Ashland, Ohio – The Wayne State University women's basketball team (4-13 overall, 4-7 GLIAC) suffered an 81-61 setback at Ashland University (12-5 overall, 7-3 GLIAC) Thursday evening.

The Warriors started strong scoring six of the game's first eight points as sophomore guard Paige Sickmiller (Romeo, Mich.) drained two triples in the first minute. The Eagles knotted the score at on back-to-back lay-ups by Beth Mantkowski.

After WSU tied the game at nine on a three-pointer by sophomore Amelia Davis (Temperance, Mich./Bedford), AU went on a 7-0 until senior guard Chelsea Kouri (Clarkston, Mich.) tallied five straight points to pull the Warriors within two at 16-14 with just over 12 minutes left in the first half.

An 8-0 spurt by the Eagles preceded 13-4 Wayne State run which cut the deficit to one at 28-27 with just under six minutes remaining before intermission. Kouri made two triples and recorded eight of WSU's 13 points during the rally.

Ashland closed out the first half on 16-6 run for a 44-33 halftime advantage. WSU made 7-of-10 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, but committed 12 turnovers to five for the Eagles.

AU scored the first four points of the second half until a Sickmiller jumper at the 17:40 mark. The Eagles extended their lead to 18 until a jumper by freshman Lauryn Robinson (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) and three –pointer by Davis. Following a bucket by AU's Daiva Gerbec, Davis nailed another triple cutting the margin to 12 (55-43) with 14:24 left.

Ashland extended its lead to 20 (68-48) by virtue of 13-5 run. The Warriors would not get closer than 15 the rest of the way.

After shooting 52 percent (13-of-25) from the floor in the first half, Wayne State was held to 29 percent (10-of-34) in the final 20 minutes.

Meanwhile Ashland shot 53 percent (16-of-30) in the first half and 47 percent (15-of-32) in the second half.
Four Warriors scored in double figures, led by sophomore Phaebre Colbert (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) and Kouri with 13 each. Davis added 11 while Sickmiller chipped in with 10.

Gerbec led all scorers with 27 points and a game-high 14 rebounds as AU had a 39-33 advantage on the boards. Colbert had eight rebounds to lead WSU with freshman Alison Bouman (Grandville, Mich./Calvin Christian) grabbing six caroms.

Wayne State concludes its three-game road trip with a 3 p.m. tip-off on Saturday at Lake Erie College.