Box Score Box Score

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- For the second time in as many days, the Wayne State University women's basketball team used a strong second half surge to propel them to a victory at the Bellarmine Classic. The Warriors (7-1 overall) earned their sixth straight win by outlasting the University of Southern Indiana (6-2 overall) on Saturday, 82-74.

The Warriors finished as the only team in the tournament to go 2-0. WSU has earned four consecutive road victories, beating Lake Erie, Ashland, Bellarmine and USI.

Wayne State and Southern Indiana played back-and-forth for nearly the entire game. Wayne State trailed 10-4 after the first two minutes of the game, but scored the next six points to tie the game, 10-10, at the 15:18 mark in the first half.

USI regained a six-point lead, 16-10, but the Warriors would tie the game at 21 on consecutive three-pointers by sophomore Destiny Lavita-Stephens (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Goodrich) and junior Shareta Brown (Pontiac, Mich. / Grand Blanc). The score would never stray from more than a four-point lead for either team entering halftime.

Wayne State trailed by one point at the break, 37-36. The Warriors hit 5-of-12 three-point tries in the opening 20 minutes and converted on 5-of-6 free throws. WSU trailed at halftime despite out-shooting the Screaming Eagles 46.4 to 37.9 percent. Lavita-Stephens had eight points at halftime to lead the Warriors.

The game was back-and-forth throughout the second half with neither team leading by more than three points either way. There were nine lead changes and four ties in the second half overall.

The Warriors earned their biggest lead of the game to that point after junior Jackie Jones (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) hit a pair of free throws to give WSU a 63-60 edge with 4:30 left in the game.

After USI's Taylor Stevenson countered with a two-point bucket, Brown answered with a lay-up to again give WSU a three-point edge, 65-62, with 2:51 remaining in the contest. Southern Indiana's Anna Hackert cut the Wayne State led to one point, 65-64, after sinking two free throws. Wayne State would then proceed to go on a 7-0 run.

Brown grabbed two consecutive offensive rebounds and converted on a conventional three-point play to give WSU a 68-64 edge. After Wayne State got the ball back on a missed shot and rebound out-of-bounds, Jones was fouled on the way to the basket.

Southern Indiana received a team technical foul, resulting in four straight free throw tries for Wayne State. Sophomore Kristen Long (Corunna, Mich. / Durand) made 1-of-2, while Jones also converted on 1-of-2 to give Wayne State a six-point lead, 70-64.

Brown capped off the 7-0 run with a lay-up to give the Warriors a 72-64 advantage with 1:09 remaining in the contest. The Screaming Eagles would never get closer than six points in the final minute.

Brown led four WSU players in double figures with 22 points. She also had a game-high 13 rebounds and five steals. Junior Kayla Bridges (Canton, Mich.) added 12 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Jones had 13 points, five assists and three steals. Lavita-Stephens also was in double figures with 12 points. Junior Ashley Wilson (Portage, Mich. / Northern) posted two blocked shots for WSU.

Stephanie Carpenter hit six three-pointers and scored a game-high 24 points to lead Southern Indiana.

Wayne State hit 27-of-34 free throws for the game, including 22-of-28 in the second half. WSU out-rebounded USI, 45-38. The Warriors also shot 42.4 percent, while the Screaming Eagles were limited to a 33.8 shooting percentage.

Brown and Lavita-Stephens were each named to the Bellarmine All-Classic Tournament Team following the conclusion of the tournament. Brown, who had 44 points, 28 rebounds and 12 steals in the two wins, was named tournament MVP.

The Warriors are off for the rest of 2013 and resume GLIAC play against Walsh University on Thursday, Jan. 2 in Detroit.