KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball concludes its season-opening three-game home stretch on Thursday, Nov. 15, hosting the University of Michigan at 7 p.m. inside University Arena. 

Thursday, Nov. 15 • 7 p.m. • Kalamazoo, Mich. • University Arena (5,421)
Michigan Wolverines (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. Western Michigan Broncos (1-1, 0-0 MAC)

Series Record: WMU leads 17-15* (First three matchups were before Michigan joined varsity ranks)
Last Meeting: Nov. 21, 2016 (Michigan won 60-44 in Ann Arbor, Mich.)

GAME NOTES: WESTERN MICHIGAN | MICHIGAN

BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Radio • WQLR 1600 AM The Fan Flagship (Kalamazoo/Portage) - Aaron Coyle (PBP)
Watch Live: ESPN+ (Conor Clingen - PBP, Theresa Beeckman - Color, Sam Mattlin - Sideline)

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @WMU_WBB | FACEBOOK: @WMUWBB

$4 GROUP TICKET SALE
Youth teams of 10 or more can purchase group tickets for $4 too see the Broncos take on the Maize & Blue. Tickets can be purchased at the Bronco Ticket Office, online at wmubroncos.com/tickets or by calling 1-888-4-WMU-Tix.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan moved to 1-1 overall with a 66-54 loss on Sunday, Nov. 11 at University Arena against New Mexico State University, who was selected to finish first in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) preseason coaches' poll. For the second-straight game, Leighah-Amori Wool led the Broncos in scoring, improving upon her career-high performance set versus Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, Nov. 8. Wool notched her first career double-double with a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 7-for-14 from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point range. Freshman Maddie Watters tallied 16 points in her second collegiate appearance, shooting 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.

SERIES HISTORY
Thursday's game will mark the 33rd all-time matchup between Western Michigan and Michigan, with the Broncos holding a 17-15 series advantage. The Wolverines have come out victorious in the previous four meetings, last coming in 2016 with a 66-40 win in Ann Arbor, Mich. In 1970 through 1978, WMU wet on a 10-game winning streak over the Maize & Blue. During meetings in Kalamazoo, the Broncos own a 7-5 series advantage. Since Michigan joined the varsity ranks in the 1973-74 season, WMU leads the series 15-14 while the Wolverines have won the last 11 of 12 meetings. 

SCOUTING THE MAIZE & BLUE
The Wolverines opened their 2018-19 season with an 88-40 victory over Mount St. Mary's on Friday, Nov. 9 in Ann Arbor, Mich., marking the 14th consecutive season-opening win in program history. Coming off a 23-10 overalll finish last season, Michigan was selected to finish third in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll. Senior center Hallie Thome was selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten team for the second-straight year and is the Wolverines' top returning scorer, having averaged 17.4 points and nine rebounds per game in 2017-18. 

CAREER-HIGHS SHATTERED
Through the first two games of the 2018-19 season, nearly each Bronco that has seen playing time has established at least one career-high statistic. Four out of five Bronco starters have already set career-high minutes played, while Leighah-
Amori Wool and Kamrin Reed have both had career-high scoring performances. In the season-opener versus Purdue Fort Wayne, Wool scored 17 points to set a career-high, followed by 13 points from Reed. Wool followed up her season-opening performance with a 19-point, 11-rebound game versus New Mexico State to record her first career double-double. All three WMU freshman have also played minutes, led by Maddie Watters, who scored 16 points with five three-point field goals in her second collegiate appearance versus New Mexico State. 

2017-18 RECAP
Last season the Broncos finished 18-15 overall and 9-9 in the Mid-American Conference, finishing third in the MAC West standings, the best finish since the 2014-15 season. WMU received the No. 6 seed in the MAC Tournament and upset No. 3 seeded Ball State prior to falling to No. 2 Buffalo in the semifinals. As a team, WMU scored the third most points in school history (2,308). Breanna Mobley became just the second player in Bronco history to collect 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds and was named to the All-MAC Honorable Mention team. 

RETURNERS
The Broncos return 11 letterwinners from last year's roster, while Jordan Walker and Breanna Mobley will both redshirt this season for medical reasons. Senior guard Deja Wimby returns as the floor general for the Broncos. A member of the 2017-18 Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List, Wimby led the team last season with 69 assists. Also returning is redshirt senior Jasmyn Walker, who each started the first 20 games last year before suffering a season-ending injury. 

NEWCOMERS
A total of three freshmen will hit the court for the Broncos this season including Jacinta Gibson (Jeffersonville, Ind. / Jeffersonville), Maxine Moore (Southfield, Mich. / Detroit Country Day), and Maddie Watters (Williamston, Mich. / Williamston). Gibson was a three-sport athlete at Jeffersonville and led the Red Devils to their first conference championship since 2011 her junior year while being named First Team All-Conference and a finalist for the News and Tribune Player of the Year. Moore was an All-State player while winning three state championships at Detroit Country Day High School. Watters was an 1,000-point scorer at Williamston and was named All-State and the Lansing State Journal Player of the Year.

2018-19 SCHEDULE
The Broncos officially open up the 2018-19 schedule with three consecutive home games, beginning Thursday, Nov. 8 versus Purdue Fort Wayne. WMU has 11 non-conference games on the schedule, headlined by matchups against Michigan and Ole Miss. Western Michigan will participate in the Stetson University Tournament in DeLand, Fla., Dec. 20-21, set to face North Dakota and Mississippi Valley State. The MAC schedule begins at Bowling Green on Saturday, Jan. 5.