Are You Ready For It? Mastodons Host Wright State For Taylor Swift Day

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Stay Beautiful Mastodon fans, Fifteen minutes after 1:45 on Sunday (Dec. 7), Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball fans will have to have their Eyes Open to see the Mastodons play Wright State until the End Game. Maybe a trip to Coney Island before the game will make it Crazier. In a few months, we'll be looking fondly Back To December, so come out on Sunday so we don't have to say All You Had to Do Was Stay.

If it isn't obvious, it will be Taylor Swift Day (The Best Day) in the Gates Sports Center. Breathe.

Game Day Information (Question...?)
Who (It's Nice To Have a Friend): Wright State Raiders
When (That's When): Sunday, December 7 | 2 PM
Where (A Place In This World): Fort Wayne, Ind. | Gates Sports Center
Live Stats (22): Link
Watch (Eyes Open): ESPN+
Listen (The Man): 95.7 WELT
Tickets (Two Is Better Than One): Link
Game Notes (This is What You Came For): Purdue Fort Wayne | Wright State | Horizon League

Know Your Foe (The 1)
Wright State is 5-5 this season with a 1-0 start in Horizon League after topping Oakland 61-57 in the league opener on Wednesday (Dec. 3). The Raiders mounted a 20-8 fourth quarter comeback to beat OU. Breezie Williams is Wright State's leading scorer at 12.7 points per game. Rylee Sagester is one of the elite shooters in the league, averaging 2.6 makes per game on a 44.8 percentage.

Series History (Better Than Revenge)
The Mastodons lead the series 13-11 with a stout 10-2 mark at home. The 'Dons have lost to Wright State just once under Maria Marchesano's lead, a road game in 2024. The two teams met in the HL Championship quarterfinal a year ago, with the 'Dons winning 64-50.

Rivalry Riches (Bad Blood)
After their win over IU Indy on December 3, the Mastodons opened a six-game winning streak against the Jaguars. The six-game winning streak is the longest for the Mastodons in the series dating back to 1980.

Career Points Tracker (Jump Then Fall)
Let's take a look at the career scoring numbers for the three former NAIA All-Americans on the roster regardless of level.
Alana Nelson - 2,407 (482 at Northwood, 1,787 at Spring Arbor, 138 at PFW)
Jordan Reid - 1,762 (1,395 at Indiana Wesleyan, 369 at PFW)
Lauren Lee - 1,653 (1,630 at Campbellsville, 23 at PFW)

All Signs Point to Nelson (Electric Touch)
Of all players currently at the Division I level, Alana Nelson has the most career points when counting all levels of play. She owns 2,407 points in her six years of college basketball at Northwood (2), Spring Arbor (3) and Purdue Fort Wayne (1).

3-Point Threat (Epiphany)
Rylee Bess is shooting 48.6 percent (18-of-37) from beyond the arc this season, which leads the team. With a minimum of two makes per game, she leads the Horizon League and is 21st nationally. Bess has the second-best 3-point percentage among all freshmen in the country, behind Ella Ryan from Quinnipiac at 48.8 percent.

3-Point Threat x2 (Me!)
Rylee Bess is off to the best start by a freshman in terms of 3-point shooting since Jordan Zuppe in 2007-08. Zuppe shot 43.3 percent on 74 makes in her freshman season. Bess is at 48.6 percent with 18 makes.

They're Playing a Lot, Huh? (Run)
Alana Nelson (34.8) and Jordan Reid (33.3) lead the Horizon League in minutes played per game.

In the HL (Safe & Sound)
Alana Nelson's 48.5 field goal percentage and 15.3 points per game rank second in the Horizon League. Her 39.1 3-point percentage is fourth. In a small sample size of league play, she is second in the league with 23.0 points per game.

Reid About Jordan (Everything Has Changed)
Jordan Reid is the only player in the Horizon League in the top-five in both rebounding (6.8) and steals (2.7) per game.

I'll Take That (Mine)
Jordan Reid is averaging 2.7 steals per game, which ranks second in the Horizon League and top-40 nationally. If that average holds for a season-long mark, it would be second-best in the program's Division I era and fourth-best overall.

Inside The Arc? Guaranteed Bucket (Look What You Made Me Do)
Lili Krasovec is shooting 70.6 percent from the floor this season (36-for-54). If she qualified for the leaderboard with enough attempts, she would lead the Horizon League in the field goal percentage category.

Home Sweet Gates (Fortnight)
Purdue Fort Wayne is 45-21 (68.2 percent) at home under head coach Maria Marchesano and 30-6 (83.3 percent) over the last three seasons.

Magic Numbers 70 and 80 (Nothing New)
Under head coach Maria Marchesano, the Mastodons are 52-8 when they score 70 points or more and 24-2 when they hit 80.

Bench Mob (The Last Great American Dynasty)
Purdue Fort Wayne's bench is out-scoring its opponents' benches 181-147 this season. The Mastodon bench has led in bench points in six of its nine games.

Reid-Bounder (Superman)
Jordan Reid had 10 rebounds at Xavier (Nov. 7), which set a new career-high at the time. On November 30, she had 11 rebounds at Bowling Green for a new career-best.

Last Time Out (The Last Time)
Purdue Fort Wayne beat IU Indy 74-68 on the road for the first Horizon League win of the season. Alana Nelson and Jordan Reid both had 20-point efforts against the Jaguars.

Next Time Up (The Story of Us)
The Mastodons will stay in Fort Wayne for a pair of doubleheader contests at the Memorial Coliseum on December 10 and 14 against Milwaukee and Northern Illinois.

~ Feel the Rumble (I Bet You Think About Me) ~

Are You Ready For It? Mastodons Host Wright State For Taylor Swift Day

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Players Mentioned

Rylee Bess

Lili Krasovec

Lauren Lee

Alana Nelson

Jordan Reid

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics