Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes will welcome nationally-ranked Michigan Dearborn to the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center on Saturday at 1 p.m. in part of a double header with the men's basketball team.
Head Coach John Kenger: First-year head coach
John Kenger will guide the Gray Wolf bench this season. Kenger owns a 5-7 (.417) record with the Gray Wolves. Overall as a women's collegiate head coach, Kenger has a 44-61 (.419) record in four seasons. He is the fourth head coach in Lourdes program's history.
Series Notes: Saturday's matchup will give one team the edge in the all-time series as each school has defeated their counterparts seven times. The two schools have split the season series in each of the last two seasons, claiming victories on both their home courts and on the road. The Gray Wolves are the last team to sweep the season series, defeating UM-Dearborn twice in the 2015-16 season.
Wrapping Up Last Week: The Gray Wolves dropped both of their contests in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference last week. Lourdes suffered a 73-48 setback at Siena Heights before returning to friendly confines and falling 73-69 against Aquinas.
Scouting UM-Dearborn: UM-Dearborn enters this weekend's matchup looking for its second consecutive victory after it had its five-game winning streak snapped at Lawrence Tech. The Wolverines moved up one spot in the second NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Coaches poll after being ranked No. 23 in the first poll. Through six games in the WHAC, UM-Dearborn sits in second place in the conference standings, one game behind sixth-ranked Indiana Tech. Sade Lemons currently paces the Wolverine offense with 14.3 points per outing, while Ro'Zhane Wells is scoring at a 10.4 point per game clip. Wells leads the team and ranks second in the WHAC, dishing out 4.637 assists per contest. Cydney Williams leads the way on the glass for UM-Dearborn, carolling 6.8 rebounds per outing.
Scouting Lourdes: The Gray Wolves enter Saturday's contest after dropping its last two contests. Lourdes will look to avoid its longest losing streak this season when it takes on UM-Dearborn. Through 12 games this season,
Jami Hardy and
Sydney Miller are tied for the lead on the team with 9.7 points per outing. Defensively, Hardy leads the team with 20 steals this season. Lourdes owns the scoring title in each quarter this season, and has outscored its opponents by a 69.2-63.5 point per game margin.
Sydney Miller has knocked down a team-high 24 three-point field goals this season.
Playing Ranked Foes: The Gray Wolves have a long history of playing ranked opponents, taking on 38 ranked opponents in the first eight years of the program. Lourdes is 1-37 all-time in games against ranked foes, picking up a 79-75 victory over Indiana-Northwest on Nov. 5, 2011. Saturday's contest will mark the second ranked opponent Lourdes has played this season.
Keys To The Game: Lourdes has proven to be unbeatable this season when it holds the advantage through 20 minutes of play. When holding the lead at halftime this season, Lourdes owns a 4-0 record when leading at the half. The Gray Wolves are also unbeaten and own a 4-0 record when holding their opponents below 60 points.
Keeping Pace In The WHAC: Christiana Jefferson currently leads the team and ranks fourth in the WHAC, handing out 4.33 assists per contest. The senior is on pace to lead the team in assists and assists per contest for the second straight season.
Winning The Battle On The Glass: The Gray Wolves have won the battle on the glass with an average of 42.1 rebounds per game. Opposing teams have only pulled down 36.8 rebounds per contest during the course of the season.
Jami Hardy and
Keyvona Davis lead Lourdes, grabbing 5.4 rebounds per contest this season.
Shuffling The Starting Lineup: Sydney Miller and
Sara Semler have started all 12 games for Lourdes this season. Seven other athletes have starting experience for the Gray Wolves, while eight players have seen action in all 12 games.
Tying A Career-Best: Jami Hardy tallied 16 points against Aquinas last weekend, tying a career-high in points. The sophomore scored 16 points and led the team in scoring earlier this season when Lourdes took on Goshen on the road.
This and That: Sydney Miller recorded her 100th career three-point field goal in a 68-53 victory over Cornerstone ... Lourdes is looking for its first victory against a ranked opponent since Nov. 5, 2011 ... Lourdes has had six different leading scorers in 12 games.
