The Wright State women’s basketball team (5-16, 3-8 Horizon) will try to earn their first road victory of the season with a trip up to Moon Township, PA for a battle with the Robert Morris Colonials on Wednesday, January 29 at 7pm ET. The game can be seen on ESPN Plus.
Last time out: This past Saturday afternoon, Kari Hoffman’s squad avenged a 25-point road defeat from the Milwaukee Panthers on January 2 by getting a 69-61 win at home and spoiled the return of former Raider Kacee Baumhower in the process. For the second time this season, it was a battle of the bottom two teams in the Horizon League on the women’s side, with WSU in 10th place and Milwaukee in 11th and last place.
The green and gold also committed just nine turnovers on the afternoon and also held the Panthers to just 32.7 percent shooting from the field (18-of-55) and 26.1 percent from downtown (6-of-23), but Kyle Rechlicz’s Milwaukee team outrebounded WSU 39-35 and made 90.5 percent of their foul shots (19-of-21). Each team committed 20 personal fouls as well.
Amaya Staton earned her sixth double-double of the season with a 13-point, 12-rebound effort and even stayed away from foul trouble as well. Makiya Miller was the only Raider in double-figure scoring with 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Baumhower led Milwaukee with 13 points along with five rebounds and a pair of steals, but she shot 4-of-14 from the field and fouled out with 41 seconds left in regulation. Payton Rechlicz, the coach’s daughter, finished with 11 points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting. Jorey Buwalda recorded nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.
About the opponent: Robert Morris (8-12, 4-7 Horizon) was picked to finish last in the Horizon League preseason polls, but they have beaten the odds so far and are currently in a four-way tie for sixth in the standings with Youngstown State, Northern Kentucky, and IU Indy. So far, the Colonials have won three straight games and currently rank third in the Horizon League as a team with an average of 36.2 boards per contest.
Iona transfer Noa Givon is the only Colonial averaging double-figure scoring at 10.8 per game. Jennica Suggs, whose brother Jalen plays in the NBA for the Orlando Magic, was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week after a breakout performance in Saturday’s 77-64 win at Detroit Mercy with 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench. RMU also has a pair of twins on the team in Micah and Madison O’Dell, who are sophomores.
Robert Morris head coach profile: Chandler McCabe is in her very first head coaching job after spending last season at UCF as an assistant under head coach Sytia Messer. Before UCF, McCabe spent nine seasons as an associate head coach and recruiting coordinator under head coach Vanessa Blair-Lewis at Bethune-Cookman (2014-21) and George Mason (2021-23). During the 2017-18 campaign while Blair-Lewis on maternity leave, McCabe filled in as the Bethune-Cookman head coach and won three out of the four games she coached in.
As a player at Providence, McCabe played in 110 games for the Friars mainly as a reserve under head coach Phil Seymour and was a team captain as a senior in 2011-12. In 2009-10 as a sophomore, her team recorded its first winning campaign since 1992-93 and earned a trip to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) where they lost to Miami (FL) in the quarterfinals.
Wright State women’s starting lineup (from their last game)
• Amaya Staton, F (6-1, Gr., Merrimack transfer) – 10.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.6 bpg (leads Horizon), 51.9% FG, 76.9% FT, 20.8 mpg; leads the Horizon League in total blocked shots (34) and personal fouls (66)
• Claire Henson, G (5-10, Jr.) – 10.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.2 spg, 38.1% 3-PT
• Makiya Miller, G (5-7, Jr.) – 8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.2 spg, 33.3% 3-PT
• Lauren Scott, G (5-7, Jr.) – 8 ppg, 71.4% FT in 17 games (14 starts)
• Olivia Brown, G (5-7, R-Soph. Akron transfer) – 3.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.3 spg; started 10 games, including the last four
Wright State women’s rotation players
• Macie Taylor, G (5-7, R-Soph.) – 8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.2 spg, 80.5% FT; started the first 17 games
• Abbie Riddle, G (5-10, R-Fr., Bowling Green transfer) – 3.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 18.4 mpg in 14 games (one start)
• Rylee Sagester, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 5.9 ppg, 38.1% 3-PT, 88.9% FT (16-of-18), 16 mpg
• Chloe Chard Peloquin, C (6-3, Jr., Canisius transfer) – 4.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.6 bpg in 18 games
• Ellie Magestro-Kennedy, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 4.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 11.3 mpg in 20 games
• Florrie Cotterill 🏴, F (6-2, Fr.) – 1.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 4.9 mpg in 14 games
Rest of Wright State’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Robert Morris starting lineup (from their last two games)
• Mya Murray, F (6-2, Gr., Brown University transfer) – 6.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.9 bpg, 80.5% FT; started 10 games, including the last five
• Isys Grady, G/F (5-11, Sr., UNC-Greensboro transfer) – 7.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.8 bpg; started 18 games
• Raissa Nsabua (RACE-uh SAB-wah) 🇨🇦, G/F (5-11, Sr., Wichita State transfer) – 6.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 75.5% FT; started 18 games
• Noa Givon 🇮🇱, G (5-10, Jr., Iona transfer) – 10.8 ppg, 1.2 spg, started 19 games
• Jada Lee, G (5-5, Gr., Mount St. Mary’s transfer) – 8.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 spg, 83.3% FT in 15 games (14 starts); Pittsburgh native
Robert Morris rotation players
• Naomi Barnwell 🇫🇷, F (6-1, Sr.) – 4.8 ppg, 4 apg, 0.9 spg, 0.7 bpg, started one game
• Micah O’Dell, G/F (6-0, Soph.) – 4.4 ppg, 48.3% 3-PT, 12.9 mpg in 18 games (four starts)
• Katelyn Chomko, G (5-7, Jr.) – 3 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.5 spg, 13.3 mpg in 11 games (four starts)
• Jennica Suggs, G (5-7, Fr.) – 2.9 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 10.6 mpg in 16 games
• Rebecca Dwomoh (JOH-moe) 🏴, G/F (5-11, Sr.) – 1.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 13.8 mpg in 14 games (two starts); hasn’t played the last three games
• Alejandra Mastral 🇪🇸, G (5-8, Sr.) – 1.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 11.5 mpg in 17 games (one start); hasn’t played the last two games
• Madison O’Dell, G (5-6, Soph.) – 2.8 ppg, 33.3% 3-PT (4-of-12), 9.3 mpg in 12 games, hasn’t played the last three contests; scored 20 points on November 25 at Duquesne, but has scored only nine points in her next nine outings combined
Robert Morris injuries
• Hailey Unger, G (5-8, Jr., USC-Aiken transfer) – 2.5 ppg in two games off the bench; Dayton, Ohio native who hasn’t played since November 9
• Danielle Vuletich (vool-UH-tish), C (6-2, Sr.) – 7.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg in 13 games (nine starts); hasn’t played since December 28
• Simone Morris, G (5-10, Sr.) – 3.3 ppg in four games off the bench, hasn’t played since January 4; spent the last two seasons as a starter
Rest of Robert Morris’ roster: https://rmucolonials.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Series history: It will be the 14th matchup all-time between these two schools with the Colonials leading the series 7-6, but RMU has lost the last three meetings against Wright State and have not beaten them since December 12, 2022.
