The Wright State men’s and women’s basketball teams are gearing up for battle for midweek matchups in primetime against one of their conference in-state rivals, the Cleveland State Vikings. The women’s game will be at the Wolstein Center on Wednesday, February 26 at 7ET on ESPN Plus. The men’s game will be WSU’s senior night at the Nutter Center the very next night on Thursday, February 27 at 9ET and will be nationally televised on ESPN2.
Men’s last time out: Last Friday night at the Nutter Center, the men’s basketball team (13-16, 7-11 Horizon) blew a nine-point lead and ended up losing to the Northern Kentucky Norse 80-76, suffering their third straight defeat.
Wright State trailed 46-41 at halftime, but Brandon Noel went on his own personal 8-2 run and ended it by welcoming Keeyan Itejere to Ginger Island with a double-handed rim-rocking poster jam right before Itejere answered back with a dunk of his own at the other end, making it 55-54 WSU with 12:04 to go. The Raiders then used an 9-3 run midway through the second half to increase their advantage to nine at 66-57 with 9:02 remaining courtesy of three layups from Jack Doumbia, a rainbow three from the logo by Keaton Norris, and a layup from Noel. Northern Kentucky (13-15, 8-9 Horizon) used a timeout to stop the run and regroup before coming back with a 10-4 run of their own to cut the Raider lead to 70-67 with 6:08 to play thanks to a three-pointer from Dan Gherezgher, a layup from Sam Vinson, another three from Trey Robinson, and free throws from Gherezgher.
The two sides traded baskets for the next two minutes with another layup from Doumbia as WSU would still be up 76-72 with 4:03 remaining, but that bucket proved to be Wright State’s very last points of the evening. NKU closed the night by holding the Raiders to 0-of-6 from the floor down the stretch and scored the final eight points of the contest with a layup and a three from Gherezgher, followed by three made free throws from Josh Dilling for the comeback victory under the Friday night lights.
Noel led everyone with 22 points and 11 rebounds as he earned his ninth double-double of the season, with 18 of his 22 points coming in the second half. Solomon Callaghan scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half and shot 4-of-9 from beyond the arc, but he turned the ball over a game-high five times. Michael Imariagbe had all 13 of his points in the first half and shot an efficient 6-of-7 from the field while also finishing with five rebounds and five assists. Doumbia scored all 12 of his points in the final 20 minutes. The team’s second-leading scorer, Alex Huibregtse, was held scoreless and shot 0-of-9 from the field.
Wright State ended the night with a very respectable 55 percent overall mark from the field (33-of-60), but they shot a poor 32 percent on three-pointers (6-of-19) and 30.8 percent on free throws (4-of-13) while also making just one trey ball in the second half.
Clint Sargent’s crew won the rebound battle 38-28 and finished with a 52-44 cushion on points in the paint, but NKU had 16 points off the Raiders’ 14 turnovers.
Northern Kentucky shot 53.6 percent from the floor (30-of-56), but they were held to just 38.46 percent in the second half (10-of-26). The visitors shot 46.7 percent from deep (7-of-15) and 56.5 percent from the foul line (13-of-23), and they also committed only eight turnovers. All five starters for Darrin Horn’s squad scored in double-figures: 17 points for Gherezgher, 16 for Dilling, 14 for Vinson, 12 for Robinson, and 10 for Itejere. As a result of the win, the Norse men will host a home game on March 4 in the 1st Round of the Horizon League Tournament.
Women’s last time out: The very next day, the Wright State women (9-19, 7-11 Horizon) earned their third straight win after coming back from a 16-point second half deficit and ended the game on an 11-0 run en route to a 68-62 victory while ruining the Lady Norse’s Senior Day at Truist Arena.
The Norse led 14-11 after the first quarter and begun the second quarter on a 7-0 run to push their lead to 21-11 with free throws and a three-pointer from Macey Blevins and a layup from Halle Idowu. They pushed the lead to 12 at 32-20 with just 2:44 left in the half on as Abby Wolterman cleaned up her own mess with a bucket in the paint before a three-pointer was made by Kamora Morgan. WSU scored the next five points with a layup from Olivia Brown, a free throw from Claire Henson, and a pair of foul shots from Lauren Scott before a Mya Meredith layup made it 34-25 at recess.
