The Wright State Raiders basketball teams will both be in action on Saturday, December 21 in an afternoon coast-to-coast doubleheader.
First up, the women’s team and fourth-year head coach Kari Hoffman (2-10, 0-3 Horizon) will look to snap their 6-game losing streak on the road against the Florida Atlantic Owls (7-4) starting at 12ET/10AM MT in the third and final game of the GCU Have Fayth Christmas Classic at the Global Credit Union Arena in Phoenix, AZ.
On Thursday afternoon, the Raider women blew an 18-point lead at halftime on Georgia Southern and ended up losing 88-82, which is the 2nd time this season that they have lost a game after blowing a double-digit advantage. All 10 Raider ladies scored, with Claire Henson scoring 16 points while making 10-of-12 foul shots and Ellie Magestro-Kennedy scoring a career-high 15 points off the bench on 5-of-9 shots from downtown.
Later on that same afternoon, the men’s team and first-year head coach Clint Sargent (7-6, 1-2 Horizon) will look to bounce back in a non-conference battle on the road against the Eastern Michigan Eagles (5-5) at 2ET from the Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, MI. The Raider men also blew a big lead as they were up by 12 early in the first half against the Youngstown State Penguins at home before they let it slip away in the 2nd half and ended up with an 80-70 defeat despite winning the rebound battle 38-33. Jack Doumbia (17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Brandon Noel (10 points and 10 rebounds) both finished with double-doubles, while Alex Huibregtse had 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field.
About the women’s opponent: Florida Atlantic was picked to finish 13th and last place in the American Athletic Conference preseason polls, but they have won 7 of their first 11 games. Like the Wright State women, the Owls get most of their scoring backcourt. FAU is led by their own version of the Fantastic Four: Mya Perry (14.3 ppg, 41.5% 3-PT), Jada Moore (10.5 ppg), 6th woman Erin Rodgers (12 ppg, 5.6 rpg), and Georgia transfer Stefanie Ingram (7.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.3 spg).
Florida Atlantic head coach profile: Jennifer Sullivan is in her 4th season as the woman in charge of the Owls and has gone 28-62 in her first 3 seasons. She started her coaching career as an assistant at NCAA Division III Rogers College, which is in Memphis. She has also been an assistant on the NCAA Division I level for McNeese State, Arkansas State, Missouri State, Ohio State and Tennessee. For the 2012-13 season, she was at Louisiana-Lafayette where she was the Associate Head Coach under Garry Brodhead. Sullivan spent 4 years at the University of Memphis, where she played in 102 games and averaged 7.8 points per contest.
Wright State women’s starting lineup
• Amaya Staton, F (6-1, Gr., Merrimack transfer) – 10 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 56% FG
• Claire Henson, G (5-10, Jr.) – 10.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.4 apg, spg, 39.3% 3-PT
• Makiya Miller, G (5-7, Jr.) – 7.9 ppg, 1.1 spg; scored 6 points on Thursday against Georgia Southern
• Macie Taylor, G (5-7, R-Soph.) – 8.6 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg
• Lauren Scott, G (5-7, Jr.) – 8 ppg in 8 games (6 starts)
Wright State women’s rotation players
• Rylee Sagester, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 7.9 ppg, 42.4% 3-PT
• Olivia Brown, G (5-7, R-Soph. Akron transfer) – 3.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.4 spg, has started 6 games
• Chloe Chard Peloquin, C (6-3, Jr., Canisius transfer) – 6.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 0.8 bpg
• Ellie Magestro-Kennedy, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 6.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg in 11 games
• Florrie Cotterill 🏴, F (6-2, Fr.) – 0.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg in 10 games; scored a career-high 5 points on Thursday against Georgia Southern
Wright State women’s injuries
Abbie Riddle, G (5-10, R-Fr., Bowling Green transfer) – 2.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 12.7 mpg in 6 games; Riddle injured her knee on Monday night against Cleveland State and did not make the trip to Phoenix with the team.
Rest of the Wright State women’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Florida Atlantic starting lineup
• Ta’Ziah Jenks, F (6-0, R-Sr., Cincinnati transfer) – 5.4 ppg, 5 rpg, 1.2 spg, started the last 3 games; played her freshman season at West Virginia
• Alana Rouser, F (6-0, Fr.) – 2.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.9 bpg, 0.9 spg, 16.1 mpg, started the last 11 games
• Jada Moore, G (5-11, Gr.) – 10.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.1 spg, started 11 of 12 games; started her NCAA career at Kansas State
• Mya Perry, G (5-9, Jr.) – 14.3 ppg, 41.5% 3-PT, 373 total minutes played (leads the AAC); played 6 games as a freshman at Ohio State where she was a part of their 2023 Elite Eight squad
• Stefanie Ingram, G (5-8, R-Soph., Georgia transfer) – 7.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.3 spg
Florida Atlantic rotation players
• Erin Rodgers, G (6-0, Fr.) – 12 ppg, 5.6 rpg, started one game
• Maria Myklebust 🇳🇴, F (6-1, Sr.) – 3.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.4 spg in 11 games (9 starts), has been scoreless her last 4 outings; started her NCAA career at Vermont
• Kristina Godfrey, G (5-8, Soph.) – 2.1 ppg, 0.6 spg
• Emaya Lewis, F (6-3, Fr.) – 2.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 10.4 mpg
• Evie Van Der Woude 🇳🇱, C (6-5, Soph.) – 0.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.4 bpg in 9 games (one start)
• Lovisa Asbrink Hose 🇸🇪, C (6-6, Fr.) – 2.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 7 mpg in just 2 games
Rest of Florida Atlantic’s roster: https://fausports.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
About the men’s opponent: Eastern Michigan was picked to finish 9th in the Mid-American Conference preseason polls between in-state rivals Central Michigan and Western Michigan, who were picked 8th at 10th respectively. So far, the Eagles are 5-5 and haven’t played a conference game yet. The team’s top scorers are Jalen Terry (16.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.1 apg), Christian Henry (14.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.5 apg), Da’Sean Nelson (12.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg), and Jalin Billingsley (12.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg).
