Dec. 18, 2010

Tiffin, Ohio – Behind a dominating second half performance, the Wayne State women's basketball team (3-7, 3-2 GLIAC) defeated host Tiffin, 65-48, on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing 29-26 at the halftime, the Warriors outscored the Dragons 39-19 in the final 20 minutes to win two in a row for the first time this season.

Sophomore Tyler Hardy (Ann Arbor, Mich./Ann Arbor Huron) turned in her second straight game with 15 points in the second half, on her way to a game-high 19. Hardy has now scored in double-figures in nine of Wayne State's 10 games.

Down 35-31 early in the second half, an 8-0 run from WSU put the visitors ahead 39-37 with 13:53 to go.

Sophomore Deanna Crumpton (Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood), who was held scoreless in the first half, scored six of the teams' first 11 points of the second half, and finished with nine points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

Hardy's hot hand took over from there as she scored 10 of the Warriors next 16 points to put the visitors ahead, 55-42 with 6:12 left in the game. During the stretch, WSU held Tiffin without a point from 11:27 to 6:44.

The rest of the way, WSU outscored the Dragons (6-4, 2-3 GLIAC) 10-6 to seal the win.

Junior Kiara Smith (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance) had 16 points and five rebounds.

Mandy Jaeb, Tiffin's leading scorer coming into the contest, managed only seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.

With the win, the Warriors became the first team to win two straight games in the series.

Wayne State is off until it hosts Saint Joseph's College on December 29th at 5:30 p.m.