DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball team (8-10, 3-9 GLIAC) nearly shocked No. 4 Ashland (18-0, 12-0 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon but the Eagles were able to survive with a 92-82 double-overtime win. 

Shannon Wilson (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Bloomfield Hills) hit a triple at the end of regulation to force overtime and Payton Birchmeier (Corunna, Mich.) banked in a 40-foot heave to send the game to a second overtime for the second time in eight days.  The Warriors dropped a Jan. 16th contest at Ohio Dominican 111-106 in two overtimes.  However, WSU ran out of steam in the second five-minute period.

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Eagles did not waste much time getting started and led 7-2 three minutes into the opening quarter.  Two AU free throws from Andi Daugherty extended the visitors lead to 11-4 with 5:28 to play in the first stanza.  A 7-0 run capped by two Ashley Wilson (Portage, Mich. / Northern) free throws trimmed AU's lead to 12-11 at the 3:51 mark.  Shannon Wilson beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter to keep the deficit at one (17-16).

- McKenzie Miller pushed the Eagles' lead to five (26-21) with six minutes left to play before intermission.  India Hawkins (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) provided some energy off the bench and kept the Warriors close (30-26) with a lay-up at the 4:37 mark.  AU's advantage ballooned to nine (35-26) with 1:52 remaining before halftime.  Shannon Wilson connected from deep and Payton Birchmeier followed with a lay-up to cut the deficit to four (35-31) as the teams went to the locker room.  WSU's defense held AU to just one field goal for the final 5:30 of the half.

- Ajai Meeks (Detroit, Mich. / Pershing) opened the second half with consecutive baskets to tie the game at 35-35 at the nine-minute mark.  Meeks also blocked a shot on the other end of the court in between her two buckets.  Birchmeier gave WSU its first lead (37-35) since 2-0 with a jumper at the 8:45 mark and force AU head coach Robyn Fralick to take an early timeout.  An impressive turnaround jumper from Meeks stretched the run to 8-0 and gave the Warriors a 39-35 advantage.  The Eagles converted their first field goal attempt of the second half at the 6:12 mark to cut the home lead to 39-38.  A Christina Green (Southfield, Mich. / Lathrup) lay-up gave WSU a five-point lead (43-38).  Shannon Wilson's fourth three-pointer of the day pushed the Green & Gold advantage to 46-42.  Ashley Wilson found Green with a great pass and Green converted a conventional three-point play to extend the lead to six (50-44) at the 2:34 mark of the third period.  A second-chance bucket from Daugherty tied the game at 50-50 with 38 seconds left in the stanza.  Shannon Wilson snapped the 6-0 AU run with a lay-up on the next possession.

- Ashland tied the game at 56-56 three minutes into the final period, but Ashley Wilson gave the lead (58-56) right back to the Warriors with a nifty lay-up at the 6:43 mark.  Shannon Wilson was fouled on a three-point attempt and knocked down all three freebies to extend the home lead to 61-56 with six minutes to play.  Daugherty brought the Eagles within one (63-62) at the 3:25 mark.  AU's Miller hit two free throws to give the Eagles a three-point lead (68-65) with 28.1 seconds left in regulation.  Following a WSU timeout, Shannon Wilson connected on a baseline triple to tie the game at 68-68 with just over 20 seconds to play.  Daugherty's jumper found iron and Birchmeier controlled the rebound.  Ashley Wilson's desperation heave missed and the two teams prepared for overtime.

- A driving lay-up from Hawkins knotted the game tied at 70-70 with 3:33 to play in the first extra period.  Shannon Wilson hit her sixth three-pointer of the game to put WSU on top 73-70 with 2:47 remaining.  Laina Snyder split two free throws to tie the game at 73-73, but an Ashley Wilson basket gave WSU the lead 75-73 at the 1:23 mark.  Miller drilled a three-pointer with 55 seconds to play, giving AU a 76-75 lead.  Two late WSU turnovers swung the momentum back to Ashland and the Eagles led 78-75 with 24 seconds left to play.  A broken play forced Birchmeier to take a 40-foot three-point attempt, which she banked in off the glass as time expired to force a second overtime with the game tied at 78-78.

- Ashland began the second overtime on a 9-2 run to take an 87-80 lead at the 2:41 mark.  Shannon Wilson's lay-up at the 1:28 mark trimmed AU's lead to five (87-82) but that would be as close as the Warriors could get as AU escaped the Matthaei with a 92-82 victory.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
- Shannon Wilson topped her career-high from Thursday (24 points) with 28 points versus Ashland, including six three-pointers.  Her six triples are tied for the eighth-most in program history.  The last Warrior to hit that many treys was Brooke Bowers on Feb. 20, 2010.

- Ashley Wilson scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds to notch her third double-double of the season.

- Meeks chipped in 10 points, while Birchmeier hauled in a career-high 15 rebounds.

LEADING THE EAGLES
- Four Eagles scored in double figures led by 32 points from Daugherty.  Daugherty also collected 13 boards.  Miller and Alex Henning both scored 18 points, while Snyder chipped in 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds.

BOX SCORE NOTES
-WSU out-shot AU from the field (40 percent to 37 percent), three-point line (32 percent to 25 percent) and at the free throw line (83 percent to 66 percent).

- Ashland turned 16 Wayne State turnovers into 16 points, and held a 19-8 edge in second-chance points.

- The Warriors received 31 points off their bench.

UP NEXT
- WSU concludes the home stand on Thursday against Malone at 5:30 p.m., which can be seen on Comcast 900.  Replays of the thrilling Ashland game will air on Wednesday (1/27) at 8 p.m. and Feb. 4 at 9 a.m.