Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: The Gray Wolves will host back-to-back contests this week to begin its three game homestand. Lourdes will host Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference foe Rochester at 6 p.m. on Tuesday evening. The Gray Wolves will then welcome Great Lakes Christian to the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center for a 1 p.m. tip off on Saturday.
Head Coach John Kenger: First-year head coach
John Kenger will guide the Gray Wolf bench this season. Kenger owns a 3-3 (.500) record with the Gray Wolves. Overall as a women's collegiate head coach, Kenger has a 42-57 (.424) record in four seasons. He is the fourth head coach in Lourdes program's history.
Series Notes: Lourdes will meet Rochester for the sixth time in program history on Tuesday. The Warriors own a 4-1 record in the all-time series, beginning on Jan. 23, 2012. Lourdes' lone victory in the series came in the 2014-15 season opener when it defeated Rochester 87-77. Great Lakes Christian and Lourdes will meet for only the second time. In the series first ever matchup last season, the Gray Wolves picked up a 79-63 victory over the Crusaders.
Wrapping Up Last Week: The Gray Wolves dropped a 70-54 decision at NCAA Division III opponent Olivet on Thursday evening. Lourdes rebounded with a convincing 74-52 victory over Madonna to open its WHAC schedule. Lourdes won its WHAC season opener for the first time in the last six seasons.
Scouting Rochester: After opening the season with six straight victories, the Warriors have won only one of their last three contests. Through nine games this season, Devan Valko leads the team with 10 points per contest and has made a team-best 29 field goals, including 21 from beyond the arc. Rikki Scherdt leads the team and ranks third in the WHAC, pulling down 9.22 rebounds per game, while Kendra Kujat has dished out a team-best 37 assists.
Scouting Great Lakes Christian: The Crusaders are still searching for their first victory of the season and dropping a tight 62-60 decision against Ohio University Chilicothe. A trio of Crusaders average double figures in scoring, led by Oghenehoke Johnson's 16.0 points per game. Kerlunda Dervil and Mystic Striker rank second and third on the team with 15.2 and 12.6 points per contest, respectively. Striker and Johnson average double-doubles, pulling down 11.4 and 10.2 boards per contest, respectively.
Snapping A Streak: The Gray Wolves saw their string of WHAC-opening losses come to an end on Saturday afternoon as they dominated from start to finish in their 74-52 victory over Madonna on Saturday afternoon. Prior to the victory over Madonna, Lourdes had lost five straight WHAC openers, dating back to the 2013-14 season. The Gray Wolves will look to move to 2-0 in the WHAC to open the season for the first time in program history.
A Total Team Effort: In its victory over Madonna, Lourdes saw three players score in double figures, led by
Christiana Jefferson's 12 points.
Sydney Miller and
Hunter Kershaw added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Of the 12 athletes who appeared in the game for the Gray Wolves, all 12 recorded either a point, a rebound or an assist.
Leading The Team: Sara Semler has seen action in and started all six games for the Gray Wolves thus far this season and averages a team-high 27.2 minutes per contest. Semler also leads the team with 10.2 points per game and a .357 field goal percentage from three point range.
A High Flying Offense: Lourdes has outscored its opponents by a 449-372 margin during its first six games this season. Lourdes has outscored opposing teams in each quarter this season. The third quarter has proven to be the Gray Wolves strongest stanza, scoring 125 points compared to its counterpart's 98 points.
Leading The WHAC: Christiana Jefferson, the teams leader in assists last season, currently leads all WHAC athletes, dishing out 5.00 assists per contest. Jefferson handed out a season-best seven assists in Lourdes victory over Wright State-Lake.
Winning The Battle On The Boards: The Gray Wolves have won the rebounding battle in five of its six contests this season. Lourdes averages 46.7 rebounds per contest during its first six contests, more than 12 more rebounds per matchup than its opponents.
Lending A Helping Hand: While
Christiana Jefferson's 30 assists this season leads the team, three other athletes have notched double figure assists for the Gray Wolf offense.
Sydney Miller,
Sara Semler and
Ramiah Henry have all eclipsed the double figure mark this season in assists.
This and That: Lourdes had three athletes score in double figures in the victory over Madonna, marking the fourth time in six games at least three athletes tallied double figures ... The Gray Wolves are outscoring opponents by 12.8 points per contest this season.
