The middle of this week marks the halfway point of the 2024-25 regular season here in the Horizon League. Just like every year, this conference is full of shockers and surprises, and this season has certainly been no different.
Here in the Gem City, it’s Wisconsin Week for the Wright State Raiders men’s and women’s basketball teams as they will continue conference action by returning home to the Nutter Center to host teams from The Badger State with a couple of cool themes to go along with it.
On Wednesday, January 12, the men’s team will face the Milwaukee Panthers on “Beach Night”. The very next evening on Thursday, January 13, it’s “80’s Night” for the women’s team as they will meet the Green Bay Phoenix in a rematch from January 4. Both games will start at 7ET/6CT and can be seen on ESPN Plus.
Men’s last time out: Clint Sargent and the men’s team (10-10, 4-5 Horizon) this past Saturday afternoon turned out to be a success as they snapped a three-game road losing skid by knocking off conference rival Northern Kentucky 78-70. It was also the Norse’s fourth straight loss.
NKU scored the first three points of the afternoon on a three-point play from LJ Wells, but WSU countered back and then some with an 11-0 run. WSU then took another lead at 33-32 on back-to-back buckets from Jack Doumbia and Keaton Norris before a foul shot from Keeyan Itejere made it 33 all. Then, the green and gold were up 40-33 at halftime following 7-0 run with a dunk from Andrea Holden and five consecutive points from Doumbia. Sargent’s guys never trailed in the game again and were even up by as many as 11 in the second half.
Norris put up the best scoring performance of his entire NCAA career with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with three rebounds, five assists, and no turnovers. 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Doumbia, 12 points and six rebounds for Brandon Noel (noll), 11 points for Alex Huibregtse (HUE-bricks), and eight points and eight rebounds off the bench for Michael Imariagbe. Holden got his first start and finished with five points and nine rebounds in 13 minutes of action.
Wright State didn’t shoot well, making only 47.6 percent of their overall shots from the field (30-of-63) and 38.9 percent of their three-balls (7-of-18). However, the did outrebound NKU 41-29 and committed only 10 turnovers.
Darrin Horn’s Norse saw four players score in double-figures: 17 points each from Josh Dilling and Trey Robinson, 11 points and eight rebounds from Itejere, and 10 points from Sam Vinson. Dilling shot 4-of-6 from the beyond the arc.
Northern Kentucky only turned the ball over nine times, but they had a bad shooting day themselves, making just 39.6 percent of their shots (21-of-53) and 40 percent of their threes (6-of-15).
Both teams shot 68.8 percent from the foul line, with WSU at 11-of-16 and NKU at 22-for-32.
About the men’s opponent: The Panthers (13-7, 6-3 Horizon) were picked to win the Horizon League in the preseason polls, but they currently stand fourth in the standings and one-half game behind Youngstown State. Themus Fulks currently leads the Horizon League with 96 total assists, ranks sixth in field goal percentage (50.5%), and ranks seventh in both scoring (15.3 points per game) and minutes (33.2 minutes per game). Fulks’ teammate, Jamichael Stillwell, ranks fourth in the country in rebounding (11.5 per game) and is tied for third in the nation with 12 double-doubles. As a team, Milwaukee is tied for ninth in the country with Texas A&M in team rebounds per game (41.4) and ranks fourth by themselves in rebound differential (+11.4).
Milwaukee head coach profile: Bart Lundy is currently in his third season with the Panthers and immediately came in ready to pounce on the opportunity, becoming the first coach in school history to win 20 or more games in his first two season as head coach. Lundy was previously the head coach for Division II Queens University on two separate occasions (1998-03 and 2013-22) and is the winningest coach in that school’s history (452), leading the program to nine NCAA Tournament appearances in 15 seasons – including a pair of Final Fours in 2003 and 2018. Lundy was also an assistant for Queens from 1995 through 1998.
Lundy begun his coaching career as an assistant coach at Winthrop (1993-95) and was also an assistant for North Texas in the 2012-13 season. Besides his success with Queens, Lundy spent six seasons as the head coach at High Point University (2003-09) and recorded a 96-87 record.
Lundy’s assistant coaches, Ben Walker and Jose Winston, were both featured in the second and third columns of the HoriZone PC series respectively.
