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Wayne State University Athletics

Gabi Lutchka vs. Purdue Northwest (1/4/24)
Marissa Krynak
Gabi Lutchka had her fourth contest this season with 20+ points at UWP - and in back-to-back games.
66
Winner Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 13-6,6-4 GLIAC
61
Wis.-Parkside UWP 11-7,6-4 GLIAC
Winner
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne
13-6,6-4 GLIAC
66
Final
61
Wis.-Parkside UWP
11-7,6-4 GLIAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Wayne St. (MI) Wayne 17 19 12 18 66
Wis.-Parkside UWP 16 16 14 15 61

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Matthew Jurek, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

Women's Basketball Claims Tight 66-61 Road Win at Parkside

The Warriors were led by Gabi Lutchka's second career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.

KENOSHA, Wis. -- The Wayne State University women's basketball squad (13-6 overall, 6-4 GLIAC) prevailed 66-61 in a key road battle with Parkside (11-7 overall, 6-4 GLIAC) on Thursday evening inside the De Simone Arena.

The Warriors entered the day just behind UWP in the league standings, and with the victory tied the Rangers within the conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter
After a three-pointer from UWP's Sheridan Flauger opened the scoring 32 seconds in, WSU tallied the next five points on a lay-up and free throw from junior forward Shea Tripp (Jackson, Mich. / Michigan Center), along with two foul shots by sophomore forward Taylor Thompson (Grand Bland, Mich.).  Parkside scored eight of the next 11 points between 6:53 and 4:46 remaining in the quarter to pull ahead by four (12-8), but WSU ended the opening stanza by outscoring the Rangers 9-4 to lead by one (17-16) after 10 minutes.  Tripp, Thompson, and freshman guard McKenna Ferguson (Grandville, Mich. / Byron Center) all had four or more points in the initial period.

Second Quarter
The Green and Gold continued its pressing defense, which limited UWP to another 16 points in the second quarter.  The stanza went back and forth with six lead changes and four ties, but Parkside led for just 43 seconds total in the period as the Warriors responded each time following made baskets from the hosts.  After UWP led by one (28-27) with 3:03 left on Paty Gallasova's jumper, Wayne State outpaced the Rangers 9-4 to head into the locker room with a four-point (36-32) edge.  Key shots down the stretch before intermission included a jumper from Lutchka and a triple from redshirt senior guard Becca Fugate (Holly, Mich.).

Third Quarter
Parkside won its only quarter in the 10 minutes coming out of the break, but it was only by two (14-12).  Seven straight points to start the new period extended the guests' advantage to 11 (43-32), WSU's largest lead of the game to that point.  UWP tallied the next three points, but the Warriors tallied five more to lead by a game-high 13 (48-35) with 5:17 to play.  However, Ferguson's triple at that time were the last points in the stanza for Wayne State.  The Rangers notched the final nine points of the third to close their deficit to two (48-46) with 10 minutes left.

Fourth Quarter
Lutchka ended the Green and Gold's scoring drought of more than five minutes with a jump shot less than a minute into the final quarter.  Five more quick points by the Warrior put the visitors in front by nine once again (55-46) with 8:20 left.  In what proved to be a second half of extended runs, Parkside secured the next seven points on the scoreboard between 6:26 and 4:41 to close the game back to two points (55-53).  Despite staying close throughout, the Rangers could never earn the equalizer. 

The sophomore Lutchka's clutch fourth quarter included scoring all of WSU's 12 points in the period until the final minute, which almost single handedly kept the Warriors ahead for the entire stanza.  Redshirt senior guard Kate McArthur (Warren, Mich. / Cousino (Central Michigan)) nailed an important three-pointer with 25 seconds left, while Ferguson knocked down three free throws as the trio of Warriors' key shooting in the final minutes led Wayne State to the five-point win.

TEAM STATS
WSU held the Rangers to 61 points after UWP posted 95 in the first meeting between the two squads.  Parkside shot 23-of-53 (43 percent) from the field, which was better than Wayne State's 22-of-54 (41 percent) from the floor.  WSU made nine of its 24 three-point tries (37 percent), while UWP converted on just four of its 16 attempts (25 percent) from beyond the arc.  The Warriors made 13-of-16 free throws (81 percent), compared to the Rangers' 11-of-17 (65 percent).  Despite the score being close for much of the game, the visitors out-rebounded the hosts 35-26, including a 10-5 edge in offensive boards.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
Lutchka's second career double-double led the way for Wayne State.  The sophomore had 20 points and a career-best 11 rebounds, both of which were game highs.  Tripp fell one point shy of a double-double after collecting 10 boards.  Ferguson (12 points) and Fugate (11) also were in double-figures for the contest.  McArthur dished out a game-high five assists.  Sophomore forward Thaya Luse (Elburn, Ill. / Example Academy) garnered a +14 rating for the victory.

LEADING THE RANGERS
Cassidy Arni was the lone Parkside player in double-figures with 14 points.  Grace Lomen was credited with four steals to lead all players.  The Rangers had six blocked shots to WSU's zero, including two each from Gabriela Loiz and Chloe Van Zeeland.

UP NEXT 
Wayne State will finish its two-game Central Time Zone road trip with a visit to Purdue Northwest on Saturday.  Action from John Friend Court in Hammond, Ind. is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Eastern.

 
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