Sellers Set to Become All-Time Starts Leader For Mastodon WBB on Saturday

Saturday, December 9

Fort Wayne, Ind.

4 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

St. Thomas

Tickets

Amellia Bromenschenkel, Shayla Sellers, Destinee Marshall

Photo by: Josh Gales

Sellers Set to Become All-Time Starts Leader For Mastodon WBB on Saturday

12/8/2023 11:46:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Tickets Digital Program

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Shayla Sellers of the Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball team will become the program's all-time leader when she starts on Saturday (Dec. 9) in the Mastodons' game against St. Thomas. Prior to the game, she will be honored for joining the 1,000-point club.

It is Defend the Fort day. There is a t-shirt giveaway for students while supplies last and mini golden basketballs for all fans while supplies last. An autograph session will follow the game. The Mastodon men will play Southeast Missouri at 7 p.m. Both teams will wear special Defend the Fort warmup shirts pregame.

Game Day Information
Who: St. Thomas Tommies
When: Saturday, December 9 | 4 PM
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Memorial Coliseum
Live Stats: Link
Watch: ESPN+
Tickets: Link
Digital Program: Link
Game Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne | St. Thomas | Horizon League

Know Your Foe
St. Thomas is 4-5 to start the year and is coming off a 67-65 win at Milwaukee. This came after a four-game losing skid, with losses to UC Irvine, Butler, Iowa State and Western Illinois. Amber Scalia is leading the team with 17.3 points per contest. She is coming off a 24-point effort at Milwaukee. Jade Hill is pitching in 15.2 points and 4.2 points per game.

The Series
St. Thomas and Purdue Fort Wayne have met just once: 366 days ago. Destinee Marshall and Ryin Ott both had double-figure scoring efforts. St. Thomas returns four of their five starters from that game, while the 'Dons have all five back.

Home Sweet Other Home
In the Mastodons' Division I history, they are 22-17 at the Memorial Coliseum.

Shayla The Starter
Shayla Sellers will become the program's leader when she starts on Saturday. It will be her 119th start, putting her past Jordan Zuppe, who started 118 from 2007-11.

What a Start!
Purdue Fort Wayne's 7-2 start is the best through nine games in the Division I era of the program. With a win, 8-2 would also be the best start through nine games in the DI era. The Mastodons' most wins with two losses came in 1995-96 when they started 18-2. They finished 23-5 in the best season in program history.

Turn, Turn, Turn It Over
Purdue Fort Wayne has forced three teams into 23 or more turnovers this season, including a season-high 31 against Great Lakes Christian. The 31 turnovers forced against the Crusaders is the most since the 'Dons forced Manchester into 34.

Net Positive
In the first release of the NET rankings, Purdue Fort Wayne was No. 80, the highest in program history. Of Horizon League schools, only Green Bay (27) was higher. Purdue Fort Wayne was the only Horizon League school to have both their men's and women's teams in the top-100 in the initial NET rankings.

Defense Done Wright
Purdue Fort Wayne held Wright State to 60 points on December 3, which was the Raiders' second-fewest this season. It was second only to a 99-55 loss at Michigan State. The 'Dons held the Raiders to 1-for-17 from the 3-point line in the final three quarters, resulting in just 36 points in the final 30 minutes.

#3Nation
Purdue Fort Wayne hit 14 or more 3-pointers twice this season (Western Kentucky and Oakland). This is the first time since 2014 that the Mastodons have had two games with 14 or more triples in a season and the first time ever that the 'Dons have done it in back-to-back games.

We Love Threes...
Purdue Fort Wayne has been dangerous from 3-point land this season. The Mastodons are leading the Horizon League and top-30 in the nation with a 37.6 3-point percentage and 9.1 3-point makes per contest. Audra Emmerson is in the top-100 nationally with 20 3-pointers made.

... and It's Been a While Since We Haven't
The Mastodons love making threes so much, they haven't had a game without a 3-pointer made since January 1, 2021, a streak of 88 games. This includes every game in the Maria Marchesano era.

Some More on the 3-Ball
The Mastodons have seven players shooting at least 40 percent from the 3-point line. Lauryn Stover is 1-of-2 (50 percent), Amellia Bromenschenkel is 11-of-24 (45.8 percent), Renna Schwieterman is 15-of-33 (45.5 percent), Ryin Ott is 13-for-29 (44.8 percent) and Shayla Sellers is 13-of-32 (40.6 percent).

Post Up Syd!
Sydney Graber is shooting 70.4 percent from the floor this season. If she had enough attempts, this mark would be the sixth-best in the nation.

Chasing 1,000
Amellia Bromenschenkel is looking to become the next 1,000 point scorer in Mastodon history. She has 742 in her career. With her average of 14.1 points per game this season, she is on pace to reach 1,000 career points in 20 games.

Magic Numbers 70 and 80
Under head coach Maria Marchesano, the Mastodons are 19-4 when they score 70 points or more and 10-1 when they hit 80.

Audramatic
Audra Emmerson is shooting 41.7 percent from deep since January 1, 2023, a mark of 58-of-139 over 26 games, including 20-of-56 (35.7 percent) this year.

Ott-omatic - Yep, We're Using The Same Joke Twice
Over the last three games, Ryin Ott is averaging 16.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while shooting 65.2 percent from the floor (16-of-29) and 60.0 percent from 3-point range (9-of-15). She had a career-high 21 points at Oakland on November 30 with a 6-for-7 effort from 3-point range.

Last Time Out
Purdue Fort Wayne won its fifth game in a row with a 57-46 victory on the road at Bellarmine. Ryin Ott scored a team-high 17 points. Shayla Sellers (13) and Destinee Marshall (12) added double-digits.

Coming Up
The 'Dons have eight days off before playing at Western Michigan on December 17. The Broncos are 4-4 and are coming off a 62-59 loss to Detroit Mercy.

~ Feel the Rumble ~