DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's basketball program (6-8, 1-7 GLIAC) continued its home stand on Saturday afternoon as Saginaw Valley State (9-4, 6-2 GLIAC) held off a fourth quarter rally to win 80-62 inside the Matthaei.
HOW IT HAPPENED- SVSU jumped out to a 7-0 lead to begin the first quarter before
Brittany Streetman (Warren, Mich. / Lincoln) put the Warriors on the board with a triple at the seven-minute mark. Five consecutive points from
Ashley Wilson (Portage, Mich. / Northern) trimmed the Cardinals' lead to 16-12 with 2:44 to play. SVSU's Katelyn Carriere connected from deep with time expiring in the opening period to extend the visitors' lead to 26-17.
- Five points from
India Hawkins (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) brought WSU within four (28-24) to begin the second quarter. A nifty move and a jumper from Streetman with 6:55 to play before halftime cut the deficit to two (28-26). However, that would be as close as WSU would get the rest of the half as SVSU went into the break leading 43-36. The storyline of the first half was missed opportunities for WSU as the Green & Gold missed a few great looks as well as going just 2-of-6 from the free throw line. SVSU knocked down all 10 of its attempts from the charity stripe.
- The SVSU advantage hovered around seven for much of the third quarter but a
Payton Birchmeier (Corunna, Mich.) layup cut SVSU's lead to five (45-40) with 7:24 to play in the quarter. The Cards' lead ballooned to 14 (54-40) after an Anna Hall three-point play at the 5:30 mark to cap a 9-0 run over the span of 1:30. At the conclusion of the third period, SVSU led comfortably 63-45 and outscored WSU 20-9 in the stanza.
- Showing some resilience, WSU began the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run to cut deficit to 12 (65-53), which included four points from
Brooke Wallace (Oberlin, Ohio / Amherst Steele). A bright spot down the stretch was Wallace, scoring all eight of her eight points in the final quarter. However, SVSU would regain control and cruise to an 80-62 victory.
LEADING THE WARRIORS-
Shannon Wilson (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Bloomfield Hills) paced WSU with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting while
Ashley Wilson netted 11 points.
LEADING THE CARDINALS- Five Cardinals finished in double digit scoring led by Emily Wendling and Grace Whelan scoring 18 points. Wendling, the reigning USBWA Division II Player of the Week, collected a double-double with a game-high 10 rebounds.
BOX SCORE NOTES- SVSU was powered by 22 points off 20 WSU turnovers. In addition, SVSU was 15-of-16 from the free throw line compared to WSU's 6-of-12 mark from the line.
UP NEXT- The Warriors will return to the court on Thursday when Tiffin at 5:30 p.m. The rest of the 2016 home games can be seen on Comcast 900. A replay of the SVSU contest will air on Jan. 14th at 9 a.m.
