thursday, November 21 with both teams coming off wins at home last weekend.
After earning their first win of the season in their 77-65 victory over Tennessee State, the women’s team and fourth-year head coach Kari Hoffman will look to go back-to-back as they head down to Louisville, Kentucky to visit the Bellarmine Knights for a 6:30pm ET/5:30pm CT tip-off at Knights Hall.
Wright State will be the second Horizon League opponent Bellarmine will face this season. The first time out, Bellarmine lost at Detroit Mercy in a close one 73-71 last Saturday afternoon. The Raider ladies are still down junior Lauren Scott, who remains out with a knee injury. She started their season opener at Wisconsin and has not been back from that point on.
Meanwhile, the men’s team and first-year head coach Clint Sargent will try to do the same thing as they do battle against an excellent Princeton Tigers squad at 8:00pm ET in the Quarterfinal Round of the 2024 Myrtle Beach Invitational from the HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina. The very next day, they will face either Bradley or Texas State in the Semifinal or Consolation Round depending on who the winners and losers are. This tournament’s other two quarterfinal games features Ohio University vs. Middle Tennessee and South Florida vs. Portland. Wright State is coming off an unsurprising 92-56 blowout performance over NAIA opponent Central State.
About the Knights: Bellarmine is 3-2 to start the season and was picked to finish 8th in the Atlantic Sun on the conference’s coaches poll, but also picked to finish 10th in the media poll. The Knights return only four players from last season’s team: their starters and top 3 scorers in Hayley Harrison (15.5 ppg) & Hope Sivori (SIGH-vore-EE) (11.3 ppg) – who are Preseason All-Atlantic Sun Team members – and Miyah Brown (mee-UH) (9.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg). They also return a grad student in Ashlee Harris (5.3 ppg). They lost four key players – Cam Browning, Mackenzie Keelin, Claire Knies, and Lucy Robertson – to graduation; while starting forward Paetynn Gray played in only 12 games (11 starts) last season due to an injury and ended up quitting basketball altogether. The squad’s tallest player, 6-6 Gracie Merkle – the 2022-23 Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year, sat out all of last season due an injury as well and ended up transferring to Penn State. However, they got some talented players from the transfer portal in guards Erin Toller (TOE-ler) & Mia Beam and forward Skylar Treadwell, as well as a five-freshman class led by an Egyptian post player in Hana Abdel Aal (HAWN-uh AB-dool All).
Bellarmine head coach profile: Chancellor Dugan is in her 13th season running the show for the Knights already with the 3rd-most wins in program history (174) and stands six wins shy of 500 in her entire career. Dugan began her head coaching career at Florida Atlantic, where she spent 13 seasons (1999-12) and led them to their only NCAA Tournament appearance on the Division I level in 2006.
Wright State women’s starting lineup – individual stats per game; stats from last game against Tennessee State
• Amaya Staton, F (6-1, Gr., transfer from Merrimack) – 10.3 ppg, 8 RPG, 0.8 bpg; put up her 8th-career double-double and first in a Raider uniform on Friday (12 points, 13 rebounds).
• Claire Henson, G (5-10, Jr.) – 16 ppg, 6 rpg, 1.3 spg, 46.2% 3-PT; coming off the best game of her career with 22 points (9/13 FT) and 9 rebounds
• Makiya Miller, G (5-7, Jr.) -10 ppg, 3 rpg; only scored 5 points (2/4 FG)
• Macie Taylor, G (5-7, R-Soph.) – 9 ppg, 1.5 spg; Last Friday, she put up a Taylor-made performance with 14 points and four steals.
• Olivia Brown, G (5-7, R-Soph., transfer from Akron) – 2.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2 apg, 1.5 spg; put up five points and four rebounds
Wright State women’s rotation players; per game averages – stats from last game against Tennessee State
• Chloe Chard Peloquin, C (6-3, Jr., transfer from Canisius) – 3.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg; chipped in four points and six rebounds
• Lexi Bugajski (boo-GYE-skee), F (6-0, Soph., transfer from Appalachian State) – subbed in for the last 29 seconds
• Rylee Sagester, G (5-7, R-Fr.) -Last Friday, the sharpshooting freshman scored eight points off the bench with her coaches and teammates from Tri-Village High School in attendance.
