Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes reaches the halfway point of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference schedule this week as the Gray Wolves begin a three-game homestand.  Lourdes welcomes Marygrove to Tam-o-Shanter on Wednesday evening before hosting Aquinas for a Saturday matinee to begin the second half of league play.

Head Coach Karen McConnell: In her second season on the Lourdes bench Karen McConnell has an 18-58 (.237) record.  Overall as a women's collegiate head coach, McConnell has a 298-305 (.494) record in her 22nd season.  She is only the second head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Lourdes holds a 6-1 all-time series advantage against Marygrove dating back to Nov. 2, 2011, and has won the last six contests between the two schools.  Last season, the Gray Wolves scored a 68-56 victory in Detroit, Mich. before scoring a 65-62 overtime win at Tam-o-Shanter.  Lourdes is 3-0 all-time against Marygrove at home.  Aquinas is 9-0 all-time against Lourdes in a series that dates back to Nov. 30, 2011.  The Saints won this season's earlier meeting, 64-58, in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Nov. 21, 2015.  Aquinas has won both previous meetings at Tam-o-Shanter.

Earlier This Season: Lourdes built a 21-point first half lead on Nov. 21, but Aquinas rallied in the second half to defeat the Gray Wolves 64-58 in Grand Rapids, Mich.  Niki Meyer led the Gray Wolves with 17 points while Andrea Hodge added 14 more for Lourdes.  McKenzie Breimayer led all scorers, tallying 22 points for Aquinas.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Turnovers proved costly on Wednesday evening as 30 Lourdes miscues led to a 67-45 Northwestern Ohio victory at Tam-o-Shanter.  Molea Thompson was the lone Gray Wolf to finish in double figures, scoring 11 points.  On Saturday, Lourdes had a chance to tie in the final minute in Adrian, Mich., but Siena Heights pulled out a 53-49 win over the Gray Wolves.  Niki Meyer led Lourdes with 12 points while Lindsey Motycka added 10 points.  Jesse Fidler pulled down 17 rebounds for Lourdes.

Scouting Marygrove: The Mustangs have dropped 10 straight games entering the contest after falling 97-59 at home against Central State on Monday night.  Elisha Major leads Marygrove averaging 18.8 points per game while Teonna Pope has added 16.5 points per contest since seeing her first action of the season last Saturday.  Major also leads all of NAIA Division II averaging 3.6 steals per contest.  Breanna Thomas is Marygrove's leading rebounder, pulling down 9.5 boards per night.

Scouting Aquinas: The Saints enters the week having won back-to-back games after posting a 73-60 victory over Michigan-Dearborn at home on Saturday.  Aquinas hosts Siena Heights on Wednesday before traveling to Lourdes.  McKenzie Breimayer leads the Saints in scoring, averaging 10.2 points per game and is the only player tallying double figures.  Tyra Williams is the team's leading rebounder, pulling down 6.0 boards per contest.  

Fidler Sets Career High in Rebounds: Jesse Fidler pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds on Saturday afternoon against Siena Heights, including six on the offensive end of the floor.  The 17 boards bettered her previous career-best of 12 at Aquinas last season, and marked just the third time Fidler has had 10 or more rebounds in a game.  

Building Early Leads: Lourdes is outscoring its opponents 238-216 this season in the first quarter, and has had the advantage following the opening 10 minutes of play in nine of its 17 games this season.  Unfortunately for the Gray Wolves, the opposition has responded in the second period, tallying a 304-202 advantage and Lourdes has led just five games at halftime.

Mixing Up the Lineups: Eight different players have started at least one game for the Gray Wolves this season.  Only Jesse Fidler and Niki Meyer have started all 17 contests for Lourdes.  Lindsey Motycka is the only other Gray Wolf to have appeared in every game this season.

McConnell Nearing 300 Career Wins:  Head coach Karen McConnell is just two wins shy of 300 for her career, which spans 22 seasons.  The third year head coach has won 18 of her games while on the bench at Lourdes.

Among the Nation's Leaders: Lourdes has limited its opponents to 62.2 points per game this season, a mark that ranks 35th in NAIA Division II.  Lourdes also ranks 36th nationally as a team averaging 10.24 steals per contest.

Fidler Among the National Leaders Individually: Jesse Fidler ranks 13th in NAIA individually with 44 steals on the season and her 2.6 thefts per night rank 21st in NAIA Division II.  Fidler also ranks 14th in the country in field goal percentage, connecting at a 53.4% clip.  In addition, the sophomore is 28th nationally grabbing 3.41 offensive rebounds per contest.

Captains Named: Lourdes has two sophomore captains on the roster this season.  Serving in the leadership role for 2015-2016 are Jesse Fidler and Niki Meyer.  The duo both had successful freshmen campaigns with the Gray Wolves.

This and That: Jesse Fidler is 15 points shy of 500 for her career, entering the week with 485 career points ... Fidler also needs 11 rebounds for 300 over her two years at Lourdes  ... Molea Thompson surpassed 300 points (301) and 100 assists (104) for her career last week ... Niki Meyer is shooting 87.1% from the free throw line, the only Gray Wolf with more than 10 attempts to be shooting better than 69% from the charity stripe.