Hillsdale, Mich. – The Wayne State University women's basketball squad (8-5 overall, 3-3 GLIAC) won its first GLIAC regular-season contest at Hillsdale College (5-6 overall, 2-3 GLIAC) since an 80-68 triumph on Jan. 30, 1995, with a 52-49 victory Thursday evening in the first of 14 straight conference games for the Warriors.
 
WSU raced out to a 7-0 lead in the first four minutes as three different players – junior forward Deanna Crumpton (Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood), junior forward Phaebre Colbert (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) and senior guard Stefani Munro (Harrison Twp., Mich./Mt. Clemens) each scored buckets.  After a Charger hoop by Abbey Lovat, junior center Juanita Cochran (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill) scored down low and junior guard Paige Sickmiller (Romeo, Mich.) finished off a fast break giving the guests an 11-2 advantage.
 
Hillsdale tallied 11 of the next 15 points to pull within three at 15-13.  Munro scored four of the next six points on a pair of free throws and a basket.  Back-to-back triples by Sickmiller, who led all scorers at the break with 13 points, pushed WSU's lead to 25-15.
 
Sophomore forward Imari Redfield (Detroit, Mich./Country Day) answered a Hillsdale basket with one of her own, and Sickmiller scored the next five Wayne State points making it 32-19 with 3:40 left before intermission.  Wayne State did not score after Sickmiller's third triple of the opening 20 minutes, but the Chargers managed just one free throw and one field goal in the final 3:40.
 
The Warrior defense limited Hillsdale to 27 percent (9-of-33) in the first half, while WSU shot 42 percent (13-of-31).  Cochran grabbed 10 rebounds in the first half.
 
Wayne State scored the first four points of the second half to open a 14-point lead (36-22) at the 14:53 mark.  The Warrior advantage remained in double digits until a lay-up by Angela Bissaro with eight minutes left made it 41-33.  HC's Marissa DeMott drained a three-pointer 30 seconds later cutting the Wayne State lead to five (41-36).  The 12-0 Charger run concluded with a triple by Katie Bildner at the 5:58 mark.
 
Crumpton's offensive put-back ended the Warrior scoreless drought of almost seven minutes.  A Sickmiller jumper was answered by a triple from HC's Lea Jones.  Sickmiller made both ends of a one-and-one, but a Chelsea Harrison jumper made it a one-point game again at 47-46.  Wayne State junior guard Amelia Davis (Temperance, Mich./Bedford) split a pair from the foul line with 1:45 left, and Munro sealed the win by making two shots in a one-and-the-bonus with 18.9 seconds remaining.  Cochran also made both ends of a one-and-one with DeMott closing out the scoring with a triple at the buzzer.
 
Sickmiller led all scorers with 17 points, while Munro added 11 points and seven assists.  Cochran recorded a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
DeMott was the lone Charger in double figures with 12 points.  Hillsdale made eight triples in 22 attempts and finished the game shooting 32 percent (18-of-56) from the floor.
 
Wayne State will play at Findlay in a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday.