KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team hosts Kent State University tomorrow evening inside University Arena during the annual Play For Kay Cancer Fund game
Wednesday, Feb. 20 • 7:00 p.m. • Kalamazoo, Mich. • University Arena (5,421)
Kent State Golden Flashes (14-9, 7-5 MAC) vs.
Western Michigan Broncos (8-15, 2-10 MAC)
Series Record: Kent State leads 32-26
Last Meeting: Kent State won 55-51 in Kent, Ohio (Feb. 6, 2019)
GAME NOTES: WESTERN MICHIGAN |
KENT STATE
BROADCAST INFORMATION:
Radio • WQLR 1600 AM The Fan Flagship (Kalamazoo/Portage) - Aaron Coyle (PBP)
Watch Live: ESPN+ (Conor Clingen - PBP, Color,
Sam Mattlin - Sideline)
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @WMU_WBB |
FACEBOOK: @WMUWBB
#PLAY4KAY PINK GAME
Wednesday marks the annual Play4Kay Pink Game, which supports the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The fund's mission is to extend and improve the lives of those who are battling cancer, on its way to finding a cure, by raising money for research and assisting the underserved. WMU is partnering with the Kay Yow Cancer Fund by joining the Play4Kay National Free Throw Challenge. WMU fans can pledge a dollar amount for each free throw made during the month of February or simply make a fixed donation at https://pledgeit.org/westernmichigan-play4kay.
You can support our team by…
· Pledging for every free throw we make during the month of February @ https://pledgeit.org/westernmichigan-play4kay
· Pledging a one-time flat donation @ https://pledgeit.org/westernmichigan-play4kay
· Purchasing an Limited Addition PINK WMU hat at our Pink Game (only 75 available)
· Buying a Pink Game Jerseys through our Silent Auction (see below details)
Silent Auction – Now is your chance to bring home one of the game-worn jerseys. This year's Play4Kay Challenge theme is "Survivor Power of One". Our basketball TEAM has chosen to play for One special person in their life's that has been affected by cancer and that special person's name will be worn on the back of the their Pink Game Jerseys.
The Silent Auction will begin 1 hour prior to tip off at tomorrow night's game Wednesday February 20th and ends at the end of the 3rd quarter BUZZER of Saturday February 23rd game. Pledges will begin at $75 per jersey and the highest pledge will take home the jersey.
Cannot make the game…email clipfellc@gmail or text 734-320-6086 the Jersey # and your pledge amount.
All pledges must be made to our online line Pledge It page no later than February 28th. The final overall pledge amount will be announced at our Home Game on March 2nd game. The Jerseys will be available for pick up at the Booster's table prior to tip off at the March 2nd game or in the basketball office through the week.
All proceeds will go to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund
Thanks for your support!
Western Michigan Women's Basketball… Play 4 Kay Free Throw Challenge web page (https://pledgeit.org/westernmichigan-play4kay)
LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan was unable to overcome a first half deficit despite a good effort in the second half at Northern Illinois University on Monday, Feb. 18, falling 77-64 against the Huskies. Down by 19 points at halftime, the Broncos battled back to outscore NIU 38-32 in the final 20 minutes but were not able to trim the Huskie lead to under double-digits in the Mid-American Conference road setback.
Deja Wimby led WMU, tying a season-high with 21 points along with a season-high nine field goals made, nine rebounds, and four assists.
Kamrin Reed shot 6-of-10 from the field, good for 15 points.
Leighah-Amori Wool and
Meredith Miller followed with 11 and nine points, respectively, while tallying a trio of three-point field goals each.
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday's contest will mark the 59th all-time matchup between Western Michigan and Kent State, with the Golden Flashes owning a 32-26 series advantage. The two teams recently faced each other in Kent, Ohio on Feb. 6. The Golden Flashes prevailed at their home court, 55-51, fending off a second half comeback in which the Broncos came within two points of Kent State after a 19-point deficit.
Kamrin Reed led the Brown & Gold with a career-high 20 points, shooting 7-of-12 from the field, including four three-pointers and four steals while playing in all 40 minutes.
LAST 10 MEETINGS: 5-5
Date Home/Away/Neutral Result
2/5/2011 A L, 68-79
1/25/2012 H L, 61-67
2/7/2013 A W, 58-40
2/15/2014 H L, 48-57
1/24/2015 A W, 78-55
1/13/2016 H W, 73-52
1/30/2016 A W, 65-53
1/18/2017 H L, 67-71
1/6/18 A W, 66-61
2/6/19 A L, 51-55
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
Western Michigan has dropped six straight in the MAC after a thrilling 14-point comeback win at Ball State Jan. 26 while facing several tough opponents including College Insider's Mid-Major No. 6 and No. 8-ranked teams in Ohio and Central Michigan. WMU's offense is paced by a balanced scoring effort, with three Broncos averaging double-digit points during conference play.
Deja Wimby leads the way with 13.7 points per game, followed by 12.0 from
Leighah-Amori Wool, and 11.3 from
Kamrin Reed. Wimby ranks third in the MAC with 2.8 steals per game and sixth with 4.3 steals per game.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN FLASHES
Kent State defeated the Broncos at its home court on Feb. 6 by a score of 55-51 and is riding a two-game winning streak in the MAC, most recently earning a 77-73 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday, Feb. 16. The Golden Flashes forced 23 Falcon turnovers while collecting 13 steals. KSU is strong defensively, limiting its opponents to a 37.8 field goal percentage (2nd/MAC) and 62.1 points per game (3rd/MAC). Redshirt junior guard Megan Carter leads the team with 16.2 points per contest (7th/MAC).
EVERY POSSESSION COUNTS
Five of WMU's 12 conference games have been decided by four points or less. The last time the Broncos had five MAC games decided by four points or less came during the 2008-09 season, as well as the 2004-05 season. The last time a Western Michigan squad had more than five conference games decided by four points or less was in 1995-96, when six games were decided by a four-point margin.
WIMBY CLIMBS RECORD BOOK
Senior point guard
Deja Wimby continues to move up in the Bronco women's basketball record book. At Ohio last Saturday, Wimby tallied eight points to become the 27th Bronco all-time to reach the 1,000 career point mark. She also became the seventh Bronco in program history to have surpassed 1,000 points, 400 assists, and 200 steals in a career. Wimby ranks sixth all-time at WMU with 452 assists and sixth in steals with 219.
WALKER JOINS 1K CLUB
Jasmyn Walker scored 13 points versus Toledo (Jan. 13) to surpass 1,000 points in her career. After totaling 679 points in two seasons at Valparaiso University, Walker has now accumulated 392 points in 43 games played in Brown & Gold.
WALKER SELECTED TO WBCA COACHES PROGRAM
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association announced the class for the 17th annual "So You Want To Be A Coach" program on Jan. 22, with redshirt senior
Jasmyn Walker included. Each member will participate in the three-day workshop with speakers provided by WeCOACH on April 3-5 in conjunction with the WBCA Convention in Tampa Bay, Fla. Walker, a business administration major, is one of 60 student-athletes throughout NCAA Division I, II, III, and NAIA, invited to participate in the program. She will follow in the footsteps of former Broncos Breanna Bankston and Carrie Moore, who both went on to become Division I coaches.
CLIPFELL THIRD IN ALL-TIME IN WINS AT WMU
Head Coach
Shane Clipfell, who eclipsed the 100-win mark versus Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 28), moved into third place in all-time coaching wins at Western Michigan during the victory over Bowling Green (Jan. 5). His 105th career win in his seventh season at the helm passed Jim Hess' (1982-90) career win total.
