The Wright State Raiders basketball teams will both be in action on Wednesday, December 18 in a day-night coast-to-coast doubleheader. You can watch both games on ESPN+.
First up, the women’s team and fourth-year head coach Kari Hoffman (2-8, 0-3 Horizon) will look to snap their 4-game losing streak on the road against the Grand Canyon Antelopes (8-2) starting at 4:30ET/2:30MT in the first game of the GCU Have Fayth Christmas Classic at the Global Credit Union Arena in Phoenix, AZ. Last Monday night at home, the Raider women got crushed by conference powerhouse Cleveland State 85-71 despite tying the Horizon League record for most 3-pointers made in a game (16). Both squads shot over 50 percent from downtown, and Rylee Sagester led all scorers with 24 points off the bench while 8 of her 13 shots from deep.
Later on that evening, the men’s team and first-year head coach Clint Sargent (7-5, 1-1 Horizon) will look for their third straight win as they host the Youngstown State Penguins in a big time conference matchup at 7pm at the Nutter Center. The Raider men are coming a big time 88-79 win at home last Wednesday against Marshall. Jack Doumbia had 20 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks; Brandon Noel recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds for his 3rd double-double of the year; Alex Huibregtse had a dozen points of his own, and Drey Carter finished with 11 points off the bench.
About the women’s opponent: Grand Canyon was picked to win the Western Athletic Conference in the preseason polls. They have won 8 of their first 10 games this season and are 6-0 at home, including a current 6-game winning streak. Out of their 15-player roster, 11 of them are either seniors or grad students. They are led by one of the best 3-point shooters in the country in leading scorer Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, who is currently tied for 16th in the nation at 47.3 percent. Also, second-leading scorer Trinity San Antonio is tied for 23rd nationally with 3 steals per game, while Laura Erikstrup ranks 44th in the NCAA with a 55 percent field-goal percentage.
Grand Canyon head coach profile: Molly Miller is in her 5th season with the Antelopes and has led them to 20+ wins in the last 3 seasons. She started her coaching career at NCAA Division II Drury University where she spent 6 seasons, won 180 of 197 games, and was back-to-back WBCA Division II Coach of the Year (2019 and 2020). Drury made the 2019 Final Four and finished the following campaign with a 32-0 record. Before then, Miller played at Drury and finished second in school history in scoring (1,570 points), assists (439), and steals (407).
Wright State women’s starting lineup
• Amaya Staton, F (6-1, Gr., Merrimack transfer) – 10.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 58.7% FG
• Claire Henson, G (5-10, Jr.) – 10.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, spg, 43.5% 3-PT
• Makiya Miller, G (5-7, Jr.) – 7.8 ppg, 1.1 spg
• Macie Taylor, G (5-7, R-Soph.) – 9.8 ppg, 2.3 apg, 1.2 spg
• Lauren Scott, G (5-7, Jr.) – 6.8 ppg in 6 games (4 starts); scored 14 points on 4-of-6 shots from downtown against Cleveland State
Wright State women’s rotation players
• Rylee Sagester, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 8.1 ppg, 44.2% 3-PT
• Olivia Brown, G (5-7, R-Soph. Akron transfer) – 3.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.4 spg; has started 6 games
• Chloe Chard Peloquin, C (6-3, Jr., Canisius transfer) – 5.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, bpg
• Ellie Magestro-Kennedy, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 4.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg in 9 games
• Abbie Riddle, G (5-10, R-Fr., Bowling Green transfer) – 2.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 12.7 mpg in 6 games
• Florrie Cotterill, F (6-2, Fr.) – 0.4 ppg, 0.4 rpg in 8 games
Rest of the Wright State women’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Grand Canyon starting lineup
• Laura Erikstrup, F (6-2, Gr.) – 13.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.4 spg; started her career at WCC school San Diego
• Trinity San Antonio, G (5-10, Sr.) – 14 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.7 apg, 3 spg; started her career at fellow WAC school Cal Baptist where she was a 2022-23 All-WAC 1st Team as a sophomore
• Tiarra Brown, G (5-9, Gr.) – 10.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.5 spg
• Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, G (5-7, Sr.) – 14.4 ppg; transferred from UNLV where she led the Mountain West in 3-point shooting in 2 of her 3 seasons in Sin City
• Callie Cooper, G (5-6, Sr.) – 2.9 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.7 spg; started her career at Big West school UC-Santa Barbara
Grand Canyon rotation players
• Nneka Obiazor (NECK-uh oh-bee-EYE-zor), F (5-10, Gr., UNLV transfer) – 9.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 14.6 mpg; begun her NCAA career at Youngstown State where she averaged 15.3 points and 8.1 rebounds a game as a freshman in the 2020-21 campaign
• Lucy Ghiafan (guh-FAWN), F (6-0, Soph., Omaha transfer) – 3.1 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 5.6 mpg in 7 games
• Ale’jah Douglas, G (5-6, R-Sr., Oklahoma State transfer) – 3 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.6 apg in 5 games; begun in the NCAA at Clemson
• Sydney Erikstrup, G (6-1, Gr.) – 3 ppg, 1.9 rpg; the twin sister of Laura, Sydney started out at Arizona State who was still in the Pac-12 at the time
• Anna Ostlie (ost-LEE), G (5-10, Gr.) – 2.7 ppg, 15.3 mpg in 7 games; begun her NCAA career at Boise State
• Asha Sra (AW-shuh SHRAW), G (5-7, R-Soph.) – ppg, 1.3 rpg, 8.3 mpg
Rest of Grand Canyon’s roster: https://gculopes.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
About the men’s opponent: Youngstown State was picked to finish 6th behind Wright State in the Horizon League preseason, but they are conquering the odds with 6-5 record, have won their first pair of conference games, and are currently tied for 1st with preseason favorite Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Currently, they are on a 4-game winning streak.
