Fort Wayne, Indiana – In the offseason, Maria Marchesano said it was going to take some time to get used to this new style of Mastodon basketball this season. After having the best three point shooting seasons in the Marchesano era last year by percentage, the Mastodons have steadily imposed their will inside the arc this season. By this point last season, Purdue Fort Wayne had seven games of double-digit three pointers made. With Marchesano as coach, the ‘Dons have done it a total of 51 times. Coming into this game, the ‘Dons have only done it twice this year. On Friday’s contest again Aquinas, Purdue Fort Wayne only needed Alana Nelson and Ella Riggs to accomplish this feat.
The Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (9-4, 3-0 Horizon League) took care of business against Aquinas (NAIA, 6-7, 4-3 WHAC) inside the Gates Sports Center by tripling up (and then some) the Saints, winning 104-31.
The Mastodons took just one quarter to eclipse the Saints’ point total on the game, exploding for 35 points in the opening frame. A driving layup by Ella Riggs with 49 seconds left in the quarter would put the Mastodons at 32 points, and one possession later, Riggs would bury a three on an assist by Bailee Duck. This would be the start of a career afternoon off the bench for Riggs. Shooting a near perfect 10-of-11 from the floor, including 4-of-4 from beyond the arc, Riggs would finish with a career high 24 points in 24 minutes of play. The junior would also contribute on the other side of the ball with four rebounds, two steals, and a block. Coincidentally enough, Friday was Riggs’ birthday as well. What’s better than “tying a school record for best field goal percentage in a game with a minimum of 10 attempts” as a birthday gift?
As if Aquinas trying to win a game against a career-high performer wasn’t hard enough, the Mastodons’ Nelson would match her Division I high of 26 points with 9-of-10 shooting, including 6-of-7 shooting from three-point distance. This is the seventh game of the year that Nelson has scored at least 20 points, continuing her campaign for Horizon League Player of the Year. Nelson added five rebounds as well.
Even without Nelson and Riggs, the Mastodons would have been more than fine thanks to a routine 14 points from Jordan Reid and a combined 22 points off the bench from Avery Wagner, Hillary Offing, Bailee Duck, and Rylee Bess. Wagner and Offing both recorded a game high seven rebounds each, and starter Lili Krasovec also added six. Overall, the Mastodons would win the rebounding battle 47 to 25. The Mastodons also shared the ball well for great shots, assisting on exactly half of the 42 made shot attempts. Look away, other Horizon League teams – the Mastodons are starting to make a lot more three pointers again… This time going 14-of-32 (44%) from beyond the arc good for the highest percentage and made total for a game this season.
Purdue Fort Wayne also took care of business defensively. The Saints were held to 31 points on 11-of-52 (21%) shooting and a poor 3-of-21 (14%) from three. No player on Aquinas scored more than six points. The Saints also struggled to take care of the rock. The Mastodon defense forced 28 turnovers, leading to 44 points off of turnovers. On the other side, Aquinas forced 15 PFW turnovers, but they could only turn those 15 mistakes into a mere two points. Paige Guernsey was the leading scorer for the Saints, but she was assessed a Flagrant 1 foul early in the game trying to cut through the lane and striking her defender, Lauren Lee, in the head with a seemingly inadvertent forearm.
There’s also an interesting connection between the two squads. Other than the 5-0 series history and the 296-115 scoring difference in the last three seasons, Aquinas’s leading scorer in the 2024 game, Claire Gregwer, is set to join the Mastodons’ roster at the start of the new semester. Due to a change in eligibility ruling, Gregwer has been awarded an additional season of collegiate basketball. Last season, the 6-1 forward led qualified players at Aquinas in minutes per game (37.3), points per game (19.3), field goal percentage (46.3%), three point percentage (37.7%), rebounds per game (12.8), and blocks per game (0.8). She was also second in assists per game and steals per game. Gregwer will not appear in a game for the Mastodons in the 2025-2026 season, but will become a full participant of the team next season. Gregwer joins Nelson, Jordan Reid, and Lauren Lee as standout NAIA players to make the transition to Division I under Maria Marchesano.
The Mastodons will now resume Horizon League action by taking on Northern Kentucky on Monday, December 29 in Fort Wayne. The Norse have not had a great start to the season; granted, they had two ranked matchups against Louisville (#20, now #16) and Ohio State (#21) and against a good Ball State team, probably making the 3-10 record a little inflated. Northern Kentucky are 0-3 to start the Horizon League circuit, but games against Green Bay, Robert Morris, and Cleveland State are no walk in the park for any team. The matchup between the Mastodons and the Norse is set for a 7:00pm ET tip on ESPN+.
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