UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – After playing the first half even against the Division leaders, the Wayne State University women's basketball team (7-14 overall, 4-10 GLIAC) was outscored 40-29 in the second half Monday evening at Saginaw Valley State University (16-4 overall, 12-2 GLIAC) in falling 66-55 to the host Cardinals.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The contest did not start well for the Warriors who were outscored 9-2 in the opening 2:15 of the contest.  The teams were even over the final 7:45 with each squad scoring eight points.

The second quarter belonged to the defenses as SVSU was 0-for-10 from the floor, while WSU was 4-of-20.  The Cardinals did make 9-of-12 from the charity stripe to score nine points in the period.  The Warriors were just 6-of-10 from the foul line in totaling 16 points to knot the halftime score at 26-26.  Both junior Payton Birchmeier (Corunna, Mich.) and sophomore India Hawkins (Detroit, Mich. / Edison Public School Academy) tallied six points in the stanza, with Birchmeier also grabbing four rebounds.  With WSU trailing 21-14, Birchmeier recorded six consecutive Wayne State points to make it a three-point contest (22-19) before Hawkins chipped in with six straight Warrior points to end the half.

The third quarter saw both teams make four field goals with the difference being SVSU's 8-of-10 on free throws to earn a five-point lead (43-38) after 30 minutes.  The Cardinals scored the first eight points after intermission and held the Warriors without a field goal for the first 4:30.  A jumper by senior Ajai Meeks (Detroit, Mich. / Pershing) with just over three minutes remaining in the period gave WSU a 38-37 lead, but Saginaw Valley would garner the final six points of the stanza.

After a Meeks lay-up 67 seconds into the fourth quarter pulled Wayne State within two (43-41), SVSU went on a 9-2 run to open a nine-point margin (52-43).  A jumper by Birchmeier cut the WSU deficit to seven, but that would be as close as the visiting Warriors would get.

TEAM STATS

Wayne State shot just 28 percent (18-of-64) from the floor, while SVSU was limited to 33 percent (15-of-46).  WSU connected on 24 percent (5-of-21) from three-point range, compared to 30 percent (3-of-10) for the Cardinals.  The Warriors were 14-of-22 (64 percent) from the foul line, while Saginaw Valley was an impressive 33-of-38 (87 percent) from the charity stripe.  Wayne State held a 42-37 edge in rebounding.

LEADING THE WARRIORS

Birchmeier lead WSU with 13 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Ja'Nae Williams (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) contributed 10 points.

LEADING THE CARDINALS

Emily Wendling recorded game-high totals of 23 points and 12 rebounds, which included a 15-of-16 performance at the foul line.  Katelyn Carriere chipped with 19 points.

UP NEXT

Wayne State will conclude a stretch of four home contests in a five-game stretch with a 5:30 p.m. tilt on Thursday vs. Grand Valley State followed by a 1 p.m. home match on Saturday against Ferris State.  With seven games remaining the Warriors are three games behind Northwood for the final wild card spot.