Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. – The Wayne State University women's basketball squad (8-19 overall, 5-15 GLIAC) notched its first road win of the season with a convincing 75-53 triumph at Lake Superior State  University (5-22, 3-17 GLIAC) Saturday afternoon.  The win was head coach Carrie Lohr's 100th at WSU and she became the fastest to reach the century mark in the 43-year history of the program.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After the Lakers took their only lead of the contest at 2-0, the Warriors rattled off 12 consecutive points with all five starters getting in the scoring parade, led by five points from junior Shannon Wilson (W. Bloomfield, Mich. / Bloomfield Hills).  Twice LSSU was able to cut the Wayne State advantage to six, but junior Sara Ruhstorfer (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Flint Powers Catholic) scored at the end of the shot clock the first time, and sophomore Ja'Nae Williams (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) sank all three foul shots the second time giving WSU a 21-12 lead after 10 minutes.

The Warriors scored the first nine points of the second quarter with four different players notching points.  Senior Christina Green (Southfield, Mich. / Lathrup) led Wayne State with six points in the stanza, while Wilson chipped in five to reach double digits by halftime.

WSU was solid at both ends of the court in the first half, recording seven assists to three turnovers and shooting 57 percent (4-of-7) from beyond the arc.  Defensively, the Warriors held the Lakers to 2-of-10 from three-point range (20 percent) and forced LSSU into seven miscues.

Lake Superior began the second half outscoring Wayne State 11-6 to cut the WSU margin to eight (45-37) with just under six minutes remaining in the period.  The Warriors responded with a 7-3 spurt over the next 2:30 to re-establish a double-digit advantage.  Wilson had five points during the run.  LSSU tallied four consecutive points before a Green bucket ended the frame and put WSU ahead by 12 (56-44).

In the first six minutes of the fourth period, the Wayne State defense limited Lake Superior to 1-of-6 from the field, plus forced three turnovers to push the lead to 18 (65-47).  Williams had four of WSU's first nine points of the period.  Over the final four minutes, the Warriors had a 10-6 scoring advantage.

TEAM STATS

Wayne State shot over 50 percent for the second consecutive contest going 29-of-57 (51 percent) from the floor, compared to 40 percent (19-of-47) for LSSU.  WSU was 5-of-12 (42 percent) from three-point range, while the Lakers shot 24 percent (5-of-21) from behind the arc.  The Warriors were a stellar 12-of-13 (92 percent) from the charity stripe, with Lake Superior shooting 91 percent (10-of-11).  Wayne State held a 46-14 edge in points in the paint, along with a 12-2 margin in second-chance points.

LEADING THE WARRIORS

Green and Wilson tied for game-high scoring honors with 21 points each.  Junior Payton Birchmeier (Corunna, Mich.) chipped in with 12 points and a game-best nine rebounds, with Wilson contributing a team-best five assists.  Both Wilson and Williams had three steals.

LEADING LSSU

Mackenzie Edwards tallied 15 points to lead the Lakers, while Lexie Kohn added 12.  Valerie Meissner had a game-high six assists for an LSSU squad that played without the injured Tamara Novic, who leads the GLIAC in field goal percentage.

UP NEXT

Wayne State will conclude its 2016-17 campaign with a 5:30 p.m. home contest on Thursday (Feb. 23) against Saginaw Valley State.  Seniors Christina Green and Ajai Meeks will be recognized before the contest.