QUINCY, Ill. - The Winona State University women's basketball team moved to 1-0 on the 2021-22 season with a win over McKendree University yesterday and will look to double their victory total today as they take on Quincy University on Saturday, Nov. 20.
The Warriors are set to compete against the Lady Hawks at 4pm CST in the final contest of the
2021 Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic held by QU. Today, WSU will look for a repeat performance of their 2019 trip to Quincy, in which they beat the host school to claim 2-0 start that season.
Click here for the tournament webpage.
Read on for more about the Winona State women's basketball team as they pursue their second win of the season. A recap of the WSU 70-46 win over McKendree is available
at this link.
Who: The Winona State women's basketball team will look to go 2-0 to start the year, taking on Quincy University.
What: The Warriors (1-0, 0-0 NSIC) will take on the Lady Hawks (0-3, 0-0 GLVC) in their second and final game of the 2021 Hansen-Spear Funeral Home Classic.
When: Saturday, Nov. 20, a 4pm CST start.
Where: Pepsi Arena - formerly known as Quincy Memorial Gymnasium - on the campus of Quincy University.
Warrior notables heading into the weekend:
Familiar Foes: Winona State has faced Quincy University four times since Nov. 19, 2016 and own a 4-0 record against the Lady Hawks. The Warriors most recently defeated QU 73-63 in overtime on Nov. 23, 2019.
Neutral Colors: WSU took on McKendree on Nov. 18, 2017, beating the Bearcats 72-54 in a neutral site game at Quincy University. In that contest, Liz Evenocheck scored a game-high 19 points, including a 6-for-6 effort at the foul line.
Neutral Colors, too: In the aforementioned WSU - McKendree neutral site matchup in 2017, Winona State shot an amazing 22-24 from the foul line in the game.
Bearcat Skid: McKendree is 0-2 to start the year, with a 64-40 loss to Tiffin University and a 84-61 setback to Purdue University - Northwest.
Lady Hawks out of the gate: Quincy University is also 0-2 to begin the 2021-22 season, dropping a 59-57 decision to Wisconsin-Parkside and a 95-57 contest to Ursuline College.
Testing the Division I waters: Both Quincy and McKendree played exhibition contests against NCAA Division I competition. QU lost to Cleveland State University 93-53, while McKendree fell to Bradley University 101-75.
Keep up if you can: Winona State women's basketball has never trailed in a game so far this season.
That's a stat!:Winona State head coach Scott Ballard has amassed 555 wins in his collegiate coaching career and is among the top 15 in NCAA Division II women's basketball in wins by active head coaches.
That's a stat, too!: WSU standout Taylor Hustad was named the Winona State Player-to-Watch prior to the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Hustad was a NSIC All-Conference performer the past two seasons.
She is (Hall of) Famous!: WSU associate head coach Ana Wurtz was inducted into the Winona State Athletics Hall of Fame earlier this fall, having been one of the most impactful players on the first NCAA Tournament qualification team at Winona State over her career between 2007 and 2010.
The Show-Me State: Prior to his tenure at Winona State, Ballard was the head coach at Missouri Southern University from 1990-1995 and Central Missouri from 1995 - 2004.
OT? We've been there before: In the Covid-impacted 2020-21 season, Winona State played two overtime games in their 12-contest slate. The Warriors fell to Augustana University 81-79 in OT on Jan. 22 and beat Minnesota State - Mankato 95-91 on Saturday, Feb. 6.
Riley Rockin' It: Caitlin Riley scored 19 points in the Winona State 84-46 win over Dakota State on Nov. 12. In 16 minutes of action, Riley was 7-of-9 from the floor, including a 5-of-7 mark from 3-point land.
Riley Rockin' It, Too: On Saturday vs. host Viterbo, Riley had an even better performance scoring 23 points and hauling in five rebounds in the 78-56 WSU victory.
Fee-nominal: Emma Fee also scored 19 points against DSU in exhibition action; the veteran WSU post player couldn't miss against the Trojans, going 9-for-10 from the field. She also hit a 3-pointer.
Who is the new kid?: Standout transfer Lauren Fech started both games for Winona State in their exhibition contests at Viterbo last week. Fech played at Minnesota State - Moorhead before transferring to Winona State this season and her defensive tenacity has impressed the Warrior coaching staff.
Deep Bench: Between the two exhibition contests for Winona State, 14 different players took the floor for the Warriors.
Hustad helpers: Known for both her rebounding and scoring ability, Hustad dished out four assists in the WSU win over Dakota State last Friday.
Quincy University Lady Hawk Notables:
Quincy fell to Ferris State in their first game of the Classic, 70-57 resulting in a bizarre stat so far, in that QU has scored exactly 57 points in each of their first three regular season games this year.
Kaci Bailey is in her first season as the head coach for the Lady-Hawks after serving as an assistant coach at George Mason from 2017 through 2020.
Heading into the weekend, Beth Matas Martin leads QU in scoring with 21 points total across two game this year. She averages 2.5 assists and 4.5 turnovers per game.
At the start of the tournament, Grace Flanagan is second on the squad in points scored with 19 so far this year, Marta Rivera is averaging six rebounds a game for Quincy.
Regan Loconte is the top Lady Hawk 3-point threat, currently 4-for-8 on the season.
QU has scored 57 points in both their games to start the season.
As a team, QU has been outscored 214-171 in 2021-22.
For the most up to date news in Warrior Athletics, please visit: www.WINONASTATEWARRIORS.com and @WinonaStateATH.
About Winona State University Athletics:
The Winona State University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, as an integral part of the educational mission of the institution, is committed to offering opportunities to experience academic and athletic excellence for our student-athletes through two simple words: Graduate Champions.
Fourteen Warrior programs compete at the NCAA Division II level within the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Winona State University competes as an affiliate member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the sport of women's gymnastics.
