Mastodon Women's Basketball Set for 2020-21 Opener

Wednesday, November 25

Fort Wayne, Ind.

1 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

SIUE

Hannah Hess

Mastodon Women's Basketball Set for 2020-21 Opener

11/24/2020 11:26:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch (ESPN3)Purdue Fort Wayne Game Notes SIUE Game Notes

Presented by Glenbrook Dodge

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball team will compete in the first athletic event for the department since games were canceled on March 12. The Mastodons will play against SIUE at 1 p.m. in the Gates Sports Center on Wednesday, November 25.

Game Day Information
When: Wednesday, November 25 | 1 p.m.
Where: Gates Sports Center | Fort Wayne, Ind.
Live Stats: Purdue Fort Wayne Live Stats
Video: ESPN3
Play-by-Play: John Nolan
Color Commentary: Aaron Johnson
Series History: SIUE leads 12-9
Last Meeting: 12/4/2019 | L, 57-53 | Edwardsville, Ill.
Game Notes: SIUE | Purdue Fort Wayne

Be Thankful
Purdue Fort Wayne's game against SIUE will be the first athletic event for the Mastodon athletic department in 258 days. The last event the Mastodons competed in was the Gary Freeman Invitational, which saw the Mastodon men's golf team take second in the tournament.

Know Your Foe
SIUE went 3-26 last season, ending the year on a 16-game losing streak. The Cougars' return their top two scorers from last season: Allie Troeckler and Mikayla Kinnard. They averaged 10.8 and 8.4 points per game respectively.

The Series
SIUE leads the series 12-9, dating back to 1988. The 'Dons most recent win came in 2013, but SIUE has taken the last two matchups 57-49 and 57-53. The latter of which came last season. The 'Dons forced 21 turnovers in that contest.

A New Look
This year's Mastodon team will look very different to SIUE. Only one player on this year's roster played in the game last season: Shayla Sellers.

She Ott-a Find a Bucket
Purdue Fort Wayne sophomore Riley Ott scored 10.9 points per game as a freshman which was the second-most by a freshman in the Division I era of Mastodon women's basketball. Ott was second only to Jordan Zuppe's 11.2 per game.

19 Under 50
In the 2019-20 season, the Mastodons held 19 of their opponents under 50 percent from the floor, including SIUE at 38.2 percent. The lowest opponent shooting percentage came against UIC, as the Flames only shot 32.7 percent.

Free Throws Are Free
Last season, Purdue Fort Wayne shot 73.7 percent from the free throw line, which would have been fourth in the Horizon League.

Hess of a Marksman
While she doesn't get to the line all that often, Hannah Hess is excellent from the free throw line. For her career, Hess is a 92.3 percent free throw shooter with a 93.8 percent clip as a junior. She has only missed three freebies in her career, one in each of her first three seasons.

Back On the Floor
There are three Mastodons that will be back on the court after spending the 2019-20 season taking redshirt campaigns. Senior Sierra Bell and freshman Kendal Muxlow are back from injuries and Valerie Clark is now eligible after transferring from Eastern Kentucky.

On the Hunt...
Krisen Hunt joins the Mastodons as a sharpshooter from Wabash Valley College. While with the Warriors, she led the team to a national NJCAA ranking as high as ninth. Through her two seasons, Wabash Valley went 62-3. Hunt shot 43.4 percent from 3-point range in 2019-20, which ranked ninth among all NJCAA players.

One Smart Margo
While at Anderson High School, Margo Thompson enrolled in Ohio's College Credit Plus program, which allowed her to earn enough credits to have an associate's degree in liberal arts from Chatfield College while a sophomore at Anderson. She took it a step further and was working toward her degree in mathematics at the University of Cincinnati while still at the secondary level. Even despite an advanced academic workload, Thompson was the valedictorian of her class at Anderson High School.

But She's Not the Only Valedictorian!
While Margo Thompson was selected as the valedictorian at Anderson High School, she is not the only valedictorian on the Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball team. Aubrey Stupp, another Mastodon freshman, was the valedictorian of her class at Valley View High School.

First Season in the Horizon League
The 2020-21 season will be Purdue Fort Wayne's first year in the Horizon League after spending 13 years in the Summit League. Purdue Fort Wayne will reignite old rivalries with Northern Kentucky, Oakland and IUPUI. NKU was in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with the Mastodons, and Oakland and IUPUI were rivals of the 'Dons in the Summit League.

Summit League Recap
During the Purdue Fort Wayne's 13-year stretch in the Summit League, they had two head coaches: Chris Paul and Niecee Nelson. The 'Dons finished as high as second in the regular season in 2010-11, which also saw the most wins in the Division I era (20). Purdue Fort Wayne earned a berth to the Women's Basketball Invitational in 2011 and 2014. Both of those WBI berths were against Horizon League foes: Cleveland State in 2011 and UIC in 2014.

Signed, Sealed and Delivered
Purdue Fort Wayne has signed four high school student-athletes to play for the Mastodons in the 2021-22 season. Ryin Ott (La Porte, Indiana), Jazzlyn Linbo (Round Lake, Illinois), Audra Emmerson (Fishers, Indiana) and Abbigail Stephens (Uniontown, Ohio). The 'Dons also signed Amellia Bromenschenkel (Mendota, Illinois/Mendota Township) to a National Letter of Intent, and she will enroll for the spring semester of 2021. Bromenschenkel will be immediately eligible to play for the Mastodons.

Last Time Out
Purdue Fort Wayne is coming off its final season in the Summit League after spending 13 seasons in the league. The Mastodons played just one Horizon League team in 2019-20: UIC. The 'Dons beat the Flames 61-50.

Coming Up
The 'Dons have a matchup at Evansville on December 5 and it will serve as a rematch from the 2019-20 season. The Mastodons beat the Purple Aces 67-64 in Fort Wayne after mounting a 15-point comeback, which was the program's largest comeback since 2006.

~ Feel the Rumble ~