Their tallest player, 7-3 Gabe Dynes, bulked up in the offseason from 190 to 225. Now this season, he currently leads the country in blocked shots with a total of 39 and averaging 3.5 swats per night. The team’s top two scorers are senior E.J. Farmer (14.5 ppg) and leading rebounder Nico Galette (13.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg).
Youngstown State head coach profile: Like Sargent, Ethan Faulkner is in his first head coaching job as well. He played at Northern Kentucky while they were still in Division II and even was an assistant there in the 2014-15 season. Before becoming the man in charge for the Penguins, he spent 5 seasons as their assistant before replacing Jerrod Calhoun who left for Utah State.
Fun fact: Ethan’s twin brother, Evan, is currently on Youngstown State’s staff as their Director of Operations. He played his freshman and sophomore seasons at the University of Radford and is also a playable character in NCAA Basketball 10 with Radford as “PG #2”. Evan will be featured in the last part of the HoriZone PC video games series within the upcoming months.
Wright State men’s starting lineup
• Brandon Noel, F (6-8/240, R-Jr.) – 20.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.3 spg, 1.3 bpg; leads the Horizon League in effective field goal percentage (66.3%)
• Jack Doumbia, F (6-6/195, R-Sr., Norfolk State transfer) – 10.5 ppg, 6 rpg, 1.2 spg, 0.8 bpg; started 4 games
• Alex Huibregtse, G (6-3/205, R-Sr.) – 15.8 ppg, 45.5% 3-PT FG; leads the Horizon League in minutes per game (34.3)
• Logan Woods (6-5/185, R-Soph.) – 8.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 48.7% 3-PT FG
• Keaton Norris, G (6-0/175, R-Jr.) – 5.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.6 spg; tied for 20th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.56)
Wright State men’s rotation players
• Solomon Callaghan, G (6-2/195, R-Fr.) – 5.6 ppg in 11 games
• Andrew Welage, G (6-6/205, Gr.) – 3.3 ppg
• Drey Carter, F (6-8/210, R-Soph.) – 3.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 10.3 mpg; started one game
• Michael Imariagbe (eh-mar-ee-bay), F (6-7/220, Sr., Houston Christian transfer) – 5.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg; started 7 games
Rest of the Wright State men’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Youngstown State starting lineup
• Cris Carroll, F (6-6/230, Jr., JUCO transfer) – 7.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.3 spg; has started the last 4 games
• Nico Galette, G (6-6/210, Gr.) – 13.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.4 spg; a grad transfer from Sacred Heart where he was a 2-time All-NEC performer (1st Team in 2022-23 and 2nd Team in 2023-24)
• E.J. Farmer, G (6-5/185, Sr.) – 14.5 ppg; played his first two NCAA seasons at Toledo
• Ty Harper, G (6-3/175, 5th-year, NAIA The Master’s transfer) – 8.7 ppg; This is Harper’s 4th school in 5 seasons. He played his first two years at Louisiana-Lafayette and his junior year at Eastern Washington.
• Juwan Maxey, G (6-1/165, Jr., JUCO transfer) – 9.4 ppg, 35.3% 3-PT; started 6 of 11 games
Youngstown State rotation players
• Gabe Dynes, C (7-3/225, Soph.) – 6.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.5 bpg; has come off the bench the last 4 games
• Jason Nelson, G (5-10/175, Jr., VCU transfer) – 7.4 ppg in 9 games (5 starts); started his NCAA career at Richmond
• Christian Kirkland, F (6-9/215, R-Fr.) – 8 ppg, 92.9% FT in 5 games (2 starts)
• Siem Uijtendaal 🇳🇱, G (6-6/185, 5th-year, Canisius transfer) – 2.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg
Rest of Youngstown State’s roster: https://ysusports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
