The Wright State Raiders men’s and women’s basketball teams will both try to kick off the new year by snapping losing streaks on Thursday, January 2 against opponents from the state of Wisconsin. The men’s team will play at home against the Green Bay Phoenix at the Nutter Center, while the women will head up north to the Klotsche Center to face the Milwaukee Panthers. Both games start at 7ET/6CT and they can both be seen on ESPN Plus.
Women’s last time out: Last Saturday afternoon at the Nutter Center, the Raider women (2-12, 0-4 Horizon) were just annihilated in their 76-49 defeat at the hands of the Purdue-Fort Wayne Mastodons. With backup bigs Florrie Cotterill and Chloe Chard Peloquin both sitting out due to ankle injuries, only 9 healthy bodies were available and none of the players on Kari Hoffman’s squad scored in double-figures. Makiya Miller and Ellie Magestro-Kennedy had 9 points each to lead the green and gold, while Lauren Scott and Macie Taylor had 7 points apiece.
Purdue-Fort Wayne, who has won 6 games in a row, outrebounded Wright State 46-37 and had 4 players in double-figures: 16 points for Amellia Bromenschenkel, 12 points each for Sydney Freeman and Lauren Ross, and 10 points and 8 rebounds for Jazzlyn Linbo.
Men’s last time out: This past Sunday afternoon, the men’s squad and first-year head coach Clint Sargent (7-8, 1-3 Horizon) also suffered a tough 78-64 defeat against the Cleveland State Vikings at the Henry J. Goodman Center, resulting in WSU’s 3rd straight loss. Brandon Noel (20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals) and Jack Doumbia (17 points and 3 blocks) finished as the only Raider men in double-figure scoring, while Alex Huibregtse was held to just 7 points on 1-of-8 shots from beyond the arc. Their starting point guard, Keaton Norris, sat out his second straight contest with a thigh bruise and it’s unclear if he’ll be ready for Thursday.
The Vikings, who recorded their 5th consecutive win, committed only 8 turnovers and also had 4 players reach double-figures scoring: 16 points off the bench for Chase Robinson, 14 points and 7 rebounds for Dylan Arnett, and had 12 points each for Tevin Smith and Je’Shawn Stevenson. Ebrima Dibba also flirted with a triple-double consisting of 7 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists.
About the women’s opponent: Milwaukee was picked to finish fourth in front of Wright State in the Horizon League preseason polls, but their season hasn’t gone the way they wanted it since they have lost 12 of their first 15 games. Ironically, the Panthers visited Cleveland State on Sunday afternoon and almost pulled the upset over the Vikings. UWM was up by 10 after 3 quarters before blowing the lead and losing 73-68 in overtime.
Wright State will see a very familiar face in Kacee Baumhower (13.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.1 spg, 33.7% 3-PT, 79.2% FT), who transferred from WSU to UWM in the offseason; while Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s top rebounder and 2nd-leading scorer is Anna Lutz (11.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg). Kamy Peppler leads the conference with a 5.0 assists per game average, but she also ranks 10th in the country in turnovers (57).
Wisconsin-Milwaukee head coach profile: The longest active tenured women’s coach in the conference, Kyle Rechlicz is in her 13th season as the woman in charge of the Panthers and has the 3rd-most wins in program history (183). She started her coaching career as an assistant coach at fellow Horizon League school Cleveland State (2003-07) and was also an Associate Head Coach at the University of Dayton (2007-11). She played her college ball at Wisconsin (1998-02) where she made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances (2001 and 2002) and was an assistant for the Badgers before she took the head coaching job at Milwaukee. Rechlicz will be featured in the HoriZone PC series in the weeks to come.
Note: The Wright State women (2-12, 0-4 Horizon) and Milwaukee (3-12, 0-4 Horizon) both currently sit at the bottom of the women’s standings with a 10th place tie. The Raiders are on an 8-game losing skid, while the Panthers have lost 7 straight of their own.
