PAINESVILLE, Ohio – The Wayne State University women's basketball program (1-0, 0-0 GLIAC) topped Ohio Valley, 76-45, in dominant fashion Saturday evening in the opening contest of the 2015-16 regular season at the GMAC/GLIAC Challenge hosted by Lake Erie College. Redshirt senior
Ashley Wilson (Portage, Mich. / Northern) led the Warriors with her first career double-double scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED - In the first minute of the contest, sophomore
Payton Birchmeier (Corunna, Mich.) started off with a three for an early WSU lead. Ohio Valley's Faith Miller drained a shot from beyond the arc to tie the game at the 8:39 mark in the first quarter.
- For the next two-and-a-half minutes, the Warriors went on a 10-0 run. Senior
Brittany Streetman (Warren, Mich. / Lincoln) scored two from the charity stripe and a quick jumper. To finish the first stanza, WSU held OVU to nine points, six of which were made by Miller.
- Ohio Valley held a 9-8 edge at the first media timeout in the second quarter. Five of those points came from free throw line off eight Warrior fouls. Wayne State continued its lead, 39-22, into halftime.
- Wayne State tallied 11 of the first 17 points in the first six minutes of the third period. Streetman scored six points off a jumper in the paint and two fast break lay-ups. The Warrior defense grabbed four steals and held the Fighting Scots to one point in a five-minute period.
- Ohio Valley's Hanna Mitchell scored off a fast break lay-up, 1:18 into the four quarter. Freshman
Brooke Wallace (Oberlin, Ohio / Amherst Steele) and sophomore
Nina Foster (Lansing, Mich. / Everett) collected the next four points in the paint.
- With two minutes left in the contest, Wilson hit four consecutive points from the charity stripe, while sophomore
Sara Ruhstorfer (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Flint Powers Catholic) made one of two shots from the foul line.
FINAL TEAM STATS - WSU shot 42 percent (30-71) from the field compared to 23 percent (15-64) for OVU.
- The Warriors hit 5-of-13 three-pointers (38.5 percent) with Wilson and Birchmeier both swooshing two.
- Wayne State recorded 12 steals and forced 18 Ohio Valley turnovers.
INDIVIDUAL STATS- Birchmeier and Streetman each tallied 12 points, while Foster chipped in seven points.
- Along with Wilson's 11 boards, Wallace pulled down seven caroms in 13 minutes of play.
- Streetman notched five steals and senior
Kristen Long (Durand, Mich.) picked up three.
- Foster and freshman
India Hawkins (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) each recorded a team-high three assists.
COACH LOHR'S CORNER- "I think defensively we came out and set the tone of the game early," head coach
Carrie Lohr stated following the game. "We did a great job pushing the ball in transition and allowing us to get some easy buckets early. We shared the ball really well and everyone was able to contribute so I believe it was an overall team win."
- "I give credit to Ohio Valley," Lohr commented. "They are rebuilding their program and playing with a very young roster. They played very hard tonight."
- "She [
Ashley Wilson] has the potential to do that," Lohr said on Wilson's double-double. "I think the thing about Ashley is that everything she does is quiet. I knew she was rebounding well and efficient around the basket offensively, but I didn't realize she had a double-double in 14 minutes of play."
UP NEXT - Wayne State will play its second game in the GMAC/GLIAC Challenge against Salem International on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Warriors defeated the Tigers in their first meeting, 96-43, last season.