After halftime, the NKU women kicked off the third quarter on a 9-2 run with three consecutive layups from Idowu, Wolterman, and Blevins; followed by a Meredith foul shot and a Jaci Jones layup to go up by 16 at 43-27 before the third quarter media timeout. After the media timeout ended, Ellie Magestro-Kennedy traded a three-pointer with Jones to make it 46-30 before WSU scored the next nine unanswered points on big three-point shots: one from Macie Taylor and the next pair from Makiya Miller to cut the deficit down to seven at 46-39. After another layup from Morgan, Brown countered with a layup of her own before Magestro-Kennedy hit her second triple of the quarter to make it a 48-44 deficit. Then, Wolterman made a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to go in the period, allowing NKU to take a 50-44 lead going into the fourth and final stanza.
After a Miller free throw to start the period, NKU came right back quarter with layups from Idowu, Wolterman and Blevins; with another Magestro-Kennedy three-pointer in between the buckets to make it 56-48. After a turnaround shot in the paint from Henson, Jones was fouled by Chloe Chard Peloquin and hit a pair of attempts at the charity stripe to maintain Northern Kentucky’s eight-point lead at 58-50 with 5:10 to go. WSU then scored six of the next seven points with a drilled three from Taylor followed by a midrange jumper from Chard Peloquin and a Miller layup, with a Blevins foul shot in between to cut the deficit down to 59-57.
NKU responded with a three from Blevins to make it 68-62, but that turned out to be the Lady Norse’s final points of the afternoon. The Raider women ended the day holding NKU to 0-for-5 from the field through the last 2:41 and went on an 11-0 run with free throws and back-to-back layups from Staton, followed by a total of five made free throws combined from Henson, Magestro-Kennedy, and Taylor to put the cream cheese on the bagel.
Both women’s teams had 13 points off turnovers, with WSU turning it over 12 times and NKU committing 15 of their own.
The Wright State women shot 41.1 percent from the field (23-of-56), 36 percent from three (9-of-25), and 76.5 percent from the foul line (13-of-17). Miller led the Raiders in scoring with 14 points on 5-of-12 shots from the field. Staton recorded her Horizon League-leading 12th double-double of the season with 12 points (5-of-10 FG), 13 rebounds, and a pair of blocked shots. Also, Staton reached 600 career NCAA rebounds.
11 points off the bench for Magestro-Kennedy; 10 points and four assists off the bench for Taylor; and nine points, four rebounds, and five assists for Henson. Magestro-Kennedy and Taylor also recorded a pair of steals apiece, while Magestro-Kennedy and Miller both shot 3-of-6 from downtown.
Jeff Hans’ ladies from Northern Kentucky (10-19, 7-11 Horizon) have lost their third straight game as well. They shot 46 percent overall (23-of-50), 35 percent from three-land (7-of-20), and 52.9 percent at the charity stripe (9-of-17). Blevins led all scorers with 17 points (6-of-10 FG). 12 points for Meredith, 11 points for Idowu; eight points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks for Wolterman; and seven points each for Jones and Morgan.
Women’s last CSU matchup: On December 16, the Raider ladies failed to protect home court as Cleveland State earned the 85-71 win at the NuttHouse, marking the Vikings’ seventh win in their 10-game winning streak. But after the game, Vikings head coach Chris Kielsmeier spent an hour in the locker room getting on his ladies about their lackadaisical defensive effort.
Wright State shot 38.1 percent overall the from the field (24-of-63) an efficient 57.1 percent from downtown (16-of-28), and 77.8 percent on free throws (7-of-9). Redshirt freshman Rylee Sagester led all scorers with a career-high 24 points off the bench and shot 8-of-13 from beyond the arc, while Scott was the only other Raider in double-figure scoring with 14 points of her own.
Cleveland State outrebounded Wright State 37-25 and had a great shooting night: a 57.1 percent overall clip from the field (32-of-56), 55 percent from three-point land (11-of-20), and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe (10-of-14). Mickayla “Micky” Perdue led her squad with 23 points (6-of-9 3-PT FG) and 3 steals; followed by 16 points and seven rebounds from Jordana Reisma; 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists for Sara Guerreiro; nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals for Destiny Leo; and nine points off the bench for Mya Moore.
Men’s last CSU matchup: On December 29, the Raider men suffered the same fate with a 78-64 defeat at the Henry J. Goodman Arena, which was also the fifth game of a 13-game winning streak for Daniyal Robinson’s Viking men.
Wright State committed only nine turnovers and shot a descent 44.8 percent from the field (26-of-58), but they shot a poor 21.7 percent from downtown (5-of-23). 20 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocks for Noel; 19 points and three blocks from Doumbia; and nine points and seven rebounds for Imariagbe.