Wright State men’s starting lineup (from the last game)
• Brandon Noel, F (6-8/240, 5th-year R-Jr.) – 18.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, spg, 1.1 bpg, 35.4% 3-PT, 80.2% FT; leads the Horizon League in effective field goal percentage (59.9%), two-point field goals made (117), and total field goals made (140)
• Andrea Holden, W (6-6/215, Fr.) – 7.4 ppg, 7 rpg, spg, 15.6 mpg in five games (one start)
• Alex Huibregtse, G (6-3/205, R-Sr.) – 14.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 40.1% 3-PT, 82.1% FT, played and started 19 games; leads the Horizon League in made three-pointers (55)
• Logan Woods (6-5/185, R-Soph.) – 7.6 ppg, 45.8% 3-PT
• Keaton Norris, G (6-0/175, R-Jr.) – 7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.8 apg, 1.4 spg, played and started 17 games; 26th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.00)
Wright State men’s rotation players
• Jack Doumbia, F (6-6/195, R-Sr., transfer from Norfolk State) – 13 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.3 spg, 0.9 bpg; started nine games
• Michael Imariagbe, F (6-7/220, Sr., Houston Christian transfer) – 5.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg in 19 games (11 starts)
• Solomon Callaghan, G (6-2/195, R-Fr.) – 5 ppg, 33.3% 3-PT in 19 games (two starts)
• Andrew Welage, G (6-6/205, Gr.) – 3.7 ppg, 32% 3-PT, 12.8 mpg
• Drey Carter, F (6-8/210, R-Soph.) – 2.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 9.6 mpg in 18 games (one start)
Rest of the Wright State men’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Milwaukee starting lineup
• Faizon Fields, C (6-10/220, Sr.) – 6.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 0.8 bpg in nine games (eight starts)
• Jamichael Stillwell, F (6-8/225, Jr.) – 13.9 ppg, 11.5 rpg, spg, 34.1% 3-PT in 19 games (18 starts); played his sophomore season at Old Dominion
• AJ McKee, G (6-2/205, R-Sr., Queens University transfer) – 11.7 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.3 apg, 1.1 spg
• Themus Fulks, G (6-2/185, Sr., Louisiana-Lafayette transfer) – 15.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.8 apg, 1.45 spg, 76.6% FT
• Kentrell Pullian, G (6-0/182, Sr.) – 13 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.45 spg, 34.8% 3-PT, 83.1% FT, started 19 games; played his freshman season at Division II Eastern New Mexico
Milwaukee rotation players
• Erik Pratt, G (6-5/185, R-Sr.) – 10.7 ppg, 1.08 spg, 76.9% FT (20-of-26) in 12 games (two starts); played nine games for Texas A&M as a junior in 2022-23
• Danilo Jovanovich, F (6-8/216, Jr., Louisville transfer) – 5.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 61.8% FG (21-of-34), 14.8 mpg in nine games
• John Lovelace Jr., G/F (6-8, 210, Jr., Youngstown State transfer) – 4.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 9.4 mpg, 16.3 mpg; started one game
• Darius Duffy, F (6-8/225, Sr.) – 3.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.15 bpg, 19.5 mpg; started 12 games when Fields was out with an injury
• Learic Davis, G (6-7/190, R-Soph.) – 2.7 ppg, 80% FT (4-of-5), 6.1 mpg in 13 games; redshirted his freshman year at Tennessee State
• Esyah Pippa-White, G (6-2/180, Soph.) – 1.4 ppg, 5.4 mpg in 17 games
Milwaukee injuries
• Aaron Franklin, G (6-5/210, R-Jr.) – 3.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 41.7% FT (5-of-12), 15.6 mpg in 11 games off the bench; has not played since December 11 at in-state rival Wisconsin-Green Bay
Rest of Milwaukee’s roster: https://mkepanthers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Milwaukee fun fact: Winston and five of the Panther players are Milwaukee natives: Davis, Jovanovich, Lovelace Jr., sophomore Simeon Murchison, and redshirt sophomore Vinko Polovic.
Women’s last time out: Last Wednesday night, Kari Hoffman and her Raider women (4-15, 2-7 Horizon) suffered a tough 75-63 loss on the road at IU Indy. WSU was up 10-7 early in the first quarter, but the Jaguars tightened up their defense and kept pouncing on the Raiders’ mistakes by taking a 16-10 lead after scoring 11 unanswered points near the end of the quarter and never trailed again. Later on, Kate Bruce’s IU Indy squad gave it a “Bruce Almighty” effort down the stretch by going on a 13-0 run from the end of the second quarter to the start of the third quarter and even led by as many as 26.
The most wild part of the night came with 4:31 to go in the fourth quarter. With the Jags up 67-51, WSU’s full court press caused IU Indy’s Shania Nichols-Vannett to run into a double team of Macie Taylor and Ellie Magestro-Kennedy. But when Taylor jumped up to try and contest the pass, her knee inadvertently hit Nichols-Vannett in the face. Nichols-Vannett was bleeding as a result of that before getting escorted off the court and did not return to the game.
The WSU women were led by Makiya Miller’s 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting along with a career-high of four steals, while Lauren Scott was the only other Raider that scored in double-figures with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Amaya Staton had eight points and six rebounds along with a block.
Wright State hit only 44.6 percent of their shots (25-of-56), a horrendous 12.5 percent of their three-pointers (2-of-16), and 68.8 percent of their free throws (11-of-16). They also turned the ball over a season-high 23 times and are 0-9 on road games this year.
Three Jaguars scored in double-figures: 17 points each from Nichols-Vannett and Katie Davidson, and 14 points from Nevaeh Foster. Jada Patton recorded nine points and five assists off the bench.
IU Indy shot 47.5 percent from the field (28-of-59), 47.1 percent from beyond the arc (8-of-17) and 78.6 percent of their foul shots (11-of-14). Although they did commit 22 turnovers, the Jags still outrebounded Wright State 29-27 and outscored their bench 35-14.