• Ellie Magestro-Kennedy, G (5-7, R-Fr.); 6 ppg, 2.8 rpg – hit a pair of three-pointers off the bench and grabbed four boards
Rest of the Wright State women’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Bellarmine starting lineup – stats through first 5 games
• Skylar Treadwell, F (6-1, Gr.) – 10.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 1.2 spg; Treadwell came over from fellow Atlantic Sun school Stetson, so she knows Bellarmine quite well. This is her third school since she played her first two seasons at Seton Hall.
• Miyah Brown, G (5-10, Jr.) – 10.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2 spg; What can Brown do for you? Let’s see, she went from a part-time starter as a freshman to a full-time starter as a sophomore and made the most of her opportunity. She’s also a terrific rebounder to be a 5-10 guard.
• Hayley Harrison, G (5-10, Gr.) – 16 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.4 spg; It’s her third season at Bellarmine. She made the All-Atlantic Sun 3rd Team last year and finished 4th in the conference at 15.5 points a night. Harrison begun her career at Tennessee-Martin where she played as a freshman and a sophomore.
• Ashlee Harris, G (5-6, 6th-year Sr.) – 6.4 ppg, 1.8 spg, started the last four games; The only remaining student-athlete in all of Bellarmine athletics remaining from their Division II era, she has sat out two full seasons with injuries, but came back to play one last time and hopefully make it out injury-free.
• Hope Sivori, G (5-5, Sr.) – 11 ppg, 4.8 ast, 1.2 spg, 90.9% FT; Not only did Sivori end up with the best campaign of her NCAA career, but also led the Atlantic Sun in both assists per game (4.3) and steals per game (2.1). Sivori spent her first three seasons at Western Kentucky, where she was the 2020-21 Conference USA Rookie of the Year.
Note: Treadwell, Harrison, Brown, and Harris have started all five games.
Bellarmine key reserves (played in all five games)
• Erin Toller, G (5-7, Gr.) -12.6 ppg, 38.5 3-PT FG; Toller started the opener against Indiana Southeast, but has been coming off the bench ever since. Toller came over from Georgetown College (KY), who made back-to-back appearances in the Second Round of the NAIA Tournament. She also played in five games at the University of Kentucky as a freshman in 2020-21.
• Hana Abdel Aal, C (6-2, Fr.) – 6 ppg, 5 rpg, 1.8 bpg; The team’s tallest player and a defensive specialist hailing from Egypt, she recorded 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks off the bench in Monday’s 78-67 loss at Purdue. Abdel Aal has already won gold medals in the U18 Women’s Basketball Egyptian League, the FIBA 3×3 u17 Africa Cup, FIBA Africa Champions Cup Women, Women’s Basketball Egyptian League, and Women’s Basketball Egyptian Cup.
• Kayce Hyman, F (5-10, Fr.) – 4.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg; This kid is a speedster. She was a track and field star in her junior and senior years at Hammond School in her hometown of Irmo, SC.
• Mia Beam (5-8, Gr.) – 3 ppg, 80.8% FT; A grad transfer from Cornell, this girl was truly a Beam of light at the charity stripe in her three seasons with the Big Red, holding a solid lifetime free throw percentage of 83.1 percent.
