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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team made 20-of-26 free throws in the second half Friday to defeat tournament host Bellarmine, 70-60, at the Bellarmine Holiday Classic and earn its fifth straight victory. The Warriors improved to 6-1 overall, while the Knights fell to 3-4.
Junior
Shareta Brown (Pontiac, Mich. / Grand Blanc) recorded 22 points (including 13 in the second half), 15 rebounds and seven steals. Sophomore
Destiny Lavita-Stephens (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Goodrich) added 20 points, including nine straight in a key second-half run, for Wayne State.
Lavita-Stephens began her nine-point spurt with a pair of free throws to tie the contest at 47 with 7:43 left in the game. She followed with a two-point bucket, and after Bellarmine's Kelsey Lamb knotted the game at 49, Lavita-Stephens hit a three-pointer to give WSU a 52-49 advantage.
She followed with two more free throws to give Wayne State a 54-49 edge. Brown converted on an unconventional three-point play to extend the lead to 57-49 and sophomore
Kristen Long (Corunna, Mich. / Durand) added two straight buckets to give Wayne State a 61-49 lead with 4:36 left in the game.
The 12-0 run by WSU gave the Warriors a double-digit lead, one that would never get closer than 10 the rest of the way.
Wayne State also knocked down 26-of-33 free throws for the game overall, while the Knights converted 6-of-14. The Warriors were 4-for-9 on triple opportunities. Bellarmine had the advantage in rebounds (38-36) and shooting percentage (41.7-38.5). WSU had 13 steals and forced the Knights into 21 total turnovers.
Long scored 10 points for the Warriors and junior
Jackie Jones (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) collected eight points and five assists. Brown had all seven steals in the second half. The seven steals marks the second time this season that a Wayne State player has turned in seven steals (
Ondrea Hughes had seven thefts at Lake Erie on Dec. 14).
Lamb led Bellarmine with 14 points, while Jessica Hardin had 13 points, both off the bench, for the Knights.
The Warriors play 6-1 Southern Indiana in the first game Saturday of the Bellarmine Holiday Classic. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
