KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan University women's basketball team plays its final home game of the calendar year on Thursday night.

LAST TIME OUT
After a week away from University Arena, the Broncos returned in a big way on Sunday with a 58-48 victory against the Valparaiso Beacons. WMU earned its first home win of the 2025-26 season on Sunday afternoon to open a two-game homestand over the week.

Despite trailing early, the Brown and Gold's offense came to life in the second half, improving its shooting to earn a second straight double-figure victory. Three members of the Western Michigan roster ended the game in double digits, including a career-best for senior forward Mary Clare Brusek with 14 points. The Broncos also had two players put up 10 points in redshirt senior forward De'Ahna Richardson and sophomore guard Kailey Starks.  

DOMINATING THE GLASS
WMU had its best game on defense against Valpo Sunday afternoon as the team grabbed a season-high 46 rebounds to the Beacons 33. The Brown and Gold surpassed their previous best game on the boards from almost a month ago at then No. 24 Michigan State by three rebounds. Western Michigan is having a better season on the glass than 2024-25, as the team has grabbed more rebounds in a game than its best game over a year ago. 

Sophomore forward D'Myjah Bolds currently leads the Broncos on defense with 50 rebounds to average 6.3 boards a game. Senior forward Ariana Wilkes is also averaging 6.3 rebounds a game, but has missed a game so far this season. Among the Mid-American Conference, Bolds is eighth in defensive rebounds with an average of 5.00 while Wilkes is 9th in total rebounding. 

DECEMBER OF BREAKOUT GAMES
Over the past four games, WMU has had five different players lead the team in scoring. In the month of December alone, the Brown and Gold's leading scorer has been a player with less than 40 career games under their belt. In Western Michigan's most recent game, Brusek set a career-high in only her second basketball game with the Broncos, leading the team with 14 points.

Brusek also had an all-around game for WMU on Sunday, adding two rebounds, an assist, and a block in 18 minutes on the floor. In the Brown and Gold's game at Loyola, sophomore guard Alli Harness set a new career-high in scoring with 13 points, an assist, and a block in 25 minutes. 

SERIES HISTORY
Thursday night's meeting will be only the second in program history between Western Michigan and Dayton. The first meeting in the series happened over 15 years ago on a neutral site in 2007 at the Women's Sport Foundation Challenge in Albuquerque N.M. The game on Thursday will be the first home game for either team in the series as the Flyers visit Read Fieldhouse to try and take a 2-0 lead after winning the game in New Mexico.

At the Women's Sport Foundation Challenge in 2007, the Broncos played its third game in as many days, but didn't have enough gas left in the tank, as Dayton got the best of them, 88-63. Sophomore forward Sarah Dreher led WMU with 14 points in the loss as the Brown and Gold went 1-2 at the Women's Sport Foundation Challenge. The Women's Sports Foundation was founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King to advance the lives of girls and women through sport and physical activity.

SCOUTING THE FLYERS
The Flyers come into Thursday's game at exactly .500 on the season for their second to last non-conference game of the year. At 5-5, Dayton has picked up wins over Mercyhurst, Xavier, Canisius, Kansas, and Long Island in a month and a half of the season. But the Flyers did drop their first conference game to George Washington on the road, 54-42. Dayton has struggled on the road early in the season, only earning one win away from UD Arena at Xavier. 

The Flyers are led by senior guard Nayo Lear as the only player averaging double figures. Lear averages 15.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.4 steals a game. Lear was named the CollegeAdvantage Student-Athlete for the week across the Dayton athletic department on November 28th for her play against Canisius. The Flyer's leading defender, junior center Fatima Ibrahim, is also their second best scorer, averaging 9.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks a game.