Cleveland State committed just eight turnovers while also shooting 49.1 percent from the field (28-of-57), 50 percent from downtown (9-of-18), and 68.4 percent at the charity stripe (13-of-19). Chase Robinson led the team with 16 points off the bench, followed by 14 points and seven rebounds from Dylan Arnett, and 12 points each from Je’Shawn Stevenson and Tevin Smith. Ebrima Dibba flirted with a near triple-double of seven points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Tournament scenarios: The Wright State women (9-19, 5-11 Horizon) are in a three-way tie for fifth place with Northern Kentucky and Detroit Mercy, but Kari Hoffman’s crew get up to the #4 seed if they upset Cleveland State on Wednesday and defeat Robert Morris on Saturday, while UDM and NKU both lose out and RMU also loses at home to Youngstown State on Thursday. As for Cleveland State (22-7, 13-5 Horizon), they have already clinched the #3 seed in the Horizon League Tournament and will host a game in the quarterfinals on March 6 of next Thursday.
The Wright State men (13-16, 7-11 Horizon) aee currently in eighth place in the conference, but they can host a 1st Round game in the Horizon League Tournament on March 4 of next Tuesday if they either win at home against Cleveland State on Thursday night or at IU Indy on Saturday afternoon. The Cleveland State men (19-10, 13-5 Horizon) who lost in overtime at Oakland on Sunday, can clinch the outright Horizon League regular-season conference title if they win at Wright State on Thursday and at home on Saturday against Purdue-Fort Wayne, while Robert Morris must lose at IU Indy on Thursday. If Cleveland State splits the week and Robert Morris both loses at that same, then the Vikings and Colonials will clinch a share of the regular season crown.
WSU-CSU series history: All-time between these two schools, it will be the 89th women’s matchup and the 86th men’s matchup. Cleveland State leads the women’s side 46-42, while the men’s side favors Wright State at 45-40.
Wright State women’s starting lineup
• Amaya Staton, F (6-1, Gr., Merrimack transfer) – 11.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 0.5 spg, 55.2% FG, 77.2% FT, 22.6 mpg
• Claire Henson, G (5-10, Jr.) – 10.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.2 spg, 37.3% 3-PT
• Makiya Miller, G (5-7, Jr.) – 8.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.3 spg, 31.7% 3-PT
• Lauren Scott, G (5-7, Jr.) – 7.8 ppg, 25.5 mpg in 24 games (20 starts)
• Olivia Brown, G (5-7, R-Soph. Akron transfer) – 3.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.2 spg, 23.4 mpg; started 17 games, including the last 11
Wright State women’s rotation players
• Macie Taylor, G (5-7, R-Soph.) – 7.7 ppg, spg, 82.1% FT; started the first 17 games
• Abbie Riddle, G (5-10, R-Fr., Bowling Green transfer) – 3.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 18.2 mpg in 20 games (two starts)
• Rylee Sagester, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 4.9 ppg, 34% 3-PT, 90.9% FT (20-of-22), 14.6 mpg
• Chloe Chard Peloquin, C (6-3, Jr., Canisius transfer) – 4.7 ppg, 3 rpg, 0.6 spg, 0.4 bpg, 14.3 mpg in 25 games
• Ellie Magestro-Kennedy, G (5-7, R-Fr.) – 4.5 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 11.2 mpg, 31.8% 3-PT in 25 games
• Florrie Cotterill, F (6-2, Fr.) – 1.5 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 4.6 mpg in 17 games; has not played the last three games (coach’s decision)
Rest of the Wright State women’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Cleveland State women’s starting lineup
• Jordana Reisma, F (6-3, Jr.) – 15.2 ppg, 6.9 rpg, bpg, 73.1% FT; second-best field goal percentage in the country (67.63%) and the NCAA’s leader in true shooting percentage (69.8%)
• Macey Fegan, F (5-11, Soph., Toledo transfer) – 5.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 spg, 80.8% FT in 28 games (24 starts)
• Destiny Leo, G (5-10, Gr.) – 10.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.9 spg, 0.6 bpg, 76.5% FT (24/30), 42.2% 3-PT; 2022-23 Horizon League Player of the Year who leads the Horizon League in total minutes (951)
• Sara Guerreiro, G (5-10, Gr.) – 10.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.1 spg, 89% FT, leads the Horizon League in defensive rebounds (187)
• Mickayla Perdue, G (5-6, Gr.) – 19.8 ppg (T-22nd NCAA), 3.3 apg, 1.4 spg, 84.7% FT (56/68); begun her career at NCAA Division II Glenville State before transferring to Toledo
Cleveland State women’s rotation players
• Mya Moore, F (5-11, Jr.) – 3.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 0.7 bpg; started her NCAA career at Seattle University
• Filippa Goula, G (5-6, Gr.) – 2.4 ppg, 1.4 apg, 0.6 spg in 28 games; begun her career at St. Francis (PA) before transferring to Northeastern Junior College
• Grace Ellis, F (6-0, 5th-year) – 1.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg in 28 games; begun her NCAA career at Wyoming
• Paulina Hernandez, F (6-0, Soph.) – 1.3 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.6 bpg in 24 games
• Sarah Hurley, G (6-1, Soph.) – 0.9 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.6 spg, 7.9 mpg in 18 games (two starts)
• Kali Howard, F (5-11, Sr.) – 2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 7.4 mpg in 24 games
Cleveland State women’s injuries
• Colbi Maples, G (5-8, Sr.) – 9.7 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.3 apg, 26.3 mpg in 3 starts; Last year’s Horizon League Player of the Year, Maples tore her ACL in the November 12 home opener against Bowling Green. She played her first two NCAA seasons at Grambling State.
