Dec. 16, 2010

Head Coach Gloria Bradley Interview
Tyler Hardy Interview

Detroit, Mich. – The situation was all too familiar for the Wayne State women's basketball team (2-7, 2-2 GLIAC).

Playing in tight games all season, Thursday night's contest was no different. The Warriors saw two double-digit leads erased and were in a close battle at the end. Fortunately, WSU hung tough, pulling out a 70-64 win over visiting Ohio Dominican (1-7, 0-4).

“We're making better decisions, we're playing better defense and maintaining the clock better,” head coach Gloria Bradley said. “I'm seeing some growth. We did have some miscues out there on defense, left players open and each time they nailed a big three, so we needed some players to come down and regroup the team.”

Tyler Hardy (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) answered the call, scoring 15 of her game-high 22 points in the second half. More importantly, Hardy scored five of Wayne State's last eight points. Also, contributing was Deanna Crumpton (Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood), who finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Amelia Davis (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) led the Warriors in rebounding with nine and hit Wayne State's final two free throws.

“Tyler (Hardy) and Deanna (Crumpton) showed some leadership tonight,” Bradley said. "They both hit big shots down the stretch and that was really important for us. Amelia, like I said many times, is our blue-collar worker, and she had some big rebounds down the stretch to keep the ball alive for us."

The Panthers slowly chipped away at an 11-point WSU lead in the second half, finding itself down one, 52-51, with 8:10 to play. Though, the Warriors answered with a 10-3 run, capped off by Felicia Thomas' (Kalamazoo, Mich./Central) three-pointer from the top of the key to take a 62-54 advantage with 4:22 left.

A lay-up from Hardy put Wayne State ahead 65-59 with 2:02 remaining, but on the other end, Melissa Hersey connected from behind-the-arc to put Ohio Dominican within three with 1:41 left. Hardy answered with another lay-up off a nice feed from Kiara Smith (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance). Abby Glover's jumper made the score 67-64 with 30 seconds to play, but the Panthers fouled Thomas, who made one-of-two from the stripe to put the Warriors up four, icing the game.  

After Ohio Dominican's Tracy Snider three-point basket knotted the score at 32 early in the second half, the Warriors took control in a hurry, scoring 11 points over the next 3:10 of the game. Hardy had five points during the stretch.

In the first half, following a basket from Shelley Warren, which put the Panthers within four, 12-8, with 10:35 remaining in the half, Wayne State went on a 10-1 run over the next 4:21 to take a 22-9 lead.

The margin was short-lived as Ohio Dominican responded with a 9-0 spurt of its own to make the score 22-18 with 4:23 left in the half. Hardy answered with a three-point bucket to put WSU back up seven, and after each team traded buckets, the home team would lead 30-21 with 2:12 left before halftime. However, the Panthers sprung into the break on a 6-0 run.

Wayne State heads to Tiffin (6-3, 2-2 GLIAC) on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. matchup with the Dragons.