Sault Ste Marie, Mich. – The Wayne State women’s basketball team kept its momentum rolling Saturday afternoon by defeating Lake Superior
72-67 for its second win in as many games. WSU (6-15, 4-12 GLIAC) has now won consecutive contests for the first time this season. Saturday also marked Wayne State’s first win at Lake Superior (10-10, 7-9) since Feb. 9, 1995.
The Warriors ended their four-game road trip 2-2 and won back-to-back away games for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
WSU once again had a solid shooting day, going 26-for-57 (45.6 percent) from the field. A balanced scoring attack that saw each Warrior score at least four points was led by sophomore guard
Kiara Smith (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) who had team-highs of 12 points and four assists.
Freshman forward
Deanna Crumpton (Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood) and junior guard
Chelsea Kouri (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) each scored 10 points. Crumpton scored eight of her points in the first half while Kouri, who was 3-for-5 from three-point range, provided Wayne State with seven crucial points in the second half.
Along with Kouri, freshmen
Phaebre Colbert (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern),
Amelia Davis (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) and
Chelsea Davis (Canton, Mich./Plymouth Salem) all grabbed five rebounds to help WSU out-board LSSU 37-33.
Wayne State did not score for the first 2:08 of the game before Smith connected on two triples to give the Warriors a 6-5 lead they would never relinquish. WSU proceeded to outscore the Lakers 15-9 over the next 5:46 with freshman guard
Tyler Hardy (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron), who made her first start on Saturday, hitting a jumper to give Wayne State a 23-14 lead midway through the first half.
Lake Superior managed to trim the WSU lead to as little as four points (31-27) before Wayne State went on an 11-5 run to end the period up 42-32. Freshman guard
Paige Sickmiller (Washington, Mich./Romeo) paced the Warriors’ run to the locker room with four points.
Both teams once again started out slow and combined to score just nine points through the first 4:13 of the second half. But a Kouri three-pointer would wake up Wayne State as WSU quickly built a 16-point lead (54-38) with 14:22 to play.
After trading baskets for much of the next six minutes with LSSU, Wayne State went cold from the field over the final 8:58 of the game; making just two shots, three’s by Hardy and Kouri. The Lakers wasted no time mounting their comeback and with a minute left in the half WSU’s once large lead was whittled down to just three points (67-64).
However, Wayne State was able to salvage the win thanks to Hardy, Kouri and senior guard
Brooke Bowers (Delphos, Ohio/Jefferson) making five of seven foul shots in the game’s closing moments to secure the victory.
Emily Joseph scored a game-high 19 points to lead Lake Superior.
The streaking Warriors will return home for four consecutive games starting with Thursday’s contest against Hillsdale. Tip-off against the Chargers is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The game can also be seen on Comcast Local channel 900 throughout the state of Michigan.