KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- After a week away from the court, the Western Michigan University women's basketball team returns to University Arena on Tuesday night.

LAST TIME OUT
Western Michigan opened its 2026-27 season in front of a raucous 1500+ crowd at University Arena on Monday morning. The Broncos came within a possession of overtaking Coastal Carolina with 12 minutes left in Monday's season opener as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge. But a fourth quarter run for the Chanticleers was too much for WMU to overcome in the 68-54 defeat.

Junior guard Kailey Starks didn't lose a step between seasons, leading the Brown and Gold on offense with 17 points, four assists, and four steals. Freshman guard Casey Vyverman also finished Monday in double digits as she scored 11 in her first collegiate game with a steal and a block. On defense, newcomer forward Faith Wiseman had a team-high eight rebounds in 28 minutes on the floor. 

The Broncos spread the wealth on defense as nine players recorded at least one rebound to collect 32 as a team. WMU kept even with the Chanticleers on takeaways and blocks as both sides had nine steals and four stopped shots. The Brown and Gold outshot Coastal Carolina at the line by over 30%, going 10-of-14 (71.4%) while CCU was only six-of-17 (35.3) at the charity stripe. 

TRANSFER ACCEPTED
Western Michigan brought in a four player transfer class for the 2026-27 season. The Broncos have added three junior transfers from Division I programs this season, similar to the year prior, and one senior Division II transfer. WMU adds two players from in-conference programs (Ball State and Miami) and one player from the Big Ten Conference (Indiana).

The Brown and Gold's transfers include guard Zuri Ransom from Ball State. Ransom played in 33 games for the Cardinals while scoring 61 points. Western Michigan also added forward Emily Van Timmeren from Miami (OH). Van Timmeren played 28 games last season with 30 points and 18 rebounds for the RedHawks. The Broncos final Division I transfer is forward Faith Wiseman from IU. Wiseman played 26 games for the Hoosiers with six points and 16 rebounds.

WMU also welcomes guard Kaylyn Buchanon from Dominican University of California for her final season. Buchanon made 79 appearances with 35 starts for the Penguins just outside of San Francisco, totaling 386 points, 263 rebounds, 162 assists and 108 steals over three seasons.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Rounding out the Brown and Gold's newcomers for the 2026-27 campaign are five true freshmen; guard Vanessa Rodriguez, guard/forward Casey Vyverman, guard Ava Rodriguez, and forward Isabella Miljkovic. The Rodriguez twins are Western Michigan's two new in-state players from Father Gabriel Richard High School just outside of Ann Arbor. Vyverman comes from just over the western state line as a Mundelein, Illinois native. While Miljkovic joins the Broncos from Vancouver, Canada.

Among WMU's freshmen, two became their high school program's leading scorer (V. Rodriguez and Vyverman), three MVP/Player of the Year recipients (V. Rodriguez, Miljkovic, and Vyverman), and four All-State/All-Province selections (V. Rodriguez, A. Rodriguez, Miljkovic, and Vyverman). 

SERIES HISTORY
Tuesday night will be the ninth overall meeting between Western Michigan and Purdue Fort Wayne (formerly IPFW). The Brown and Gold hold the current series advantage at 6-2, including a perfect 5-0 home record against the Mastodons dating back to 2002. The two programs have not seen each other in two seasons as their last meeting was December 21, 2024.

In that December game, the Broncos fell to Purdue Fort Wayne on the road. WMU's leaders in the loss were graduate student Hannah Spitzley and junior Marina Asensio who scored 46 points and supplied nine steals as a unit. Spitzley during the game had six steals becoming only the fifth member of the Brown and Gold to have multiple games with six or more swipes. 

SCOUTING THE MASTODON'S
Purdue Fort Wayne is also looking for its first victory on the season after going 0-2 in the first week of play. The Mastodon's dropped their season and home opener to Xavier on November 2, by 75-63 and then suffered their first road loss of the year at DePaul in an 87-62 final. This year's PFW team is mostly new faces as the Mastodon's only return two letterwinners from its 2025-26 squad that went 21-14 and made the WNIT Super 16. After two games, graduate guard/forward Claire Gregwer leads the team on offense with 11.5 points a game while returning sophomore forward Avery Wagner leads the defense at 5.5 rebounds a game. 

Purdue Fort Wayne has a new bench boss after previous coach Maria Marchesano took over at her alma mater Butler this season. Leading the 'Dons is veteran Horizon League coach Kate Peterson Abiad after spending two seasons as an assistant coach with Green Bay. While she is in her first season at PFW, Peterson Abiad has been a head coach for 15 years, all with the Cleveland State Vikings. Peterson Abiad guided the Vikings to two Horizon League Championships and four other postseason appearances across the NCAA, WNIT, and WBI.