Head Coach Gloria Bradley Podcast

Detroit, Mich. – Basketball is a game of runs, and it proved to be the Wayne State's women's basketball teams Achilles heal in a 78-72 loss to GLIAC newcomer Lake Erie Thursday night in the Warriors' home-opener at the Matthaei.

WSU had its first win in sight, leading 72-69, but the Storm closed the final 2:47 of the game on a 9-0 run, handing the Warriors their sixth straight defeat and first in the GLIAC South.

Regrettably, Wayne State's ending mirrored the start of the game, where the Storm opened with an 8-0 run.

A lay-up from Kiara Smith (Detroit, Mich./ Renaissance) with 16:01 ended the drought and WSU continued its comeback with sophomore Tyler Hardy (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) coming in off the bench.

Hardy scored the games next three buckets, and would go on to lead the Warriors with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Smith finished with 15 points and five rebounds.

Lake Erie would climb ahead, 21-16, with 8:19 left in the first 20 minutes, but it would prove to be their largest lead as the Warriors closed the half on an 18-8 run.

Following a five-second violation by Lake Erie on the in-bounds to start the second-half, Smith nailed her first three-pointer of the season, giving the Warriors a 37-29 cushion.

It was short-lived as the Storm raged back with a 7-0 run, climbing within one. The teams traded buckets until sophomore Paige Sickmiller's jumper with 13:20 remaining put the home team in front 45-38.

A back-and-forth battle continued and WSU saw its lead shrink to 72-69 with 2:47 left. From there, Sarah Wojciechowksi nailed a triple in the corner with 1:55 left to tie it up, and the rest of the game ended with the Storm hitting six straight from the free-throw line.

Wayne State (0-6, 0-1 GLIAC South) welcomes Ashland (6-0, 1-0 GLIAC South) at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.