Rest of the Cleveland State women’s roster: https://csuvikings.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster
Wright State men’s starting lineup
• Brandon Noel, F (6-8/240, 5th-year R-Jr.) – 19 ppg, 8.1 rpg, spg, bpg, 35.1% 3-PT (35-of-94), 74.5% FT; leads the Horizon League in made field goals (207), and minutes played (985); only Raider to start every game
• Michael Imariagbe, F (6-7/220, Sr., Houston Christian transfer) – 5.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg in 28 games (14 starts)
• Alex Huibregtse, G (6-3/205, R-Sr.) – 13 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, 36.2% 3-PT, 79.5% FT, played and started 28 games
• Solomon Callaghan, G (6-2/195, R-Fr.) – 6.4 ppg, 38.6% 3-PT in 27 games (six starts)
• Keaton Norris, G (6-0/175, R-Jr.) – 7.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.2 spg, 44.6% 3-PT (37-of-83), played and started 25 games
Wright State men’s rotation players
• Jack Doumbia, F (6-6/195, R-Sr., Norfolk State transfer) – 12.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, spg, 0.8 bpg; started 11 games
• Logan Woods, G (6-5/180, R-Soph) – 7 ppg, 48% 3-PT (36-of-75) in 28 games; started the first 25 contests
• Andrea Holden, F (6-6/215, Fr.) – 3.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, spg, 11.5 mpg in 14 games (five starts)
• Andrew Welage, G (6-6/205, Gr.) – 3.5 ppg, 33.3% 3-PT, 13.3 mpg in 26 games
• Drey Carter, F (6-8/210, R-Soph.) – 2.7 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 8.6 mpg in 23 games (one start)
Rest of the Wright State men’s roster: https://wsuraiders.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
Cleveland State men’s starting lineup (from their last 15 games)
• Dylan Arnett, F (6-9/240, Jr.) – 11.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.2 bpg, 28 mpg
• Reece Robinson, F (6-8/223, Fr.) – 5.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg; played in 25 games (15 starts)
• Ebrima Dibba, G (6-6/207, Gr., South Carolina transfer) – 3.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 4 apg, 0.9 spg, 25.5 mpg in 28 games (25 games); played four years at Coastal Carolina
• Tevin Smith, G (6-4/200, Jr.) – 13.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.2 bpg, 77% FT, started 28 games; begun his NCAA career at Denver
• Tahj Staveskie, G (6-1/183, Jr., Canisius transfer) – 12.4 ppg, 36% 3-PT, 80.3% FT
Cleveland State men’s rotation players
• Je’Shawn Stevenson, G (6-2/200, Fr.) – 9.3 ppg, 1.3 spg, 81.7% FT
• Chase Robinson, G (6-1/205, Gr.) – 8.9 ppg, 3 rpg, 1.4 spg, 85.2% FT; started five games
• Cole Franklin, G (6-4/195, Soph., JUCO transfer) – 4.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, spg, 16.2 mpg in 18 games (six starts)
• Isaac Abidde, F (6-8/211, Jr., Wichita State transfer) – 2.7 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 8.5 mpg in 24 games (eight starts)
• KJ Debrick, F (6-9/239, R-Jr.) – 3.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.4 bpg, 9.7 mpg in 27 games; won a NJCAA National Championship in 2023 with John A. Logan College
Cleveland State men’s injuries
• Jalin Rice, G (6-1/175, Sr.) – only played in the team’s November 4 season opener at Michigan in which he scored six points and pulled down three rebounds; has been out with a shoulder injury
Rest of the Cleveland State men’s roster: https://csuvikings.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster
