SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - The Lake Superior State women's basketball team will open the 2021 season against the Wayne State Warriors with a two-game road series on Monday, Jan. 11 at 1:00 p.m. and Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 1:00 p.m. in the Matthaei Basketball Facility in Detroit, Mich.
The series, which was originally scheduled for Friday, Jan. 8 and Saturday, Jan. 9 had to be postponed due to COVID-19 cases within the Laker basketball program.
Due to COVID-19 related changes in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) scheduling process for the 2021 season, teams will play a pair of games against the same opponent each weekend.
The Lakers
The Lake Superior State women's basketball, led by fourth-year Head Coach Brandon Lokken, looks forward to a strong season highlighted by a large incoming class.
The Lakers, who compiled an 8-19 overall record during the 2019-20 season, will look to build upon their win total this season. The Lakers have now posted eight wins in back-to-back seasons which is the most in consecutive years since the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Last season's four conference wins were the most by the Lakers in GLIAC play since the 2015-16 season.
The Lakers graduated a strong class last season, consisting of Lexie Khon, Abbey Ostman, Claire Radtke, and Morgan Villemure. As a result, this year's Laker squad will rely heavily on the team's youth to make up for those losses. With an incoming class of seven players, the Lakers will look to their juniors and seniors for the leadership that will be needed with so many new faces. Seniors Rebecca Villanueva and Taylor Bryant will both be expected to fulfill that leadership role both on and off the court.
Lake Superior State will be led by sophomore forward Mattison Rayman, who posted 245 points in her freshman season at LSSU (9.1 ppg). Rayman scored more points than any other returning Laker last season and also was the team's best rebounder last season with a team-best 217. In her sophomore season, Rayman will step into a bigger role for the Lakers, especially with the departure of Lexie Khon.
Redshirt junior guard Sadie DeWildt will also continue to be an important piece for the Lakers as she started all 27 games for the Lakers last season while leading the team in assists (66).
Five freshmen will join the Lakers this year as well as two transfers. This year's freshman class consists of guard Jozie Bontrager (Jackson, Mich.), point guard Brittany Bowman (Kingsley, Mich.), guard Abbey Krugh (Niles, Mich.), forward Hailey Voelker (Colby, Wisc.) and guard Jaden Wilder (Manton, Mich.). Margot Woughter, a sophomore guard, has joined the Lakers following a season at Indiana Wesleyan University and Carson Nitz, a junior guard, has played the past two seasons at Rock Valley College.
Preseason Poll
The Lake Superior State women's basketball team was ranked sixth in the 2020-21 GLIAC North Division Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll as announced by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) on Thursday, Dec. 17. The Lakers received 11 points in the poll to put them behind first place Ferris State (53), Michigan Tech (47), Northern Michigan (41), Parkside (38) and Purdue Northwest (26).
Scouting the Warriors
The Warriors return to play following a 2019-20 season that saw the team advance to the GLIAC semifinals for the first time since 2014. Wayne State's Head Coach, Carrie Lohr begins her 10th season at the helm of the WSU basketball program.
Wayne State will rely on junior Sam Cherney who earned GLIAC All-Defensive Team accolades a year ago as well as classmate Grace George, who is the team's top returning scorer after averaging just over 11 points per contest last season.
Seniors Tori Perez, Anna Ruhstorfer, Kara Wilson and Ariel Bethea will lead a squad that features eight upperclassmen. Juniors include Alexis Miller and Kate Sherwood along with the two aforementioned Sam Cherney and Grace George.
The sophomore trio consists of Becca Fugate and Mercedes Wagner, plus Central Michigan transfer Kate McArthur. Five freshmen joined the Warriors this fall including Halle Barnett, Riley Davis, Jolee Houle, Chenelle King and Rebecca Morrish.
Follow the Lakers
Due to State of Michigan, GLIAC and Lake Superior State University mandates, fans are not currently permitted to attend any Laker sporting events. Even though spectators cannot currently attend Laker home games, there are still a number of ways that fans will be able to follow the game action. All Laker home games during the 2021 season will be available to watch live on Stretch TV. For more information or to sign up for a subscription, visit https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lssu/. Fans can also tune in to the radio broadcast on ESPN 1400, the official radio station of Laker basketball.
For more information, visit lssulakers.com
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