About the women’s opponent and their previous matchup: The Phoenix (15-5, 8-1 Horizon) were picked to finish second in the Horizon League preseason polls and are currently in that position standing one game behind the surprising Purdue-Fort Wayne. Currently, UWGB has won eight straight games. Nationally, they have the ninth-fewest turnovers per game (11.8), they are tied with Holy Cross for the 12th-fewest team personal fouls per contest (13.4), and they are also tied with Vanderbilt for 25th in team assists per game (17.6).
In the last battle between Wright State and Green Bay on January 4 at the Kress Events Center, the Raider women were up early after Taylor scored the first five points of the day before the Phoenix countered with a 7-0 run, eventually took q close lead after the first quarter, and never trailed again. They led by as many as 19 in the fourth period, which made a huge difference.
Green Bay head coach profile: Although it isn’t one of the books in the Harry Potter trilogy, it’s still definitely “the order of the Phoenix” for first-year head coach Kayla Karius. So far, her first season as the woman in charge of Green Bay has been nothing short of a success to say the very least. Karius, back then known as Kayla Tetschlag, suited up for GB from 2007-11, scored 1,372 points, and helped the Phoenix to three straight appearances in March Madness. Karius also led the Phoenix to the 2011 Sweet 16, where they ran into a buzzsaw of a Kim Mulkey-coached Baylor team that was led by two future WNBA stars: 5-8 Odyssey Sims and 6-8 Brittney Griner.
Wright State women’s starting lineup (from the last two games)
• Amaya Staton, F (6-1, Gr., Merrimack transfer) – 10.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.7 bpg (leads Horizon), 52.1% FG, 78% FT, 20.7 mpg; leads the Horizon League in total blocked shots (33) and personal fouls (60)
• Claire Henson, G (5-10, Jr.) – 10.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 spg, 33.3% 3-PT
• Makiya Miller, G (5-7, Jr.) – 7.9 ppg, 1.2 spg, 32.8% 3-PT
• Lauren Scott, G (5-7, Jr.) – 8 ppg, 76.5% FT in 15 games (13 starts)
• Olivia Brown, G (5-7, R-Soph. Akron transfer) – 3.1 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 spg; started eight games including the last two
Wright State women’s rotation players
• Macie Taylor, G (5-7, R-Soph.) – 8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg, 78.4% FT; started the first 17 games
• Rylee Sagester, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 6.2 ppg, 38% 3-PT, 88.9% FT (16-of-18), 16.6 mpg
• Chloe Chard Peloquin, C (6-3, Jr., Canisius transfer) – 5.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.6 bpg in 16 games
• Ellie Magestro-Kennedy, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 12.3 mpg in 18 games
• Abbie Riddle, G (5-10, R-Fr., Bowling Green transfer) – 3.5 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 17.9 mpg in 12 games
• Florrie Cotterill, F (6-2, Fr.) – 1.4 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 4.8 mpg in 13 games
Rest of the Wright State women’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Green Bay starting lineup
• Jasmine Kondrakiewicz, F (6-1, Sr.) – 7.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.6 spg
• Callie Genke, G (6-0, Sr.) – 9.9 ppg, 45.7 3-PT FG; started 10 games
• Cassie Schiltz, G (5-11, R-Sr.) – 9.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 42.3% 3-PT, 100% FT (15-of-15)
• Natalie McNeal, G (5-8, Sr.) – 14.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, played and started in 18 games
• Bailey Butler, G (5-7, Sr.) – 4.7 ppg, 5.1 apg, played and started 19 games
Green Bay rotation players
• Jenna Guyer, F/C (6-2, R-Jr.) – 7.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 43.8% 3-PT (14-of-32), 90.9% FT (30-of-33)
• Miah Meyer, G (5-8, Sr., Eastern Illinois transfer) – 3.5 ppg, 2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 16.9 mpg
• Ellie Buzzelle, G (5-8, Jr., Eastern Illinois transfer) – 1.3 ppg, 9.1 mpg in 11 games; played her freshman season at Grand Canyon
Green Bay injuries
• Maddy Schreiber, G/F (6-0, Sr.) – 13.1 ppg, 34% 3-PT, 84.4% FT, played and started in 12 games; broke her left wrist on December 14 at home against Creighton
• Maren Westin, G (5-8, Soph.) – 3.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 14.5 mpg in 11 games off the bench; tore her ACL on December 11 at Milwaukee
Rest of Green Bay’s roster: https://greenbayphoenix.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Note: Milwaukee and Green Bay are the only schools in Horizon League basketball history to have both their men’s and women’s teams win their respective conference tournaments in the exact same season. The Panthers did it in 2006, while the Phoenix followed suit in 2016.
Wright State notes
– The men’s team are currently tied with Norfolk State for 25th in the country in team field goal percentage (48.9%) and are 33rd by themselves in team three-point percentage (37.8%).
– The women’s team have the nation’s 25th-worst opponent points per game (73.1), they also have the nation’s eighth-worst opponent free-throw percentage (77.7%), and they are currently in a six-way tie for the 47th-worst rebound differential (-4.6) with Long Island University, Louisiana-Lafayette, Mount St. Mary’s, William & Mary, and Cal State Northridge.