Rest of Bellarmine’s roster: https://athletics.bellarmine.edu/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Wright State men’s starting lineup – individual stats per game; stats from last game against Central State
• Brandon Noel (noll), F (6-8/240, R-Jr.) – 21.5 ppg, 10 rpg, 1.2 spg, 2 bpg; 19 points (6/13 FG), seven rebounds, two blocks
• Michael Imariagbe (eh-mar-ee-bay), F (6-7/220, Sr., transfer from Houston Christian) – 6.8 points, 5 rebounds; 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals
• Alex Huibregtse (HUE-bricks), G (6-3/205, R-Sr.) -18.8 points, 46.7% 3-PT FG; 14 points (5/9 FG), five assists
• Logan Woods (6-5/185, R-Soph.) – 8.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists; career-high 14 points (3/6 3-PT FG)
• Keaton Norris, G (6-0/175, R-Jr.) – 4.4 ppg, 4.8 apg, 2 spg; three points, eight assists three steals
Wright State men’s rotation players; stats from last game against Central State
• Solomon Callaghan, G (6-2/195, R-Fr.) – 4.3 ppg; two points, three rebounds
• Andrew Welage, G (6-6/205, Gr.) – 5 ppg; six points (2/4 3-PT FG)
• Drey Carter, F (6-8/210, R-Soph.) – 3.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg; nine points (4/7 FG)
• Jack Doumbia, F (6-6/210, R-Sr., transfer from Norfolk State) – 6.6 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.4 spg; eight points, five rebounds, two steals
Rest of the Wright State men’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
About the Tigers: Princeton is the three-time defending Ivy League Regular Season Champion and are picked to win it again this season. So far, they have won four of their first five games. They lost two starters to the transfer portal in Matt Allocco (12.7 ppg, 90.9% FT (70-of-77)) who went to Notre Dame and Zach Martini (8.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg). However, three starters have returned. their top two scorers in Caden Pierce (16.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg) and Xaivian Lee (17.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.7 apg), along with point guard Blake Peters (7.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg). to the transfer portal. Some key returners include guards Dalen Davis and Jackson Hicke, along with forwards Philip Byriel and Jacob Huggins. They also have a terrific freshman in Malik Abdullahi.
Princeton head coach profile: Mitch Henderson is in his 13th season as the man in charge of the Tigers and has the 3rd-most wins in program history (236), leading his squad as a 15-seed to the Sweet 16 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. He also played at Princeton from 1994 through 1998 where he was coached by Pete Carrill and Bill Carmody, making three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Henderson then started his coaching career at Northwestern University, where he spent 11 seasons (2000-11) as an assistant under Carmody.
Princeton starting lineup – individuals stats per game; stats from last Sunday’s win at Merrimack
• Malik Abdullahi, F (6-7/207, Fr.) – 7.8 ppg, 3 rpg; 8 points (4/6 FG), 3 rebounds in 18 minutes – A highly talented freshman who was 3-star recruit coming from Miami, FL.
• Caden Pierce, F (6-7/220, Jr.) – 14.8 ppg, 9 rpg, 3.8 apg; 18 points (8/14 FG), 9 rebounds, 4 assists – Pierce is one of the best mid-major players in all of college basketball. He was the Ivy League Freshman of the Year in 2022-23 and the 2023-24 Ivy League Player of the Year as a sophomore.
• Jack Scott, G (6-6/210, Jr.) – 1.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 apg; scoreless with 4 rebounds in 19 minutes – Scott originally transferred to William & Mary, but ended up returning to Princeton.
• Xaivian Lee, G (6-4/180, Jr.) – 15.8 ppg, 6.2 apg, 41.7% 3-PT FG; 19 points (4/7 FG) – Lee made the All-Ivy League First Team last season as a sophomore and is looking to repeat that performance in his junior campaign.
• Dalen Davis, G (6-0/190, Soph.) – 17 ppg, 54.5% 3-PT FG; 16 points (4/6 3-PT FG) – Davis played well as a freshman and is even doing better this season. No sophomore slump in this kid.
Princeton key reserves
• Blake Peters, G (6-1/192, Sr.) – 9.8 ppg, 42.9% 3-PT FG; 8 points (2/5 3-PT FG) – A starter last season as a junior, Peters got moved to the bench as a senior and is still being a big contributor.
• Jacob Huggins, F (6-8/225, Soph.) – 2.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg; only played 6 minutes – Huggins started the first three games of the season before getting moved to the bench in favor of Abdullahi.
• Philip Byriel, F (6-9/230, Sr.) – 2.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg; 6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
• Jackson Hicke, G (6-5/200, Soph.) – 2.4 ppg, 1.6 rpg; Started the first two games while Scott was ineligible.
Rest of the Princeton roster: https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
