KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan women's basketball team will honor its five seniors to begin the final homestand of the regular season on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos held off a second half comeback from the Buffalo Bulls in a 58-43 win on Wednesday night. WMU swept a two-game season series against Buffalo for the first time in program history this week. The Brown and Gold built a large lead in the first half that helped the team to its 58-43 victory as the game got within five points at the start of the fourth quarter.

For the second game in a row, senior guard Alli Carlson led Western Michigan with 17 points while going 5-of-11 from the floor. Senior forward Ariana Wilkes also poured in double figures for the Broncos with a career-high 13 points while grabbing six boards. And sophomore guard Alli Harness set a new career high under the glass, leading WMU with eight rebounds.

SENIOR DAY
The Broncos will host their Senior Day celebration on Saturday morning prior to their game against UMass. WMU will recognize forwards Mary Clare Brusek, Ariana Wilkes, De'Ahna Richardson, center Lauren Audino, and guard Alli Carlson for their contributions to the program over the past few years.

Audino is the longest tenured member of the Brown and Gold, having joined the roster in the 2020-21 season as a graduate player. Richardson became a member of the roster the following season in 2021-22, sitting out her first year as a redshirt. While Carlson is a four year player for Western Michigan, and is currently 12th all-time in program assists with 295 helpers in her career. Brusek and Wilkes joined the Broncos this year, with Brusek joining after being a four year player for WMU volleyball.

TOURNAMENT TESTS
WMU improved its chance to make the MAC Tournament in mid-March with its win over Buffalo on Wednesday night. The Brown and Gold's win along with Kent State's loss to UMass puts Western Michigan only two games out of the 8th seed as they hold the tiebreaker over Eastern Michigan, who is currently in ninth.

The Broncos remaining games include Saturday afternoon's against UMass, a Wednesday night contest at home against Toledo, and closing out the season at Kent State. WMU's final game against the Flashes on Saturday, March 7 has the potential to become a winner take all game if Kent State drops its next two games and the Brown and Gold earn a win over either UMass or Toledo. 

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday afternoon will be the fourth ever meeting between the Brown and Gold and the Minutewomen and only their second game in Mid-American Conference action. Western Michigan currently lead the series at 2-1 while UMass has taken the only conference game between the two back on New Years Eve. The Broncos earned their two wins in 2013 and 2014 when the programs met for the first time in a home-and-home non-conference series.

SCOUTING THE MINUTEWOMEN
UMass comes into University Arena on a two game win streak after taking down Kent State at home and going into Mount Pleasant for a dominating 69-50 victory. The Minutewomen have already secured their spot in the MAC Tournament with 12 conference wins and currently hold the third seed behind Miami and Ball State. UMass has the best three point defense in the MAC, limiting its opponents to 27.4% from behind the arc. The Minutewomen's defense from range is something WMU will have to overcome after scoring 45% of its points from three point range over the past four games.

On the floor UMass is led by sophomore guard Yahmani McKayle, who leads the conference in free throw percentage at 92.1% at the line. McKayle averages 16.2 points a game along with 5.2 assists and 1.5 steals. In the paint the Minutewomen rely on senior forward Megan Olbrys with an average 8 rebounds a game to rank fourth among MAC players. Olbrys also averages double figures in scoring at 14.0 while UMass final player in double digits is graduate guard Allie Palmieri at 12.8 points a game.