Boxscore

Ashland, Ohio – The magical run through the NCAA playoffs came to an end Monday evening for the upstart Wayne State University women's basketball team (22-9) as a late rally by the No. 2-ranked team in the nation, Ashland University (34-1), propelled the host Eagles to a 72-63 win over the Warriors.
 
WSU's only lead of the opening 20 minutes came on a jumper by senior forward Talisha Bridges (Kalamazoo, Mich./Loy Norrix) on the opening possession of the game.
 
From there AU hit back-to-back threes and built a seven-point advantage (11-4) before the game was five minutes old.
 
A 5-0 run by WSU was answered by the Eagles with a 6-0 spurt for a 17-9 advantage near the mid-point of the first half.
 
The Eagles increased their margin to 13 (36-23) before an NBA triple by Bridges just before the intermission buzzer pulled the Warriors within 10 (36-26).
 
Both teams were effective on the offensive glass with WSU grabbing 15 offfensive rebounds leading to 10 second-chance points, while AU had 13 offensive rebounds leading to five points in the first 20 minutes.
 
Bridges had 11 points in the first half for WSU, while AU guard Taylor Woods was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc for 12 points.
 
Wayne State began the second half on a 24-6 run to turn a 10-point deficit into an eight-point advantage (50-42) in the first 8:14 after intermission.
 
Junior guard Lena Thomas (Bloomfield Twp., Mich./Bloomfield Hills Andover) began the second half with a triple, before senior forward Deanna Crumpton (Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood) tallied seven straight WSU points to pull the Warriors within two (38-36).
 
The game was tied three times in the next two minutes prior to Wayne State going on an 8-0 run to open its largest lead of the game at 50-42.  Freshman guard Brittany Streetman (Warren, Mich./Lincoln) scored five points during the spurt with senior center Juanita Cochran (Saginaw, Mich./Arthur Hill) adding three points.
 
Ashland started pecking away but the Warriors still led by six (56-50) with 8:54 remaining following an offensive rebound and put back by Cochran.
 
A jumper by senior forward Phaebre Colbert (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) pushed the WSU advantage to four (58-54) with just over 7:30 remaining but the Warriors were able to make just two field goals the rest of the contest and were outscored 18-5 down the stretch.
 
Cochran, who was named to the NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament team, had another double-double with 15 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, along with five blocked shots.  Bridges, who also earned a spot on the all-tournament team, totaled a game-high 18 points, along with nine rebounds, four blocks, four steals and three assists.
 
Regional Most Outstanding Player Kari Daugherty finished with 17 points, including 14 in the second half, and 15 rebounds.  Daiva Gerbec had 11 points and 10 rebounds to earn a spot on the all-tournament team. 
 
Woods finished with 17 points and four assists to earn a spot on the all-tournament team along with Michigan Tech's Sam Hoyt.
 
The Warriors made more field goals (27 to 23) than Ashland, but trailed at the foul line as the Eagles were 20-of-24 compared to 6-of-11 for Wayne State.
 
Wayne State finishes one win shy of the school record of 23-5 set by the 1980-81 squad, after being picked to finish sixth in the eight-team GLIAC North Division in a pre-season media poll.