MIDLAND, Mich. – The Wayne State University women's basketball team (4-1 overall, 0-1 GLIAC) had its season-opening winning streak come to an end with an 82-66 setback Thursday evening at Northwood University (5-2 overall, 1-0 GLIAC) in the league opener for both squads.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game was tied twice early (2-2, and 4-4) before the host Timberwolves went on an 11-2 run as the Warriors went 3:30 between made field goals.
 
A jumper by sophomore Shannon Wilson (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Bloomfield Hills) pulled WSU within four at 17-13 with just over three minutes remaining in the opening period.
 
NU's Maddy Seeley banked in a long three just before the first quarter ended giving the hosts a 23-15 lead after 10 minutes.  Shannon Wilson led WSU with six points in the first stanza.  The biggest difference was Northwood making four triples compared to the Warriors 0-for-3 from beyond the arc.
 
The Timberwolves closed out the first quarter and combined with a solid start in the second period outscored WSU 9-2 in a span of just under four minutes to take a 26-15 advantage on a three pointer by Hannah Orwat.
 
Wayne State responded with a 16-7 spurt to pull within two at 33-31 at the mid-point of the second stanza.  Senior guard Brittany Streetman (Warren, Mich. / Lincoln) led the Warriors with five points, while Shannon Wilson had four points and freshman guard India Hawkins (Detroit, Mich. / Edison) drained a triple to conclude the run.
 
Northwood answered with a 7-0 run with Emily Kutch tallying five points in just 60 seconds.  The Timberwolves had a 40-31 lead before a bucket by Hawkins and back-to-back field goals by senior Ashley Wilson (Portage, Mich. / Northern) cut the Warrior deficit to five (42-37).
 
WSU trailed by 11 twice early in the second half before cutting the margin to six on two occasions (50-44 and 52-46) before NU scored 10 of the next 12 points to increase its lead to 14 (62-48).
 
Wayne State continued to battle and were within four (68-64) with just under six minutes left in the fourth period after two free throws by Streetman.  The two foul shots concluded a 10-3 spurt by the Warriors as the Timberwolves managed just one field goal in the first 4:30 of the final stanza.
 
Northwood then scored 10 consecutive points as WSU went over five minutes (7:09 to 2:05) without a made field goal to pull away for the victory.
 
WSU LEADERS
Shannon Wilson led the Warriors with 17 points, while Streetman contributed 10 points.
 
Junior forward Christina Green (Southfield, Mich. / Lathrup) had a team-best eight rebounds with Hawkins dishing out a team-high three assists.
 
TEAM STATS RECAP
WSU shot 42 percent (27-of-65) compared to 46 percent (29-of-63) for Northwood.
 
The Timberwolves made seven triples (in 23 attempts), while the Warriors connected just twice from long range (in 13 attempts).
 
NU made 17-of-22 from the foul line (77 percent) with WSU making just 53 percent (10-of-19) from the charity stripe.
 
LEADING THE OPPOSITION
Emily Kutch scored a game-high 21 points, while Jordyn Nurenberg recorded a game-best 10 rebounds to go along with 20 points.
 
UP NEXT
Wayne State continues its weekend road trip with a 1 p.m. contest on Saturday at Lake Superior State.