HAMMOND, Ind. – The Wayne State University women's basketball team (6-2 overall, 1-1 GLIAC) lead 31-9 after the opening period and recorded a 93-61 road win at Purdue Northwest University (1-4 overall, 1-1 GLIAC) Saturday afternoon at the PNU Fitness and Recreation Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Warriors started strong scoring 14 of the game's first 18 points.  Junior forward Jessica Murphy (Oxford, Mich.) drained two triples in the first 2:30, and after a bucket by sophomore guard Nastassja Chambers (Ypsilanti, Mich. / Arbor Prep), senior guard Shannon Wilson (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Bloomfield Hills) and senior forward Payton Birchmeier (Corunna, Mich.) connected from long range.

WSU continued the offensive outburst scoring 17 points over the final 4:20 of the opening stanza.  Junior guard Ja'Nae Williams (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) totaled six points in the latter half of the first period.

The host Pride began the second quarter on a 5-3 run, before Wayne State ended the frame on a 14-8 spurt to lead 48-22 at intermission.

In a high scoring third period, the Warriors had a 28-25 advantage, and then the visitors held a three-point scoring edge (17-14) in the final 10 minutes.

TEAM STATS

Wayne State shot 50 percent (35-of-70) from the floor, compared to 28 percent (19-of-67) for PNU.  WSU was 9-of-24 from beyond the arc (38 percent), while the Pride was 7-of-25 (28 percent).  The Warriors were 14-of-18 from the foul line (78 percent), with Purdue Northwest shooting 70 percent (16-of-23) from the charity stripe.  PNU had a 47-44 edge in rebounding, but the Warriors had a 48-18 advantage for points in the paint.

LEADING THE WARRIORS

Williams was on her way to a quadruple double with 15 points, a team-high seven rebounds, along with game-best totals of 10 assists and six steals.  All five WSU starters were in double figures, led by a game-high 16 from Wilson.  Chambers contributed 14, while Birchmeier and Murphy added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

LEADING THE PANTHERS

Kaylee Hardy made four triples in scoring a team-high 14 points.

UP NEXT

Wayne State will conclude its brief two-game road trip with a contest on Thursday at No. 1-ranked Ashland University.