Eastern Michigan head coach profile: Stan Heath is in his fourth season with the Eagles and has gone 31-62 in his first 3 campaigns with EMU, but he has been pretty much a winner on every level in the coaching ranks. He started his coaching career on the Division II level with Hillsdale, Albion, and Wayne State. With Wayne State, he was a member of the team that made a trip to the 1993 NCAA Division II Final Four. On the Division I level, Heath worked as an assistant at Bowling Green (1994-96), Michigan State (1996-01), and Boston College (2015-17). With Michigan State and head coach Tom Izzo, Heath helped the Spartans make 3 straight Final Four appearances and win the 2000 National Championship.
Heath got his first head coaching job at Kent State. In the 2001-02 season on a team that featured future NFL Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates as the star player, Heath led the Golden Flashes to a 30–6 record, the MAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships, and a trip to the Elite Eight where they lost to Indiana. Heath won the 2002 MAC Coach of the Year, and his 30 wins ties for the 3rd-most by a 1st-year head coach in NCAA Division I history with Oregon’s John Warren (1945).
Heath then spent 5 seasons as the man in charge for Arkansas (2002-07) and led them to back-to-back one-and-done NCAA Tournament appearances in 2006 and 2007. Then, he spent 6 seasons as the main man at South Florida and led them to the 2nd Round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
Heath then spent 4 seasons as the head coach of the NBA G League’s Lakeland Magic, who are affiliated with the Orlando Magic. In Lakeland, Heath was not only name the 2021 G League Coach of the Year, but he led Lakeland to a G League Championship in a season that was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wright State men’s starting lineup
• Brandon Noel, F (6-8/240, 5th-year R-Jr.) – 19.4 ppg, 8 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.2 bpg; leads the Horizon League in total field goals made (95)
• Jack Doumbia, F (6-6/195, R-Sr., Norfolk State transfer) – 11 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.2 spg, bpg; started 5 games
• Alex Huibregtse, G (6-3/205, R-Sr.) – 15.8 ppg, 45.2% 3-PT FG; leads the Horizon League in minutes per game (34.3) and effective field goal percentage (66.9%)
• Logan Woods (6-5/185, R-Soph.) – 8.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 46.7% 3-PT FG
• Keaton Norris, G (6-0/175, R-Jr.) – 5.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.5 spg; 29th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.21)
Wright State men’s rotation players
• Solomon Callaghan, G (6-2/195, R-Fr.) – 5.9 ppg, 44.4% 3-PT in 12 games
• Andrew Welage, G (6-6/205, Gr.) – 3 ppg, 11 mpg
• Drey Carter, F (6-8/210, R-Soph.) – 3.2 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 10.5 mpg; started one game
• Michael Imariagbe (eh-mar-ee-bay), F (6-7/220, Sr., Houston Christian transfer) – 4.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg; started 7 games
Rest of the Wright State men’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Eastern Michigan starting lineup
• Da’Sean Nelson, F (6-9/220, Sr., DePaul transfer) – 12.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.3 spg, 0.7 bpg
• Jalin Billingsley, F (6-8/210, Sr.) – 12.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.9 bpg; started his NCAA career at Georgetown
• Arne Osojnik 🇸🇮, G (6-6/195, Soph.) – 7 ppg, 3.1 rpg
• Christian Henry, G (6-3/195, Jr.) – 14.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.4 spg, 36.7% 3-PT
• Jalen Terry, G (6-0/155, Gr., DePaul transfer) – 16.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.6 spg, 38.7% 3-PT, 91.3% FT (21-of-23), started and played in 9 games; ranks 7th in the country in minutes per game (36.7); started his NCAA career at Oregon
Eastern Michigan rotation players
• Yusuf Jihad, F (6-8/221, Gr.) – 4.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 12 mpg, started one game; Yusuf played his freshman season at Horizon League school Oakland. His brother, Basheer, plays for fellow MAC school Ball State.
• Dillon Tingler, G (6-7/180, Fr.) – 1.6 ppg, rpg, 9.4 mpg; started one game
• Trey Pettigrew, G (6-4/190, R-Soph., Nevada transfer) – 1.4 ppg, rpg, 11.4 mpg
• John Shanu II, C (6-11/235, Sr., UT-Rio Grande Valley transfer) – 1.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 7.5 mpg; 4th school in 5 seasons, also played at Old Dominion and Florida State College at Jacksonville
• Julian Lewis, G (6-6/195, R-Jr., Miami University transfer) – 0.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg in 6 games (2 starts); started his NCAA career at William & Mary
• Godslove Nwabude 🇳🇬, F (6-9/225, Fr.) – 0.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 9.6 mpg
Rest of Eastern Michigan’s roster: https://emueagles.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