Wright State women’s starting lineup
• Amaya Staton, F (6-1, Gr., Merrimack transfer) – 9.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 50.5% FG; played 9 games as a freshman at Cleveland State
• Claire Henson, G (5-10, Jr.) – 9.9 ppg, 6 rpg, 2.4 apg, spg, 34.4% 3-PT; played her freshman season at Long Island University
• Makiya Miller, G (5-7, Jr.) – 7.9 ppg, 1.1 spg
• Macie Taylor, G (5-7, R-Soph.) – 8.6 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.3 spg
• Lauren Scott, G (5-7, Jr.) – 7.6 ppg in 10 games (8 starts)
Wright State women’s rotation players
• Rylee Sagester, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 6.9 ppg, 39.7% 3-PT
• Olivia Brown, G (5-7, R-Soph. Akron transfer) – 2.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.3 spg, has started 6 games
• Chloe Chard Peloquin, F (6-3, Jr., Canisius transfer) – 5.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.8 bpg in 13 games; remains out
• Ellie Magestro-Kennedy, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 6.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 36.2% 3-PT in 13 games
• Florrie Cotterill, F (6-2, Fr.) – 1.6 ppg, 0.8 rpg in 11 games; hails from England; may play on Thursday depending on how she’s feeling beforehand
• Abbie Riddle, G (5-10, R-Fr., Bowling Green transfer) – 2.6 ppg, 2 rpg, 13.9 mpg in 7 games
Rest of the Wright State women’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Milwaukee starting lineup
• Anna Lutz, F (6-1, R-Jr.) – 11.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.3 bpg
• Payton Rechlicz, G/F (5-11, R-Fr.) – 3.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg; started 10 of 15 games; the head coach’s oldest daughter
• Kacee Baumhower, G (5-9, Sr.) – 13.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.1 spg, 33.7% 3-PT, 79.2% FT; started her NCAA career at St. Bonaventure
• Jada Donaldson, G (5-7, Sr.) – 7.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 46.5% 3-PT
• Kamy Peppler, G (5-7, Jr.) – 7.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 5 apg, 1.1 spg
Milwaukee rotation players
• Jorey Buwalda, F (6-0, Soph.) – 5.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, played in 13 games (4 starts)
• Izzy Pugh, F (6-3, R-Fr.) – 4.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg; started one game; hails from New Zealand
• Jada Williams, G (5-10, R-Soph.) – 2.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg
• Kallie Peppler, G (6-0, Fr.) – 1.9 ppg, 11.9 mpg; Kamy Peppler’s younger sister
• Hallie Majoros, G (5-9, R-Soph.) – 1.9 ppg, 3.9 mpg in 8 games; scored a career-high 9 points off the bench last Sunday at Cleveland State
Rest of the Milwaukee roster: https://mkepanthers.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
About the men’s opponent: Green Bay was picked to finish 7th in the Horizon League preseason polls, but their season has fallen off the rails as well. So far, there has been no case of “Phoenix Rising” since UWGB (2-13, 0-4 Horizon) have lost 10 straight contests. Anthony Roy, the nation’s leading scorer (25.6 ppg) has been out the last 3 games with a knee injury and there is no timetable for his return.
3 days later, it was also announced that 7-1 redshirt sophomore center Isaiah Miranda was no longer on the team, but there was no telling if he got dismissed or if he just chose to leave the team. This came about after Miranda landed a technical foul following a sideline tirade in a the team’s shocking loss to Division II school Michigan Tech. However, Miranda is still listed on the Green Bay athletic roster.
The Phoenix’s 2nd-leading scorer is Marcus Hall (12.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg), while Jeremiah Johnson (8.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg) leads the Horizon League with an 89.7 free throw percentage.
Green Bay men’s head coach profile: In his first season with UWGB is the very controversial Doug Gottlieb, who ranks 11th all-time in the NCAA’s assist category (947). As a head coach, he hasn’t been a fan favorite and some fans even believe that having his own talk show on Fox Sports Radio while being employed by the Phoenix has even hurt his job as a coach. In an press conference on a day before UWGB’s 72-70 home loss against Michigan Tech, he referred to the Huskies and weaker potential opponents as “Nobody U”. Gottlieb was the first person featured on the HoriZone PC series.
Wright State men’s starting lineup
• Brandon Noel, F (6-8/240, 5th-year R-Jr.) – 19.3 ppg (2nd in Horizon), 7.9 rpg, 1.3 spg, 1.3 bpg; Horizon League leader in total field goals made (110)
• Jack Doumbia, F (6-6/195, R-Sr., Norfolk State transfer) – 12.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.3 spg, 1.1 bpg; started 7 games
• Alex Huibregtse, G (6-3/205, R-Sr.) – 15.1 ppg, 42.6% 3-PT FG; leads the Horizon League in minutes per game (34.6) and effective field goal percentage (63.2%)
• Logan Woods (6-5/185, R-Soph.) – 8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 45.1% 3-PT FG
• Keaton Norris, G (6-0/175, R-Jr.) – 5.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.5 spg; tied for 26th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.21); sat out the last pair of games with a thigh bruise and is questionable for Thursday’s game
Wright State men’s rotation players
• Solomon Callaghan, G (6-2/195, R-Fr.) – 5.9 ppg, 40% 3-PT; played in 14 games
• Andrew Welage, G (6-6/205, Gr.) – 2.6 ppg, 11.3 mpg
• Drey Carter, F (6-8/210, R-Soph.) – 3.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 10.9 mpg; started one game
• Michael Imariagbe (eh-mar-ee-bay), F (6-7/220, Sr., Houston Christian transfer) – 5.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg; started 8 games which includes Sunday’s loss at Cleveland State due to Norris being out, finishing with 9 points and 7 rebounds in his first start since December 5
Rest of the Wright State men’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Green Bay starting lineup
• Marcus Hall, F (6-6/215, Soph.) – 12.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.3 spg, 0.7 bpg
• Foster Wonders, G (6-5/205, R-Jr.) – 6.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, started 13 games; played his redshirt freshman season at Southern Illinois
• Mac Wrecke, G (6-5/200, Soph.) – 7 ppg, 3.1 rpg; started 6 games
• Jeremiah Johnson, G (6-3/180, Fr.) – 8.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 89.7% FT; played in 14 games (11 starts)
• Preston Ruedinger, G (6-2/180, Jr.) – 7.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.9 spg (T-2nd in Horizon), 36.1% 3-PT, played and started in 13 games; started his NCAA career at Valparaiso
Green Bay rotation players
• Ben Tweedy, G (6-2/200, Fr.) – 4.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg; started 3 games; hails from Australia
• C.J. O’Hara, G (6-4/180, Fr.) – 2.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 10.5 mpg
• Roee Oselka, C (6-10/235, Fr.) – 1.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 9.4 mpg; started 3 games; hails from Israel
Rest of the Green Bay roster: https://greenbayphoenix.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster