WSU women fall to Xavier

Raiders fall to 0-5 with 62-47 loss in their home opener.

It was the first “Home Sweet Home” appearance of the year for the Wright State women’s basketball team, but their Nutter Center court turned out to be no more accommodating than the first four stops they’ve made in a brutal road schedule to start the season.

The Raiders lost to visiting Xavier, 62-47, Wednesday and fell to 0-5 on the season.

Their first four games were losses at Bradley, Toledo, Milwaukee and Green Bay. Next Tuesday they’re on the road again at Marshall and before Christmas they also play at Abilene Christian and Indiana.

The losing is tough to take for both WSU’s new coach, Kari Hoffman — who won 106 games the past five seasons at Cedarville and before that was a Hall of Fame player there — and for the Raiders, especially the retuning players who have been part of a program that’s had eight straight winning seasons and made three NCAA Tournaments, including two in the last three years.

Last season the Raiders knocked off Arkansas in the tournament’s first round.

But this year the Raiders — who lost some of their star players when coach Katrina Merriweather left for Memphis — are struggling to play as a team, shoot and take care of the basketball.

They shot 31.1% from the floor Wednesday (19 of 61) and 16.7% (3 of 18) from 3-point range. They had 18 turnovers and were outrebounded, 44-34, by Xavier, which is now 2-3.

“We’re still trying to figure out how to work together, how to have chemistry,” Hoffman said. “I don’t think there’s a trust built yet and you can’t move forward without the trust factor. They need to trust each other and understand you can’t do it alone.”

WSU was led by Jada Roberson with 11 points and Destyne Jackson with 10.

“It just hasn’t meshed yet,” Jackson said. “It’s hard to lose and we’re a little frustrated, but Coach told us to stay positive. And when we do that, I think we’ll turn it around.”

‘We’re still trying to figure out how to work together, how to have chemistry.’ Kari Hoffman, WSU coach